TrekCo are now one of the UK’s largest independent outdoor adventure companies. Simply a great outdoor adventure activity provider, established in 1989, we have 50 instructors in the summer, and provide activities in Sussex, The Peak District, The Lake District, North Wales and the French Alps.

We are known for our friendly and professional instructors, who are older than the industry norm and have tremendous enthusiasm for making sure you have a great time and are safe and happy all along the way. Our instructors hold various awards including several MCI (Mountaineering & Climbing Instructor) Holders, IML (International Mountain Leader), many RCI (Rock Climbing Instructor) and ML (Mountain Leader) holders, BCU (British Canoe Union) Coaches up to Level 4, qualified teachers, Mountain Bike Leaders and more.

History

TrekCo was started by Steve Ranger in 1989, when he was a teacher. The first trip was to the Yorkshire Dales in August 1989, and Steve left teaching the following year to concentrate solely on TrekCo.

The first trips were mostly in the Lake District, taking groups of up to a couple of minibuses and either camping or staying in centres. Early staff included Paul Morley, Dean Straker, Dan Wajzner and Bradley Carr. In those days there were no such things as the SPA (now RCI) climbing qualifications, so all staff were just very experienced climbing friends.

The first TrekCo Alps trip was in 1991 with a group of sixth formers, and these continue to this day. We discovered the activities by going and doing them, and by the mid-nineties had done just about every canyon and climb in the area.

In 1993 the SPA was introduced and we all did it that year in Cornwall.

During the 1990s Steve was asked to do more trips in Sussex by local schools who wanted something for younger students that wasn’t so far away. We started running trips at Broadstone Warren and Blackland Farm, and these became regular features. From being mostly trips up north, TrekCo became more based at Blackland Farm with the sheer numbers of students wanting to come.

Throughout this time we gained an excellent reputation based on our staff, which we retain to this day. We are known throughout the south for our quality of instruction.

In the middle of the 1990s Steve asked Paul, who had been helping on trips since the early days of TrekCo, to become a partner in the business. Paul left his budding teaching career and became Schools Director of TrekCo.

Steve passed his International Mountain Leader Award in 1994, gained a Masters Degree in Education specialising in Outdoor Education in 1995, and then his Mountaineering Instructor Award in 1997.

TrekCo started to grow very quickly in the late 1990s and into the 2000s, until we had around 40 – 50 staff working at the height of the summer. We decided at this point that we would rather not take on more staff in the season, but to extend the season and to diversify into other areas so that we were maximising the use of the time available.

In 2007 Deers Leap mountain bike park just on the same lane as Blackland Farm closed down. It had been open since 1995 under the previous owners, who are still the landlords, but for family reasons they didn’t want to continue. Steve asked whether the business was available and took it on, adding another dimension to the business.

In 2009 TrekCo became only the 15th company in the UK to be an official provider of expeditions to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – a recognition of our high standards. Then in 2010 we gained the ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ Badge.

Nowadays we concentrate on Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expeditions, GCSE PE climbing courses, and residentials in the Peak District and French Alps.

TrekCo remain committed to providing excellent instruction and delivering traditional type outdoor activities. We don’t have a Mission Statement, an HR Department, a sales team or any management speak – so feel free to contact us and we’d love to talk to you about what outdoor activities we can organise for you!