2010: The Centre is finished and Mr Parkinson finally retires!

May 2010: Dave retires

Dave Parkinson has finally managed to retire having been at the Centre for over 22 years. Photos from the day are here: http://www.oaklands-centre.co.uk/GoodbyeDave.html

Work Finishes at Oaklands...

Work on the Centre has all been finished off with the last minute inclusions of a laundry room handed over to use.

The building is looking great; the double glazing keeping the heat in and the tarmac drive helping to keep the dirt out! However the Centre still retains its authentic feel!

The conservatory is great with lots of groups taking full advantage of it watching the stars at night or enjoying watching the wildlife around the Centre; just haven't managed to get any furniture for the lounge of conservatory yet!!

2009: Building Starts Again...

27th November 2009

Our last official day of opening for 2009, however this year we have some extra bookings before Christmas which is great!!

The building has been operational now for a few weeks. Last Thursday our third phase of electricity was wired in (plunging the Centre into darkness for the day!) so we're pretty much all done! The place looks great with toilets in all rooms, several still with showers and a toilet as well as the fantastic conservatory (we still need to buy some chairs for that room though!)

There is still a little more work to go, additional showers in both the male and female changing block within the main entrance as well as sorting out the laundry (which still floods when it rains a lot!)

For now though here's a few photos of the place...

6th November 2009

Handover has taken place (however there are still a few cosmetic touch ups needed).

The place looks great!! Photos and a walk through of the Centre will be coming soon...

13th October 2009

Building work is moving on, and its looking like we'll be back in the Centre on time! The builders have done incredibly well!!

There will be some work on-going over the first few weeks of being back at the Centre, so we won't be able to get into that lovely new conservatory for a few weeks yet, however the new drive and bridge is looking fantastic (when the tarmac guys said they'd be starting at 8:30am last Monday they weren't kidding!). The new windows have made an instant difference in the warmth of the Centre.

2nd October 2009

Work has screamed along this week! The builders have been hard at it in readiness to have the tarmac laid on Monday next week (we've been busy packing stuff up as we'll not be able to get near the Centre for a few days!) Windows are going in, the conservatory has been pretty much put up and builders have been seen carrying toilets and sinks into the house to fit out the dorms.

2 more weeks and we'll be back in the house; and things are looking on target...

September 25th 2009

Things are starting to change! There's only 3 weeks to go and the place is starting to take shape! Flooring is going down, there's the smell of fresh paint, the bridge is getting wider the cubicles for the toilets in the dorms are taking shape, and to all our surprise on returning from activity on Thursday half the conservatory has gone up! And it looks big!!

September 4th 2009

There's not lots to see yet as the first parts of the work have involved stripping everything out and then sorting out the old floors and wiring. However a few of the rooms are taking shape with the new toilet cubicles going in. The plasterers have started in a few places and the space in the back of the house (where the old female toilets where) is amazing; when you get to see it, there's no lights anywhere at the moment!

The concrete has been laid ready for the conservatory (which is coming in a few few weeks hopefully) as has the foundations for the new bridge; which is going to include a foot bridge as well!

August 17th 2009

Well the builders are in and the kitchen is gone!

Work has started within the main house. The kitchen has been stripped out and is to be modernized (Roberta and Pauline are more than happy about that!). The dormitories have all been stripped out in readiness to have a toilet and sink put in each room with new flooring and a general tidy up of all the main house dorms.

Also upstairs the old toilets and showers in the back have been stripped out and we're having a new dormitory there too! (total bed numbers will remain the same as we're loosing a few beds in other dorms)

The lounge area has been emptied and a big hole dug outside in readiness for a conservatory similar to the one in the 18th Century picture above.

Also the footings for the bridge are in place ready to get the old bridge widened. Other work planned includes new surface on the road around the front of the house and new windows.

There's lots of fantastic work going on, but unfortunately its going to take a lot longer than we'd originally planned. At the moment its looking like work will be completed by the 16th of October (originally the work was to be completed by the 7th of September!). So we're looking at re-housing groups for that period at local bunk houses. Groups will still be catered and instructed by Oaklands staff, and we'll still have access to all our stores and equipment so courses will be running as usual.

2008: 25 Years YOUNG!!

On May the 10th 2008 the widow of Bert Jones, one of the key people in Wirral who had the vision to purchase Oaklands and develop it into Oaklands Outdoor Educations Centre, unveiled a plaque in his memory, and started off this years Celebration for the 25 years of Outdoor Education at Oaklands.

Throughout the weekend staff, old and new, together with Councillors and other friends of Oaklands had the opportunity to try out a few activities (including a bit of canoeing and being thrown out of a tree along a zip line!) and get together to share tales of past and present adventures at Oaklands.

The weekend also unveiled a time line illustrating events in relation to the History of Oaklands, and several fantastic framed photographs from South Wirral Highs most recent course.

Saturday night drew to a close with dancing going on into the small hours (and thankfully no cameras to capture the shin-dig!),  followed by a hardy few braving either a hill walk or gorge walk before bidding farewell on the Sunday afternoon.

To all that came thank you for your support over the last 25 years, as we look forward to many more adventures...

2007: En-suite bedrooms for visiting staff

Over the 2006-2007 Winter shutdown work started on creating three new en-suite bedrooms in the house, bringing the standard of accommodation within the historic house up to the same standard as the new build. 

As well as creating these new fantastic airy rooms we have also extended the size of the old staff room, and are converting it into a classroom. The new classroom is equipped with several computers allowing visiting groups to view their images from the course and create a web-blog of their visit. Check out www.oaklands-centre.co.uk/blog to see what groups have created. 

12th May 2006: Official Opening

On the 12th May, the Mayor of Wirral, Councilor Chris Meaden, and the Director of Education, Howard Cooper, together with other invited guests descended on Oaklands to open the new build! 

April 2006: The new build is finished

September 2005: Work starts on the new build