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About us

About Lodge Hill

About Lodge Hill Activity Centre

At Lodge Hill, we are more than just an outdoor activity centre – we are a charitable trust dedicated to enriching lives through outdoor education and adventure. Located in Pulborough, the heart of the South Downs National Park, our mission is to provide transformative experiences for children, young people, and adults of all abilities and aspects of life through a wide range of outdoor learning opportunities.

As a charity, we are driven by our commitment to making a positive impact on the communities we serve. By providing inclusive, high-quality outdoor experiences, we aim to inspire a sense of adventure, foster personal development, and create lasting memories for all those who visit us.

Whether you’re an individual seeking personal growth, a school or group looking for a unique educational experience, or a corporate team in need of innovative team building, we are here to help you reach new heights.

Join us at Lodge Hill – where adventure, education, and personal growth come together to enrich lives.

President of the Trust is Col. Sir Brian Barttelot, Bt. OBE DL.

Our Trustees are:

  • Matthew Wykes, Chair of Trustees
  • David Adams
  • Louise Gisbey
  • Anna Tapponnier
  • Tony Lawman
  • Mick Gisbey
  • Rowan Westwood

About Lodge Hill Activity Centre

The front reception of Lodge Hill

Our Objectives

We aim to deliver the following outcomes to all groups and individuals that come to Lodge Hill:

  • To introduce new, challenging experiences with exposure to controlled risk
  • Challenge negative beliefs
  • Promote wellbeing and connectedness through outdoor activity and the willingness to participate in diverse activities
  • Build self-worth, self-esteem and confidence
  • Build and nurture relationships
  • To develop positive attitudes to health and wellbeing
  • Develop strong core values through mutual respect which will impact positively on everyday life
  • To reduce anxiety, stress and challenging behaviours through outdoor activity
  • To promote decision making, risk taking, self-care and understanding
  • To promote positive mental and physical health in the short and longer terms

In addition, our outcomes for disabled, older and vulnerable individuals and groups are:

  • To reduce isolation
  • To reduce stress, anxiety and depression which in turn will reduce the dependence on health and social services
  • Improve emotional and physical health
  • Lessen the reliance on social media, computerised and phone equipment
  • Improve sleep patterns
  • Introduce stealth skills in communication, team work and improved thinking processes
  • Improve cognition
  • Promote independence and keeping safe
  • Promote equality
  • Promote and support physical activity and improve fitness, leading to better choices in general life

Meet the team

Katie Collet

CEO

Darren Worsfold

Activities Manager

Mel Wakeham

Business Administration Manager

Charleigh Bartlett

House Manager

Lucy Cobden

Business Development Officer

Jordan Cobden

Grounds & Facilities Officer

Kat Franklin

Lead Instructor

Jodi Adams

Activity Instructor

Freddie Spurling

Activity Instructor

Pippa Edwards

Chef

History

In 1828, the Lodge Hill estate was leased by the Bishop of Chichester on behalf of the Church Commissioners to Robert Watkins Esq. Fifty years later, in November 1878, the estate was sold to a London solicitor, who built the main house, and named it Watersfield Towers. He lived here for a number of years. 

For the next 30 years, the property remained as a family home until a company known as the Lodge Hill Estate Limited was formed and Watersfield Towers opened its doors as a country hotel.

With the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, the house, together with it’s 32 acres of land, was requisitioned by West Sussex County Council due to it’s outlook which extends over 40 miles. The hotel became the headquarters of the mobile A.R.P Reserve and served as such until 1945.

In 1946 the house and land were bought for £30,500 by the West Sussex County Council to provide a venue for educational opportunities especially for young people, thus fulfilling the Council’s obligations under the 1945 Education Act.

The centre was named ‘The Lodge Hill Residential Centre’ and remained under the County Council ownership until March 1999.

In 1999, the County Council was due to close the facility when Penny Hardwick OBE set about raising the necessary funds within a short period of time to save it for the future of young people across the county.

Through public support, £1 million was raised enabling the newly formed Lodge Hill Trust to purchase a 125 year lease of the centre for £720,000 with enough money left to make an Endowment Fund to be used in cases of emergency. On 14th September 2005, West Sussex County Council sold the freehold of the centre to the Lodge Hill Trust for £1.

Penny Hardwick OBE remained as President of the Charity until her passing in April 2018. Col. Sir Brian Bartelott, Bt. OBE DL, who helped Penny raise the funds to save Lodge Hill in the late 1990’s, has taken up the reigns as our President.

Black and white photo of Lodge Hill

Check out these photos of Lodge Hill from the past

FAQs

If we need to cancel or postpone an event, we will honour the booking terms agreed at the time of booking. Depending on the circumstances and the terms of your booking, this may include offering a refund or tickets for the new date.

