For helpful, knowledgeable advice on activity and accommodation choices...

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I book?
How much do your standard activities cost?
Why is Dinghy Sailing not a standard activity?
Do you offer discounts to larger groups?
How do I know you operate in a safe manner?
Do we need our own insurance?
Why does an adult need to accompany my child?
Why do you need consent forms?
What are the minimum ages for activities?
Do you cater for Stag/Hen Parties?
How large can the groups you cater for be?
What will I need to wear?
What will you provide?
Do you Provide Lunch?
Do you provide dry bags for personal items for the wet activities?
Where is the best place to stay?
Where do the activities happen?
How will I know where and when to meet you?
What changing facilities do you provide?
Do you provide showers?
Can I watch?
Can I bring a camera?
Can I buy a gift voucher for a friend?

1. How do I book?

If you would like to book, you can either phone or complete the booking form and return it to us with a deposit for 25% or credit/debit card details to secure the booking.

Please note, payments under £500 by Credit card will carry a 2.5% surcharge, except payments for Photo CDs, which, if paid for by Credit or Debit card, will carry a 50p surcharge unless paid for in advance with any activities booked.

2. How much do your standard activities cost?

All of our activities are classed as standard activities except Premium Days and Dinghy Sailing. See the prices page.

3. Why is Dinghy Sailing not a standard activity?

Dinghy Sailing is a different activity in that we need to include boat hire into our prices. Also instructor/participants ratios are slightly different for this activity. See the prices page. For more information on Premium Days, Dinghy Sailing, Multi-activity weekends and Family bundles you can have a look on the relevant pages #link#

4. Do you offer discounts to larger groups?

Groups of 6 or more receive a 10% discount but group bookings must finalise numbers, and pay, 6 weeks in advance, or, if booking within 6 weeks, group numbers must be confirmed with the booking and the price for that many people will be charged whether or not that many turn up.

5. How do I know you operate in a safe manner?

Instructors that we employ are those that are suitable in terms of their experience, training, and personal qualities to undertake the proposed activity.

All guides/instructors are hand picked and fully qualified with internationally recognized awards. We have full public liability insurance and pride ourselves on our safety record. Your enjoyment and safety during the holiday will always be our first priority, however, we must make you aware that all outdoor activities do involve a certain degree of risk and we cannot be responsible for any personal illness or injury during a holiday unless it arises from negligence on our part.

We reserve the right to refuse to escort anyone whose lack of fitness or inadequate attire causes a problem to the rest of the group.

Any medical conditions or weaknesses should be made known to us prior to the commencement of any activity.

During activities, the instructions of the guide/instructor should be adhered to by all participants and the group should always stay together, unless instructed otherwise.

We will not be liable for loss or damage to your luggage or personal effects, unless caused by our negligence. Any items placed into equipment provided by RiverDeepMountainHigh are done so at the participant’s risk.

6. Do we need our own insurance?

We strongly recommend that you protect yourself and your belongings with a suitable insurance policy. This should include cover of cancellation charges, emergency medical expenses etc, and for overseas customers, repatriation in case of illness or injury.

7. Why does an adult need to accompany my child?

It is part of our policy that all children 16 and under can only take part in activities when accompanied by an adult and some activities do have minimum age limits. The main scenario that we try to avoid is that whilst combined 2 group bookings, it creates the situation where children may be left with adults that they are not familiar with.

8. Why do you need consent forms?

If the adult accompanying the child on the activity is not the child’s parent, a consent form signed by a parent must be received. This is also part of our policy and gives us the permission to take children out on our activities.

9. What are the minimum ages for activities?

Minimum ages differ between activities, and further differ between venues that the activities take place. General minimum ages appear in the table below. However please do not hesitate to ask with specific scenarios as some ages are borderline and it really does depend on the child and their experience.

Activity	Minimum Age
Gorge Walking	10 6 (depends on venue)
Canoeing	6
Abseiling	10
Archery	6
Rock Climbing	6
Kayaking	12
Sailing	6
Biking Trail	9 Mountain 12
Walking	6 (depends on experience)
Raft Building	8
Scrambling	12

10. Do you cater for Stag/Hen Parties?

Yes! You can do up to two activity sessions a day, so you can either do 2, 3 or 4 sessions over a weekend. We find stag groups generally enjoy Gorge Walking, Abseiling, Raft Building, Archery and Canoeing. These all lend themselves to bigger groups and the latter three can work out cheaper if budget is an issue. Please note that we operate with a maximum ratio of 1 instructor to 8 people and activity group numbers are also limited by quality, safety and environmental considerations.

