Cumulus Outdoors-Swanage

We are extremely fortunate to be able to provide all of our outdoor activities and camps within the stunning landscapes found in South Dorset in the Isle of Purbeck. The area is the eastern gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site - walk along the South West Coast Path and pass the magnificent Old Harry Rocks, Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. Surrounded on three sides by sea water, coastal Purbeck boasts some of the best sea views and spectacular scenery along the whole of the south coast. Due to the outstanding geology and palaeontology, the Dorset (and East Devon) coastline has been listed as a Natural World Heritage Site and Jurassic Coastline.

Cumulus Outdoors are proud to be a Jurassic Coast Business Partner, donating £1 from bookings for Coasteering and Climbing to the Jurassic Coast Trust. The money raised goes towards conservation and education projects all along the World Heritage Site, helping to spread learning and understanding about this globally unique coastline, and, crucially, to safeguard it so that future generations can enjoy it as much as we do today.

With The Jurassic Coast Trust, we can offer bespoke educational sessions to enrich your school’s programme of activities, provided by the Jurassic Coast Trust team of specialist ambassadors and experts. These sessions can be used to enhance and enrich the Geography curriculum and tailored to the age group of your students.

Bushcraft

Our exciting Bushcraft sessions and challenges are geared to help you get back to basics whilst also enjoying the natural environment. Using our own woodland site on the Isle of Purbeck near Corfe Castle and Swanage, the sessions are fun and educational.

Our bushcraft & Survival Specialist, Ian, became infatuated with the outside environment at a young age and the bounty of knowledge he could gain from it, enjoying this environment so much he joined the Royal Marines in 2011 and has remained as a reservist ever since. As his passion to pursue this as a career grew, it brought on the drive to take up the role of an instructor and he sought out where he could achieve the necessary accreditations. The Level 4 Instructor’s course as accredited by the NCFE was his route in and through the multitude of courses he attended to obtain this, he began surrounding himself with like-minded individuals whilst training and travelling to remote areas of the world to learn some indigenous ways. The result being a selection of Bushcraft experiences led by someone with a genuine passion for what he does.

Watersports

Coasteering is a fabulous sea and cliff based activity, which allows you to explore the Jurassic Coast under the supervision of qualified and experienced instructors. This fun water based activity involves rock scrambling and jumping, swimming and cave exploration.

Kayaking, Stand-Up Paddleboarding and Raft Building are also available on the picturesque lake. Learn how to paddle and control a kayak and SUP plus master the skill of building your own raft and then racing across the lake!

Wildlife

We have partnered with the Dorset Wildlife Trust and with RSPB Arne so that your students can gain experience of the special environment (SSSI) on the Isle of Purbeck, a chalky heathland which sustains diverse fauna and flora species and is famous for being the home of all six of the native UK reptile species, breeding Dartford Warblers, Nightjars, Woodlarks and a large herd of Sikka deer. There are also large populations of migrant wading birds which over-winter on the mudflats of Poole Harbour. Your students can explore the home of these varied species under the guidance of experts from either organisation.

Medieval

A short drive from Swanage inland, is Corfe Castle, a quintessential English village which has grown up around an important defensive castle renowned in English history during the Civil war. Now owned and run by the National Trust, your students can visit the castle and learn about how Lady Mary Bankes defended the last Royalist garrison on the south coast with her children and an army of five men until one of her band led the Parliamentarians in through a side gateway.
The castle has a very long history from its original construction by William the Conqueror through its destruction after the Civil War to its preservation by the National Trust today. Your students will have a fun, hands-on history lesson with knowledgeable guides based at the Corfe Castle visitors centre.

Geology

Our residential centre location in Swanage, Dorset is a gateway town to the World Heritage Jurassic Coast. Here your students will have the opportunity to see the rocks and the resulting landscapes formed in three geological time periods called the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous, spanning the time between 250 million years ago and 65 million years ago in a 95 miles of the south coast from Exmouth in Devon to Studland in Dorset. We can provide you with classroom facilities to study this important geological area and with transport to get you to fossil rich areas such as Kimmeridge Bay, and the iconic Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. Our Business Partnership with the Jurassic Coast Trust enables us to arrange for bespoke sessions with their ambassadors to deliver sessions for your pupils on site or in the classroom.

