What is the minimum group size?
We do not have a minimum group size per se, although some activities do require minimum numbers to run – it would be a lonely laser tag battle indeed with yourself and no-one else!
All of our activities have per head guide pricing outlined and outline any maximum or minimum numbers required for the activity to operate. As Forest Facility is staffed exclusively for your group, we work on what we call a ‘minimum spend’ model. The prices per head will be charged based on your group size. Choose as many or as few as you wish and the site is yours, provided you are able to cover the minimum spend, which is £1000 plus vat. For a small group of 8, this is £125/ head, which covers 3 – 4 activities for example. Choose if you wish to add in bacon rolls, hot drinks or spot of lunch, off-site at one of our partner locations or on-site with our superb on-site catering providers.
As a rough rule of thumb, a group of 6 – 8 therefore would be our recommended minimum group size.
Is there a maximum
group size?
For some activities there is a maximum number of people we can accommodate on a daily basis – based on time it takes to enjoy the experience and the size of our facility and staffing ratios on site. The beauty of our site and activity mix is that we can split your group into min sub-groups and rotate folk around the different activities, so everyone gets to do the same things and this therefore increases our ability to deal with bigger groups, whilst maintaining smaller groups in individuals activities. As a rough rule, we say that 200 is our upper limit for a group size.
How much does it cost?
Each activity has a guide price against it, which you can view here. Owing to the bespoke nature of how we operate our activities on site, we operate on what we call a ‘minimum spend’ model, whereby a group can pick and choose whichever activities you wish, however the minimum spend for a group is £1000 plus vat. Within that figure, you can apply the ‘unit costs’ of the activity to work out what you can do and for how many people.
How old do participants need to be?
Many of our activities are adult and child-friendly. We will give a recommended minimum age. Where children attend, we ask that this is always with parental/ guardian supervision.
Are kids and families welcome?
Absolutely. We have several activities which are geared towards families and multi-age groups are welcome.
Where are you
located?
Located on a working forest on the Burghley Estate, England’s finest Elizabethan Stately Home, Forest Facility is less than 5 minutes drive from the A1 dual carriageway, just outside the stunning Georgian stone market-town of Stamford. Stamford and surrounding area contain some wonderful accommodation options, some of whom we partner with – see Local Partners.
We are located 20 minutes north of Peterborough, 1.5 north of London, 1 hour from Nottingham and easily accessible via the A1 from the Midlands and The North.
Our site benefits from dedicated parking on site, plus a dwell area with changing rooms, hot showers and washroom facilities. We also maintain close ties with the Burghley Estate and other wonderful local suppliers, opening up many other opportunities to make your trip to Forest Facility extra-special.
Are you insured? Do attendees need any insurance?
How physical are your activities and how fit do I need to be to take part?
Do I need any special skills for any of the activities?
Who is behind Forest Facility and what is your track record?
Is it safe?
Are there places to stay nearby?
We carry full £10 million public, products and employers’ liability insurance for our on-site activities. You will be asked to sign an ‘acceptance of risk/ waiver document’ upon arrival on site as is standard with activities of this nature, however there is no specified insurance requirement for yourselves in order to take part in activities and personal insurance is a personal choice for individuals or organisations.
No. Any site-specific briefings or training will be given on-site by our pro team and you will be the very best of hands.
Forest Facility is an initiative of Rat Race Adventure Sports, the UK’s largest provider of adventure events, which has been trading since 2004. It is managed on a day-to-day basis by Darren Grigas – an experienced local events and adventure professional. Rat Race retains health and safety specialists qualified to degree-level in the subject, maintains excellence in risk assessment, medical operations and activity design and staffing. All of our site infrastructure is inspected on a formal and regular basis, including specialist inspections of our high-ropes facilities on an annual basis.
Yes. Rat Race retains health and safety specialists qualified to degree-level in the subject, maintains excellence in risk assessment, medical operations and activity design and staffing. All of our site infrastructure is inspected on a formal and regular basis, including specialist inspections of our high-ropes facilities on an annual basis. Our staff are fully trained in the operation of all on-site activities and we adhere to strict staffing ratios for our activities. The site manager is first-aid qualified for outdoor environments. We retain a full first aid kit on site. For larger groups, we will contract extra specialist medical staff to work alongside us as part of our staffing ratios.
There are many lovely hotels and holiday homes in and around Stamford, we've listed a few of our favourites here:
A little luxury treat in the heart of Stamford just five minutes away:
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Riverside Apartments 4 apartments to choose from (2-night minimum)
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Meadow View House - 3-bed house with garden & parking
In nearby Easton-on-the-Hill
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The Exeter Arms, restaurant bar & rooms
Sustainability and Environmental Impact
Forest Facility is the creation of Rat Race Adventure Sports, the UK’s largest provider of adventure events since 2004. Forest Facility was born out of the legacy of Rat Race Dirty Weekend – the world’s largest assault course - that took place from 2012 – 2022. Following the final year of the running of this event in 2022, it was decided that instead of knocking down and disposing of all of the materials which went into creating the obstacles built in this tranquil forest over the previous 10 year period, that we should embark on the ultimate upcycling project. That has been realised and has become Forest Facility.
We pride ourselves with the local relationships formed, which allow us to source local, work local and resource our carbon footprint in this serene forest setting.
We have re-used several different types of material. This is not an exhaustive list but is representative of our approach with Forest Facility:
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Continued use of wooden structures currently erected in the forest. Those structures themselves are largely constructed of reclaimed materials, including high numbers of retired and retrieved telegraph poles plus locally-felled forest timbers.
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We also use local providers for food, drink, encourage use of independent and Estate-owned accommodation and catering providers and we have invested and trained up several local staff members to become our safety team.
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Use of recycled telegraph poles in our main dwell area and the use of timber and sheet wood recycled from other obstacles retired from the Dirty Weekend assault course
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Re-purposing of 4 used shipping containers to provide our changing rooms, office and storage areas
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Installation of compost toilets
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The Forest Facility basecamp area is located in a felled area of woodland which is being replanted around us. All of our obstacles weather naturally within the green tapestry of this glorious forest environment.