We can help you organize your accommodation if you let us know the make up of your group, the type of accommodation required and the room types and any meals required.

11. How large can the groups you cater for be?

We are happy to take group bookings, and will often give a discount for larger numbers or can arrange special details at no extra cost. The maximum number of people who can do one activity at the same time is limited however by the environment in which they take place, equipment and safety standards. A number of our activities can operate with around 14 people (with 2 instructors), please talk to us if you have a bigger group than this so we can advise you on your options.

12. What will I need to wear?

We provide full Kit Lists. Specific kit lists are useful because they take into account the most practical and comfortable clothing to wear during your chosen activity, and also consider the time of year you're booking. We can give suggestions for the best type of clothing to wear during your activity e.g. jeans are not recommended for an abseil as the seams can create discomfort whilst wearing harnesses.

13. What will you provide?

Technical equipment provided includes those items that are necessary to take part in the activity. This includes items such as buoyancy aids and canoes for canoeing. It does not include personal clothing, walking boots or additional choices such as walking poles. Bike Hire is included for Lakeland journey and Premium multi-activity week only. We can arrange purchase of most items from a local supplier if you wish.

Sometimes it is necessary to have adequate waterproofs (rain gear). We would recommend that people have their own; however, we do have some breathable waterproofs that can be borrowed free of charge if arranged in advance. Prices include VAT and a complimentary hot drink during each session.

14. Do you Provide Lunch?

Yes we can! Packed Lunches cost £6.50 per person and include a baguette or a sandwich with choice of filling, a bottle of fresh juice, a piece of fruit, a bag of crisps and a cake slice. Picnic Lunches cost £10 and include everything within a Packed Lunch plus a sausage roll, pork pie, pasta bowl and quiche. Lunch orders must be made by a minimum group size of 4 people.

14. Do you provide dry bags for personal items for the wet activities?

We do provide dry bags that can avoid water getting in. These can be useful for personal items and for packed lunches as well. However we cannot be responsible for items that may become wet during our activities.

15.Where is the best place to stay?

This depends on what type of accommodation that you are looking for. In the South West Lake District there is a huge variety of accommodation that caters for specific group needs.

Smaller groups, couples or individuals may be interested in Bed & Breakfasts and Hotels. Couples and individuals may also be interested in Holiday Cottages. Whereas larger groups that usually have a specific budget may benefit from looking into Hostels and Camping Barns.

16. Where do the activities happen?

Our activities run from a variety of different venues. This is useful as we can chose specific venues for specific group needs, e.g. more challenging routes in gorge walking and mountain biking or venues that are better suited for younger individuals. The majority of our activity venues are however based in the Coniston/Langdale area.

17. How will I know where and when to meet you?

We send out pre-trip information 10 days before the date of your booked activity. This will include meeting places, directions and times for your activity. The activity locations are sometimes a small walk away from the meeting places. Our directions will be useful even if you have a SatNav because some of our meeting places/venues are difficult to find without specific detail. See the locations page for more details.

18. What changing facilities do you provide?

We have pop-up changing facilities that become handy in remote venues eg the Esk, and where public facilities aren’t based. However where possible our meeting places will have National Trust toilets or something of the like.

19.Do you provide showers?

We may be able to arrange venues where showers are located nearby for larger groups. However generally this is not provided with our standard service.

20. Can I watch?

Some activities are easier to watch than others. Archery, Rock Climbing and Abseiling are the easiest activities for others to stand and watch. However activities such as Gorge Walking and Canoeing sometimes take place in quite secluded and/or remote venues. Please discuss this with us further if you are a family or group that requires specific planning so that others not taking part in activities have somewhere such as a café to stay. We may be able to choose specific venues to allow this to be arranged.

21. Can I bring a camera?

You can bring your own camera however we do take photographs of activities throughout. We offer the opportunity to purchase a Photo CD from us so that you can have your exciting photographs from your active break to show friends and family.

22. Can I buy a gift voucher for a friend?

Yes! We have a choice of gift vouchers. We provide a ½ day activity voucher which costs £40 or full day activity voucher for £70. We also do gift vouchers for our Multi-activity weekends. Multi-activity weekends based in Coniston are £100 for 1 ½ day of activities and £125 for 2 days of activities. Our Esk Premium 2 days of activities are £135.
All we will need is name, address and payment details from you and the names of the recipients.