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PLANNING YOUR VISIT

Careful planning makes for a perfect visit

To make the most of your visit to Chellington we've put together some useful resources for you. Whether you intend to stay close to the centre, or want to travel further afield, you'll find lots of useful information to make your visit a success.

We are in the process of writing new educational resources for The Chellington Centre, if you require any further information or would like something specific, please contact our Education and Development Manager

Sample programmes

For a residential visit to be successful careful planning is required in advance. To help you with your planning, sample programmes are available for downloading. Just click on the links below.

You can use these to adapt for your own programme run entirely by your own staff or you can ask us to co-ordinate and support the programme with and for you.

Please note that if you need one of our staff to Co-ordinate such programmes an additional charge will be made. An average (guideline)charge per day would be £175 for a member of staff and any activity costs and materials within the programme. Guided programmes like this are available from Easter 2012.

Sample Programme A
Sample Programme B

Activity worksheets

Local walks from Chellington

Walk 1: Carlton village and the Piper's Way
Walk 2: Harrold-Odell Country Park
Walk 3: Harrold-Odell Country Park & Odell
Walk 4: Harrold-Odell Country Park & Odell (wet weather route)

Shortcut to Harrold Bridge
It is possible to take a shortcut for all the walks that include the Harrold-Odell Country Park and Harrold village. You can start these at the Centre and cross the field behind the Centre. It is recommended that you use this route only when it's dry.

• From the front door of the Centre cross the churchyard to the left until you reach a stile.
• Cross the stile and immediately turn left. Follow the wall and turn left again.
  Now proceed down the rough track and through the gateway at the bottom of the hill into open pasture.
• Follow the faint path that goes across the field diagonally towards a footpath sign in the distant hedge.
• Leave the field by via the stile below the footpath sign. It is worth taking a slight detour to the very corner of the field to your right in order to get a good view of Harrold Bridge and its weirs.

Note that:

1. In wet weather the track down the hill becomes VERY muddy.
2. The field frequently has animals in it and they can be very curious and follow you.
3. The exit from the field is on to the busy Carlton-Harrold road. You join it at the traffic lights and great care is needed when negotiating the crossing of the bridge. There is a refuge in the centre of the bridge.
4. The river below the bridge is extremely dangerous and though it may look inviting, swimming is strongly advised against.
5. When you first arrive at Chellington, this walk can provide a very good introduction to the countryside and to the local area.
   

Local people and places

A growing number of locations and individuals work with the Centre to provide memorable experiences for visiting groups. These include a number of local environments that provide unique experiences and individuals who can offer visitors memorable and stimulating presentations.

Harrold-Odell Country Park consists of 144 acres of beautiful countryside. It is within walking distance of the Centre and most of the Park is available for you to explore.  The Park's main features are two lakes, river meadows, woodland and the  banks of the River Great Ouse. Together they provide a fantastic variety of scenery and habitat most of which are linked by well made-up paths. To contact the Ranger Richard Dowsett, please email him at Richard.dowsett@bedscc.gov.uk. Richard looks at his emails every Friday so if you haven't heard from him by Monday please ring him on 07792 721 866. The Harrold-Odell Country Park has an active programme for the development of interpretive materials. These include an expanding range of Information Sheets, Activities, Trails and Recognition Sheets. All materials can be downloaded free of charge from their website.

Hill House Farm, Carlton, is a working farm with a herd of beef cattle and other animals. It is also an equestrian centre that is home to the Hill House Cross-Country course. The owners John and Jane Tusting conduct guided tours of the farm strictly by arrangement. Contact telephone number: 01234 720 908.

Native American Indian Experience. Paddy Staplehurst lives in Carlton and is a Native American from the Tuscarora tribe. Her indian name is Winan Winagi meaning 'Spirit woman with soul'. Paddy gives illustrated talks to local schools using pictures and genuine artifacts. These talks are well received and in addition to supporting aspects of the history curriculum, give rise to opportunities for artwork and creative writing. There is a charge for each session which includes the cost of a CD-ROM containing images of the artifacts used during Paddy's presentation. Contact Paddy by telephone on 01234 720 621.

Attractions for day trips

See our page on what's around The Chellington Centre for more information about what you can do while you're at the centre.

A list of things to bring with you

You can download a printable version of this list here.

Equipment available at Chellington

See our comprehensive list of games available at The Chellington Centre here.

Equipment available for hire (Current prices in brackets where applicable)

Multi media package (from £25.75) consisting of:
   Digital Projector
   Screen
   DVD player
   Speaker system

OHP & screen (£10.50)

Flip Charts (£5.15 for each of 2)

Guidelines for a successful visit

We are keen that Chellington is used to its maximum effect but safely. We have therefore done a lot of the work, which will hopefully make your life easier.

If you do find any gaps in what we have done, then please let us know, then we can do it even better in the future.

Arrival
Departure
Insurance
Health and Safety

If you have any special requirements or need any further information on how to get the best from your visit, please contact us.