Rope Runners

2010-10-21T22:57:00.002+01:00

We are now fifteen months in to the life of Rope Runners. We have had a really good first year and are really driving forward as we enter our second year. We would like to thank everyone for their help and support over the past months - to our customers and our amazing team of staff - WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!

Now that we have sorted the day to day stuff, my aim for this second year is to really get switched on with our website. Blogging and keeping you guys upto date is part of that so watch out for regular updates on what we're upto.

On Friday we are looking forward to welcoming St Thomas More School from Southend and getting ready for our week of Halloween themed fun next week for half term!

2009-06-09T11:01:00.003+01:00

Wow, where has the last month gone! We have been so busy getting ready to open. The course is coming on well and is beginning to look really great -we are all itching to get up there and have a go.

I have been very busy getting ready all the forms and paperwork that we will need for the business and doing outreach to schools and youth groups. It seems to be paying off as we have bookings coming in already - corporate, schools, youth groups - all of them. It's a good feeling, because it means we were right to pursue this dream for so long!

We have also been promoting the business at events such as The Military Vehicle Show -Bunker Bash 2009 - and the Charity Classic Vehicle Club rally and Autojumble.

Kevin was accosted in our local supermarket - a lady grabbed him and told him to stay put while she fetched her husband and proceeded to tell him that this was where he was having his 30th birthday party.

We have also had people offer to distribute leaflets for us, taking them to clubs, schools, and their places of work, which is immensely kind and really cool!

We are using a leaflet distribution company to put out our leaflets and this seems to be working well - we have had lots of enquiries from people who have picked up their leaflet in a train station, or a supermarket etc. Lets hope they all book!

I've sent a press release to all the local papers this week too, some of them have covered parts of our story before - when we were applying for and granted planning permission, so watch out in your local press if you live in Essex - you might just see us in the paper!

All we need to do now, is pray for a long hot summer - it won't really make much difference, but it would be nice!

Check back soon for more updates and news on our official opening.

2009-05-02T07:34:00.003+01:00

1st May was the day that I officially went self employed and also the day that we expanded our family to include "Boots" - a black, white and gold Tibetan terrier. We had always promised the children that we would have a dog when our work commitments changed so that we weren't both out at work all day and this seemed like the ideal opportunity. We had given getting a dog a lot of thought - we have had to be mindful that we will have the general public on site and that not everyone is a dog lover. We eventually settled on Tibetans because of their medium size, the fact that they do not moult and are generally accepted as being tolerated by people with allergies. We were lucky enough to find Mike and Vita Davies from Pinrow Kennel at Little Downham near Ely who were kind enough to keep Boots for us until I finished work. Check out his pictures later.

Sponsors

2009-05-02T06:42:00.003+01:00

When we were fundraising initially we hit on the idea of selling poles. People could buy poles and have them names after themselves or someone else. Below is a list of the people who were generous enough to sponsor a pole for us and the person they have dedicated their pole to if applicable.

Caryl Thomas (2) (In memory of David)

Richard Barnes

Chris and Graham Storey (For Sydney)

2009-05-02T06:34:00.004+01:00

It's amazing how often the saying "One step forward, two steps backwards" is true of starting your own business and that's no exception for us. Unfortunately the build is later starting than we hoped, but we are pushing hard to crack on and make up time. I finished work on Thursday after 12 years with Bayer and that has made it all seem so real and so much closer. I thought I might be upset, but it was fine really because we have so many exciting plans and so much to do. I also live next door but one to my (former) regional manager, so it wasn't like I had to say a major goodbye, because I will still get to keep up with all the news through her.

The brochures are at print now - we did have a heart stopping moment when we realised that the phone number on the front was wrong! 60,000 leaflets with the wrong number on would have been a nightmare!

We have had our first enquiry as a result of the banner that we put up at the Bunker and also have someone who wants to come and see us with regard to bringing youth groups down regularly - so it's beginning to happen.

The website is under construction now - still looking a bit bare at the moment, but that's because we've been waiting for the final brochure wording so we can keep them the same. Check it out at www.roperunners.co.uk

Thanks for reading - keep checking back - there will be lots more news soon!

2009-04-12T22:56:00.008+01:00

Now that work is about to start on the course there seems to be more to do than ever. We are designing brochures, gathering information and pictures for our website, pricing up personal protective equipment, recruiting staff and starting our outreach programme to schools and youth groups. We have had several enquiries from the public and corporate groups and WE HAVE TAKEN OUR FIRST BOOKING!
I finish work at the end of April which seems like a major watershed, but there will be plenty to do to keep me occupied.
Please take time to look at the websites for all our suppliers and partners - we really appreciate all they have done for us!!!

2009-04-12T22:41:00.005+01:00

In February we were able to meet with Ian Roberts from Ropeworks and finalise the designs for the course - we are lucky that we have benefitted from the knowledge he has gained from some recent projects he has done and from his involvement with the European Ropes Course Association and the development of the new European Norm. This has enabled us to adapt our original ideas and plan a course that meets all the current and expected legislation whilst at the same time incorporating the best features and elements into our course.
We also began preparing High Ash Wood for the build. It had always been our intention to work around the existing trees as much as possible since we want clients to experience being among the trees and this was reflected in our planning application and woodland management plan. We have only coppiced or felled sycamore trees and we will be reusing all the wood that we have cut within our operating area. Sycamore is being used as path edging, fence posts and rails. We have also built natural "walls" of the smaller cuttings and we are thrilled to find that small mammals and insects are already using this material as their homes.
We had several weekends working hard with the help of many friends cutting, carrying, raking and generally getting scratched to death by brambles. We would like to thank Mickey, Bob, Simon, Nina, Jim, June, Richard and of course Hollie and Joel for all their help!
We have now given Ian the full go ahead and work starts on the 27th April 2009 - we have given him a list of priorities so that we don't interfere with a few key events, such as the Bunker Bash 2009 (military vehicle show) and the Whitweek Holiday. We should be open fully in June and will be having an official opening sometime early in the summer. Watch this space for more details...

