BUSINESS TEAM RETREAT

Detox your team from the preoccupations and demands of business and city life and afford them the opportunity to measure themselves against the elements. The wild landscape here gives space to think and shared experiences to bring key members of your organisation closer together.

Shared experiences

Spend time with colleagues away from the working environment where shared experiences together in the mountains and on the sea can help to build a stronger team who understand each other better.

Walking in the mountains and magnificent remote lowland areas, gentle sea kayaking on a calm sea loch, sea fishing onboard our workboats and lifting lobster pots. It is not designed to exhaust participants, nor do we put contrived teambuilding tasks in your way.

Gruppo Alimentario Citrus business leaders on Arkle

‘THREE PRINCIPLES’ AND OUR HISTORY

There is a history of ground-breaking expeditions that were seeded from or started here at Ardmore. From John Ridgway’s 1966 North Atlantic row, with Chay Blyth, to single-handed non-stop sailing voyages around the world, and Rebecca’s 1992 first female sea kayak circumnavigation of Cape Horn.

Three principles, that came from that initial 1966 Atlantic Crossing; self-reliance, positive thinking and leaving people and places better than you found them have stood the test of time and have practical applications in daily life over fifty years on.

Our courses stop at Ardmore to see the vessels that undertook those voyages, hear stories of those adventures and Rebecca can give an after-dinner talk about her own experiences at sea.

TIME AND SPACE TO THINK

Large landscapes and a simpler existence help to give perspective. Away from the immediacy of the business environment, there is a chance to stand back from the detail, to leave daily decision making to Rebecca, Mark and our instructors, and to look at your own ‘bigger picture’.

The remote setting of the Adventure School offers simple but comfortable accommodation just yards from the waters edge. Our chef prepares delicious cooked breakfasts, ingredients to create your packed lunch to take with you on your day, afternoon tea when you return with our instructors, and three-course evening meals using local and seasonal produce.

Ben Stack and Loch Laxford from the Ardmore Peninsula

Case study: GAC Valencia

A team of nine divisional leaders joined us for six days. Many of the team had conversed frequently by email, telephone or conference call but had rarely spent much time together or understood much about each other’s business responsibilities.

The objective; to spend time together in a simple environment away from the business, build stronger relationships through shared experiences away from the immediacy of the office, to immerse themselves in an English-speaking environment, and, when appropriate, discuss the wider issues facing the organisation.

The GAC team above Sandwood Bay

We guided them on small adventures in the mountains and on the sea, all carefully designed within the confines of physical ability.

We used our workboats to go sea fishing and cross to Ardmore.

Some even swam in the sea loch before breakfast and climbed to the high ground above the Adventure to watch the sun set over the Atlantic.

In the evenings, and around the woodburning stove in the dining room, the discussion would naturally drift to the business, and how they as a team would take it forwards.

Rebecca and Mark tailored the course to our needs and, with the help of their enthusiastic and experienced team, the week spent at Ardmore surpassed all expectations.
Jackie Van De Velde – for Gruppo Alimentaro Citrus

WHEN

We typically run bespoke courses in late-Spring or early-Autumn.

HOW TO ARRANGE

The content of every course is slightly different and we create the content based on the needs of your organisation and our understanding of the landscape here.

Contact Rebecca for an informal chat and to find out more.

More information