Celebrating 25 Years of Dolphin House
This week marks the 25th anniversary of South Ayrshire Council's outdoor learning centre, Dolphin House. Located within the grounds of Culzean Castle and Country Park, Dolphin House, operated by the Council's Thriving Communities - Health and Wellbeing team, provides high-quality outdoor learning experiences for schools, community groups and individuals of all ages, offering residential and day experiences that support learning, wellbeing and personal development.
Built in the 18th century, the building originally served as a laundry for the Kennedy family of Culzean Castle until it sadly fell into disrepair in the mid-20th century. It was in 1996 that a partnership between the National Trust for Scotland and South Ayrshire Council secured funding to transform the building into an outdoor education centre. Since opening in 2001, Dolphin House has welcomed over 250,000 young people alongside thousands more participants through training programmes, community groups, organised visits and an expanding range of public and holiday programmes.
Each visiting group is taught about the history of the buildings with many features and equipment remaining onsite including the Victorian plunge pool on the tide line of the beach.
The centre operates as a fully equipped residential outdoor learning facility providing accommodation for around 32 participants. The main building includes teaching, dining and social spaces and boasts fully accessible facilities including specialist equipment for use on beaches and uneven terrain.
Dolphin House delivers a vast array of outdoor learning experiences for all to enjoy, and its unique location allows learners to engage directly with nature in a safe, accessible and inspiring setting whilst getting involved in a range of activities from rockpooling, caving and abseiling to hill walking, bushcraft and mountain biking.
Programmes developed by the Centre align with Curriculum for Excellence to support both academic learning and wider personal development. Dolphin House is also a long-standing provider of Duke of Edinburgh's Award programmes including residential experiences, expedition training and leadership development opportunities.
Over the years, Dolphin House has continued to expand its offering to deliver exciting learning experiences and meet its ever-growing demand, including the introduction of a brand-new outdoor classroom. The outdoor classroom includes a renewable energy learning system which incorporates solar and wind powered technology. This exciting new space allows visitors to explore sustainability and climate awareness, biodiversity and ecosystems and geology and environmental science.
Holiday adventure days have also been introduced along with a monthly adult paddleboarding programme. The Centre has also hosted exchange groups from a number of countries over the last 25 years including Germany, France, Sweden, Russia, Canada, India and Tajikistan to name a few.
To mark this momentous anniversary, there will be a number of exciting activities taking place from Monday 22 June - Friday 26 June.
The week of celebrations will include day visits from previous residential school groups, including that of Holmston Primary School - the first ever school to visit Dolphin House in 2001, an evening paddleboarding session in the waters in front of Dolphin House and a Trefoil Guild residential visit. On Friday 26 June a Legacy Event will also take place where a time capsule will be created including letters from young people and Elected Members, a newspaper article from the opening of Dolphin House, environmental pledges from staff members and pupils and photographs of the current facilities and activities undertaken.
Councillor William Grant, South Ayrshire Council's Policy Lead for Education and Lifelong Learning said: "What a fantastic achievement to be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Dolphin House. With over 20 years of continuous delivery as an outdoor education centre, Dolphin House has become a vital asset to our community in educating, connecting and developing those who visit the centre. The school residential trips facilitated by Dolphin House allow our young people to explore the great outdoors which in turn supports confidence, encourages teamwork and promotes health, wellbeing and an active lifestyle."
South Ayrshire Council's Policy Lead for Leisure and Community Services, Councillor Chris Cullen, said: "Dolphin House balances the development of practical outdoor skills with transferable life skills, ensuring lasting impact beyond each visit from people across the world. The Centre is an incredible facility which helps strengthen community engagement whilst providing education, personal development and adventure."
For find out more about Dolphin House, please visit https://www.thedolphinhouse.co.uk/
