Get active in the Borderlands after isolation

The Borderlands tale so far...

Borderlands Outdoor started as a pipe dream 5 years ago. We (Laura and Martin) had been living in the Wye Valley for 3 years already and fallen in love with the area. We're both outdoor pursuits instructors and love sharing adventures with visitors to the area so we decided to set up our own little business; I mean, how hard could it be right? 

Three months working on our first (very basic) website taught me that there's a reason why people pay web developers and, with hindsight, it's not necessarily best to start a business and a family at the same time. Our son is 4 months younger than Borderlands! Despite all the sleepless nights early on (for more than one reason) we grew in confidence and enjoyed every minute.

The most satisfying bit of those early days was the first few activities and courses we ran. It was great to know that people were willing to put their trust in Borderlands.

Where we are now

5 years on and Borderlands has become a full time (and more) undertaking. We put on about 10 navigation courses per year, have taught bushcraft to brides, archery to architects and last year took the step of investing in the kit to provide rock climbing, abseiling and caving adventures. We now have a small team of trusted freelance instructors who help out with activities.

On top of all of that, our outdoor first aid courses have absolutely taken off. From 7 people on our first course we now train around 200 people per year including outdoor instructors, ecologists, mountain bikers and at least one Paralympian! We've spent much of the last year working to bring additional trainers in to help us cope with the demand for these courses.

Come and join us

The bread and butter of our business is outdoor first aid courses and it looks likely that we'll end up having to cancel several of these over the coming months, along with losing customers who are self-isolating. At the same time, we've been really looking forward to a summer of getting back to our roots, with a big push to get more people active in the Wye Valley on our bushcraft, archery, caving and climbing adventure sessions. 

We'd love for you to join us once the Covid-19 issues have calmed down, so we're offering discounts on courses and activities to everyone who jumps on board to book now.

Thanks for your support; we're really looking forward to seeing you on the other side of this!