Physical Geography

Curriculum topics available: Coasts and seaside.

Our residential centre location in Swanage, Dorset is a gateway town to the World Heritage Jurassic Coast. Here your students will have the opportunity to see the rocks and the resulting landscapes formed in three geological time periods called the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous, spanning the time between 250 million years ago and 65 million years ago in a 95 miles of the south coast from Exmouth in Devon to Studland in Dorset. We can provide you with classroom facilities to study this important geological area and with transport to get you to fossil rich areas such as Kimmeridge Bay, and the iconic Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. Our Business Partnership with the Jurassic Coast Trust enables us to arrange for bespoke sessions with their ambassadors to deliver sessions for your pupils on site or in the classroom.
Swanage Bay is an ideal location for studying coastal erosion and methods in place to try and slow the process down, walk over Ballard Down to see Old Harry Rocks as a perfect display of chalk stacks and then visit Lulworth Cove, Stair Hole and Durdle Door for the complete landform examples of the whole erosion process.

Physical Education

Team challenges, challenge by choice on all adventure activities, leadership

Fieldstudies

High quality residential Geography and Geology field study courses for GCSE, IGCSE, A Level, IBDP and Scottish Higher Level in the UK. We can tailor courses to meet your needs and we are happy to run courses for small class sizes.

• Camp-craft: Students will work through workshops scenarios which cover a range of Bushcraft skills. Tailored to meet the age and abilities of the group, these workshops are designed to enhance their skills.
• Kayaking: The students will have a lot of fun, learning how to control their kayaks and developing confidence in the water through basic paddle strokes and water safety techniques.
• Mackerel Fishing: Students will be taken along the coast to the best fishing spots with a friendly skipper who will show them the ropes and explain the fishing technique. Hopefully bringing back lots of Mackerel for the camp fire!
• Rock Climbing & Abseiling: The students will learn how to fit a climbing harness, tie basic climbing knots and enjoy sea cliff climbing.
• Coasteering: An action-packed adventure along the world famous Jurassic Coastline, coasteering takes students on an exploration of caves, rock pools and cliffs. The activity includes swimming, scrambling and cliff jumping.
• Dorset Waterpark: Dorset Waterpark is a huge Woodland Waterpark spread over two lakes overlooking Corfe Castle. Each lake features different challenges for you to tackle.
• In-camp entertainment: The students will work in their teams to compete in a series of fun challenges, putting their problem-solving skills to the test

From 10 up to 100

Yes at our Residential Centre

Yes, all our activity instructors have a minimum 16 hour First Aid qualification

We have disabled facilities at the residential centre, please contact us for details.

We do have the capacity to cater for these children, please contact us for further details.

Dorset Tourism Awards 2019 Cumulus Outdoors Gold Award
"A great team and excellent instructors in a superb location"

What our customers say:

I have used Cumulus for two years in a row for our sixth form team bonding residential, with us having already booked in for next year! I cannot fault the company - quick at replying, good at tailoring a programme and excellent friendly instructors. Our students have had a fantastic time - coasteering, climbing, orienteering, mud trail, water park and doing team games. The setting where they have the tipis is just beautiful. I can 100% say you will not regret booking with them, whether that is for yourself as a family or part of a larger group.
Elizabeth
April 2019

Our Year 6 team take 80+ pupils to Swanage for a three day residential every year and we have a great time. We fish for mackerel, kayak and spend an afternoon on the water park...to name but a few activities. The staff are great and the children have an amazing time-sensitive do the teaching staff. Communication with Cumulus is excellent and they go out of their way to create a bespoke programme of activities. The campsite is a peaceful haven, when it isn't t full of the children's laughter and singing.
If you are looking for a fantastic residential trip, then Cumulus Outdoors are the people to contact.
Sian
March 2019