Inside Out started back in 2014 and was the combination of several dreams and aspirations. The aim was to create something special; an honest and real outdoor experience where young people had the room, support and space to learn and develop. We wanted to help young people embrace the outdoors, which (thanks to nearly a decade in education) we already knew had so many benefits. We knew it supported positive mental health, applied learning and education. We also knew it had huge impacts on resilience and confidence.

 

So many of our team were 'your' children. The children that didn't find the confidence or courage to go on adventures with school, scouts, guides or cadets. The young people that struggled to try something new. We wanted to give children an opportunity to not just read other peoples adventure stories and say 'I wish'; but live their own. We wanted young people to make their own stories and take them back to those special places and people they call home & family and retell those stories for years to come.    

That was the aim: As a business we didn't take any starting loans or grants. Instead, our founding members (Nathan & Laura) took extra jobs to get the training and resources behind them. They visited schools, community groups and providers and gradually grew Inside Out Education as an idea and a company. 

In October 2016 - Inside Out held its first free open day and its first ever Birthday Party. In 2017 Inside Out hired its first staff cohort (in addition to the founding members) and ran the first ever Bushcraft & Adventure Holiday Camps in summer and autumn. In true bushcraft form; the set up was limited and basic. We had a 2.5m x 2.5m tarp suspended using cut birch as a kitchen; which regularly flopped over... we had a kettle that was basically a teapot - we just soldered a quarter of a bicycle wheel to it to make a larger handle. And then there were the toilets - a wooden box with a toilet seat on top - over a 4ft hole we had to dig. But we loved every single second... and children seem to as well. Little did we know how much it would change. 
 

In 2018, Inside Out Education took on the trading name Inside Out School of Adventure. As the company continued to grow and we offered more and more we wanted to have a name that more suited our mission and goals.

​

In 2019 things got scary. As we learned that the the Silica Sand Quarry had earmarked our wonderful woodland space as part of the Shouldham Quarry - which also sparked a review into the woodlands use by Runcton Holme Parrish Council. Thankfully, the lovely people at Runcton Holme went on to grant us full use of the woodland - providing it was only ever used to benefit children - a mission we stand still uphold to this day. 

​

But the name still wasn't sitting quite right... so in 2020 we tweaked it one more time - and took on the name Inside Out - Bushcraft & Adventure. The logo changed to one that was less cartoony and felt more professional and the uniform ditched the trademark luminous green - swapping it for the dark greens, greys and blacks that we still use now.  

 

2020 was of course a rocky year for so many across the country and the world. The entire country ground to a halt. We however counted ourselves incredibly lucky. As a 100% outdoor trade we could, at points, continue to provide adventures for young people - at a time when we all needed it. But the team here went above and beyond. For the entire summer period (9 weeks in total) the team moved out of their homes and isolated together in the woods. We all lived wild for the entire summer so that we could safely deliver to children; some of whom we already knew were on the 'high risk' list for coronavirus. To this day, many of the staff that worked and lived that summer regard it as a genuine highlight. We are all passionate outdoors people; we genuinely all love the bushcraft we learn and teach and having the option to live that for nine weeks - putting so many practised skills into reality - was a definite shining light dark year. It was also the year that we took on our first full time member of staff (Sam). Sam joined just before the covid lockdown (literally five days before it). He thought that was the end of a job right there. Low and behold did any of us know he would go on to become our first apprentice, first 'Bushcraft Manager' and a fantastic bushcrafter too. 

 

In 2021 so much happened. Thanks to the immense generosity of Edward Pope (and his wife Anna), we gained a brand new woodland space. The space we now call Lakeside. Three times the size of our original woodland - it would become the new home of Inside Out. But that wasn't all. We also finally ran our first school visits and launched the long awaited Bushcraft Club (Outcrafters). We were all incredibly excited for what Outcrafters would bring to Inside Out - but never imagined or foresaw just how popular and beneficial it would go onto be (but we'll cover that later). 
 

2022... and Lakeside was now very much home. We had put the original woodland into a state of rest and now only returned once a month if not once every two for back to basic workshops - allowing the ever growing skills of the Outcrafters to have a space to really learn and flex the knowledge they had. We also held our first three school residentials which have now gone on to become a permanent fixture every year, and have continued to grow in popularity ever since.  

​

Roll the clock forward two more years, you arrive to now! Inside Out is now celebrating a #DecadeOfAdventures. And we're definitely doing that. Outcrafters is now full and boasts the strongest skill set in Bushcraft (for children aged 8-14) we have ever seen. These truly extraordinary young people wild camp at all times of year; have formed some of the most beautiful friendships (that truly will last a lifetime) and have taken themselves and us on some of the biggest adventures of our lifetime (including the first ever Outcrafter Expedition to Yorkshire).

 

The Bushcraft & Adventure Camps continue to be the highlight of our year. There are no two camps the same, but each one brings children together, most of whom have never met each other before, to learn bushcraft, challenge themselves in adventurous activities, cook over open fires, wild camp in shelters or hammocks and again form some of the most beautiful and last memories and friendships we have ever had the pleasure of seeing. The genuine journey each child goes on from the start of a week to the end is both magic and a privilege to be part of. 

​

And ten years later, our mission remains the same. We want to give your children, our community the biggest opportunities for real outdoor adventures. We want to provide genuine learning opportunities that extend far beyond a classroom. And we want to help everyone (irrespective of their age) to grow their friendships, their team work, their confidence and their resilience.

​

Here's to another ten years of adventures and thank you to everyone who has been part of them so far. 

​

Mission Statement | To Adventure, To Learn, To Grow.