Unfortunately, our event bookings are non-refundable and non-transferable, so we’re unable to move bookings to another date or provide a refund if you can no longer attend. This includes holiday clubs, SEND days, seasonal events etc. This policy is outlined in our terms and conditions and is also shown on each individual event page before a booking is made. We understand that plans can change, and we appreciate that being able to move a booking or receive a refund would sometimes be preferable. However, our events require a significant amount of planning and preparation, including arranging staff, instructors, external vendors, equipment and other resources based on the number of bookings we receive. Once these arrangements have been made, we may still be committed to costs even if bookings are cancelled or changed at short notice. As a charity, last minute cancellations and date changes can therefore have a significant financial impact on us. For this reason, we need to apply our non-refundable and non-transferable policy consistently to all bookings. We really appreciate your understanding and support in helping us continue to run our events.

Unfortunately, we do not accept childcare vouchers at this time. As a charity, we aim to keep our prices as affordable as possible for all families, and we currently aren’t registered to process childcare voucher schemes.

We understand this may be disappointing and really appreciate your understanding and support.

Unfortunately, we’re not able to offer additional discounts at this time. As a charity ourselves, we already strive to keep our prices as low as possible for schools, scout & girl guiding groups, youth groups, other charities, and small businesses. Our pricing is set to cover only the essential costs such as staff wages, cleaning, maintenance, and general wear and tear.

We do have a separate corporate rate for larger businesses, which helps us continue offering affordable pricing to community groups and organisations.

We truly value the incredible work of NHS staff, emergency services, and other charitable organisations, and we hope to be in a position to offer discounts in the future. For now, keeping our prices affordable for all remains our top priority.

Unfortunately not. All of our activities must be pre-booked due to other groups on site and instructor availability. Send us an enquiry to get booked in!

Our instructors are highly qualified and well-trained across a range of activities, ensuring our centre provides both safe and enjoyable experiences. Training is delivered on-site and through recognised national training bodies. Our full-time activities team hold European Ropes Course Association (ERCA) High Ropes Instructor and ERCA Rescue qualifications. In addition, all instructors undergo specific training for on-site ropes activities, ensuring the highest standards of safety and expertise. Furthermore, our instructors are certified by a variety of prestigious organisations, including Archery GB, the National Smallbore Rifle Association (NSRA), British Fencing, the British Schools Cycling Association (BSCA) for mountain biking, and Mountain Training’s Lowland Leader qualification. All staff at Lodge Hill are DBS checked and have an up to date Level 3 First Aid qualification along with Safeguarding and Fire Safety.

Our activities are all-weather so will go ahead come rain or shine! The only time we will suspend or cancel activities is during thunder and lightning or extreme high winds. Our activities team will continue to monitor inclement weather and update you of any changes to your activities. Please see our weather policy for more detailed information.

We suggest wearing comfortable clothes that are weather appropriate as you will be outdoors in the woods and potentially could get wet and muddy. Your shoes must be closed toe (no flip flops or sliders on the activities!) and some activities may require long sleeves.

We don’t supply bedding unfortunately. We ask that every guest brings a sleeping bag/duvet, bottom sheet and a pillowcase (we supply pillows).

Every activity has a separate risk assessment on the activities page. Each group must do their own site risk assessment before their visit.

For all enquiries, please complete the ‘contact us’ form or alternatively, email enquiries@lodgehill.org.uk with as much detail as possible and a member of the team will contact you. All events can be booked directly on our website via our events page.

All of our activities have a minimum age requirement of 7 years old. Our High Zip Wire and Low Zip Wire have a maximum weight limit of 16 stone and a maximum height limit of 6ft 1. To use the disability hoist on Abseiling or High Zip Wire, all participants must have stability in their neck to avoid injury.

Our example kit list:
    • Towel
    • Wash bag (soap, flannel, toothbrush, toothpaste)
    • Pyjamas
    • Socks/underwear
    • T-shirts (long and short sleeved)
    • Trousers (tracksuit bottoms/jeans)
    • A pair of trainers/boots (that can get muddy)
    • A pair of indoor shoes
    • Waterproof jacket
    • Jumpers/hoodies/fleeces
    • Water bottle
    • Sleeping bag
    • Pillow/pillowcase
    • Bottom sheet
Summer: Sun cream and sun hat Winter: Gloves, winter hat and wellies Please ensure you pack enough clothing to last the duration of the stay as we do not provide spare clothing.

We sell souvenirs which can be pre-ordered before arriving or purchased on the first day of your trip. Prices range from £1 – £5. We accept cash or card.

We do not have a café – all hot drinks and food must be pre-booked at the time of returning your booking forms. Unless stated otherwise, we don’t have the option to buy food at our events.