Pupils from Eton College and employees at Sainsbury's supermarket in Derry are among the diverse groups who have walked, climbed, sailed and canoed their way around Donegal with the help of staff at Gartan Outdoor Education Centre, near Churchill.
The VEC-owned centre, which can accommodate 50 people, is occupied virtually all year round. Some 2,800 people passed through last year. It is now about to expand further, putting a new emphasis on attracting tourists to the area. A new accommodation block with 10 en suite twin rooms is to be built to supplement the existing hostel-style accommodation, in a project that has got financial backing from Bord Failte.
Centre manager Ursula MacPherson says it has benefited from its superb location. Based in old stone stable buildings, beautifully restored, the centre is situated in its own 87-acre estate on the edge of Lough Gartan. A white water river runs from the lake and many activities can take place on the grounds.
Trained instructors offer courses at all levels, from beginner programmes for school groups to specialist courses for instructors, in activities such as hill-walking, rock-climbing, orienteering, sailing, environmental studies, windsurfing and canoeing. Groups and individuals are catered for in weekend or week-long courses.
Employees from various companies have been taken to Gartan with the aim of improving staff cohesiveness and team-building. While the day may be spent crossing lakes and mountains, sometimes with a bit of raft-building thrown in, people can be assured a hot shower and a warm bed for the night.
"Everybody needs to find adventure in their lives, and it can be in all different kinds of areas," says Ursula. For young people at a stage when they "could go either way", outdoor activities offer socially acceptable adventure and an opportunity to work with fellow students, while at the same time gaining a greater appreciation of the environment.
She herself is certainly a good role model. She became the first Irish woman to complete one of the most difficult endurance races in the world, the Eco challenge, in Argentina late last year, along with three male colleagues. After enduring high-altitude climbing, white-water rafting and a 16-hour stint on horseback, she lost three-quarters of a stone over five days. In the first 42 hours the team only slept for one hour. The Irish team came 24th out of 54 from all over the world.
Despite minor complaints such as blisters and sore ankles, she is determined to do it all again next year. A woman who flies aircraft in her spare time, she says the experience of seeing sunrise at the top of Mount Tronadur in the Andes and working with a team of people makes it more than worthwhile.
(Gartan OEC can be contacted on 074- 37032/92)