2009-04-12T22:25:00.003+01:00

As usual when starting a new business we spent hours burning the candle at both ends, trying to make sure we were fair to our current employers, while at the same time do all the necessary work involved in starting a business. I think we must have destroyed a small rain forest printing out drafts of business plans etc and I've lost track of the number of spreadsheets we started. Slowly things began to come together and take shape. It was incredibly frustrating that so many things were dependant on other people - we sometimes felt as though we needed to give up work straight away to concentrate all our efforts on getting the thing started sooner, but we also realised that just because things were at the top of our list of priorities, they weren't always at the top of other peoples lists - we had to bide our time and just move when the time and circumstances were right.
One factor that affected the time everything took was the fact that not many people outside of the industry understand the concept of ropes courses. We had to explain the whole concept to bank people, solicitors, printers, website designers etc.
As a result of the delays we experienced, we ran into problems when the bank got cold feet towards the end of 2008. This was as a direct result of the worsening financial crisis, however we were able to convince them that our business plans were sound and that we couldn't afford to miss this opportunity - if we didn't open a ropes course in the Essex area, then someone else would!
We celebrated Christmas knowing that 2009 would be a new start for us and were constantly blown away by our lovely children, Hollie and Joel, who accepted everything we threw at them and who backed us every step of the way.

2009-03-30T23:20:00.002+01:00

After planning permission was granted we increased our activity around talking to course builders - over the years we had spoken to several course builders to get their input into various course designs for sites we were considering and this had helped us choose the company who will ultimately build our course for us - Ropeworks of North Wales. Ropeworks came recommended to us by Jon Smith and Tim Vollum of Get-Wet, The Adventure Company, based in Bala, who had used Ropeworks at their site.

2009-03-30T23:09:00.005+01:00

The telephone numbers turned out to be for Mr Mike Parrish, the owner of the Secret Nuclear Bunker at Kelvedon Hatch, near Brentwood. After several initial discussions a possible site was identified and some preliminary work undertaken to assess the site for suitability. Having received the news that the site looked likely from a planning and ecology perspective, preparation went full ahead. Eco-Planning UK undertook an extensive Ecology report on our behalf and Hayhurst Planning Services prepared a detailed Design and Access statement as part of our planning application. We began canvassing support from local people, in particular the Parish Council at Kelvedon Hatch, in view of the opposition our biggest rival encounterred when they tried to open a course in 2005/6 we were expecting some opposition, however we adopted a policy of openess and communication from the outset, and this appears to have paid dividends. We even developed a good working relationship with the local planning department, who appeared to be keen to help us get our plans off the ground - possibly a benefit of the upcoming Olympics in 2012. We felt very pleased and thoroughly vindicated in our choice of venue when planning permission was granted in June 2008 without it going to the full committee!!!!

2009-03-14T21:50:00.003Z

So then followed months of dragging our kids around Essex at the weekend, looking for woods, or likely open spaces. Calls of "Why can't we go to Lakeside like "Normal" people, were regularly heard from our car. We risked life and limb, climbing over fences, driving up lengthy driveways and knocking on strange doorways, all in search of "the perfect site".

Twice more we thought we had found possible sites - and there were plenty of meetings with landowners, and the Ecologist, who always eventually shook their heads and said "No".

After two years we had to give it a break - we had exhausted every possible site we could think of, and our family were suffering in pursuit of "our dream". So for several months, nothing happened. Then one day Jo had a really bad day at work, and the impetus returned. Working as a sales rep for a medical equipment company, covering Essex, she vowed to call on every farm she passed that day. Three farms later, she found herself talking to a lady who offered a glimer of hope. "It's not something we'd be interested in, but I have the number of someone who might be". Jo took the small piece of paper, that had just one name and two numbers on it. That was the turning point.

2009-03-13T22:51:00.000Z

We are Kevin and Jo, husband and wife, currently living in Essex. We discovered Parcours in France in Dol De Bretagne in 2004 and were hooked! We loved it, our kids loved it and our friends loved it, so we came home and decided it would be easy to start our own in England. Parcours consists of wires and ropes running between trees with different activities to tackle on each element. Users wear harnesses and helmets and clip on and off safety wires as they go round at different levels. The higher you go, the harder the obstacles are. In England these activities are called High Ropes Adventure.

O how foolish we were! In the light of a few vin blancs, it all seemed so simple. So as soon as we arrived home, we set about finding a site. We found one very quickly - with lovely trees, perfect for what we wanted, and right on the edge of our home town, so we talked to the Powers That Be. Unfortunately we live in the South of England, Essex to be precise, where green belt is everywhere and where every tree has a preservation order on it. Our first conversation with the local planning department went something like this..."Want to do something involving trees? Tough, you can't! We'll never grant planning permission... and did you say there's a pond - well there'll be Great Crested Newts too "
So it was back to the drawing board, how else could we do it without hurting Essex's precious trees (or the Newts)? Then an idea struck us - POLES that's how - no damage to the trees, but we still had to find a site, and it had promptly doubled the cost!