Overview

Colehayes Park was established as a Field Study Centre in 1970 and has been hosting Primary Schools, Colleges and University groups in a, relaxed and comfortable environment ever since.

We have proved to be an exceptionally popular venue to accommodate schools on field study trips and adventure residential groups with most schools and universities returning each year; some schools have been coming back year after year for decades! As such a unique Field Studies Centre, we are confident that once you bring your school group to us you won’t ever have to look elsewhere.

The Perfect Base

Whether you’re planning a primary school residential trip with fun activities or educational fieldwork, Colehayes is a great base for all ages. We are ideally located on the edge of Dartmoor National Park and provide all of the conveniences and comforts needed for a relaxed stay.

The House & Facilities

As a venue that has been welcoming schools and universities for nearly 50 years, we are well set up to cater for students. Most of the 21 comfortable rooms are dormitory style with single beds and wash basins. Large washrooms with multiple showers and toilets are located near the rooms.

We have two large lecture rooms and offer countless places to relax after a hard day’s work. The large living room and beautiful oak panelled front hall, complete with roaring fire in the winter months, are perfect areas for unwinding. While the games rooms in the basement provide entertainment in the evening.

Our bar can be stocked with local craft ales at inexpensive Devon prices for the university groups, which provide a fun space for the students and teachers to relax, socialise and get to know their fellow course mates.

Home Cooked Hearty Meals

We pride ourselves not only on our beautiful location, great atmosphere and friendly staff but most of all, our delicious home cooked meals. All of our ingredients are locally sourced and prepared from scratch by our lovely cook, Kathy. We use free range eggs and higher welfare quality animal produce sourced from local farms.

Breakfast consists of a tasty full English breakfast served buffet style. A variety of cereals, fruit, toast, yogurt, tea, coffee and orange juice is also provided.

Packed lunch consists of a variety of home-made fillings set out before breakfast each morning in our dedicated packed lunch room for your students to make their own round of sandwiches. A packet of hand cooked Devonshire crisps in various flavours, fruit and a chocolate snack bar are also included. To cut down on our plastic waste we encourage all students to bring their own refillable water bottle and sample our refreshing filtered Dartmoor natural spring water.

Dinner involves a delicious three course meal which is served to your students by our friendly wait-staff. The home cooked hearty meals are age appropriate and change each night. We also provide a fabulous BBQ in the summer months.

We cater for all special dietary requirements with a smile on our faces and no special diet is too much trouble.

Unique Onsite Nature Trials

One of the main attractions of Colehayes is our riverside trail which runs along a tributary of the River Bovey. It was originally laid out in the style of Victorian picturesque in 1825 and covers 11 acres of spectacular dams and waterfalls. Colehayes’ nature trail contains a variety of habitats in a relatively small area. These range from freshwater habitats, marshland, wet woodland and broadleaf woodland.

Local Areas of Educational Interest

We are ideally suited for parties to study geography, geology, environmental sciences and biology. Many groups study the natural environments found in and around Dartmoor National Park, the Teign Estuary, Yarner Nature Reserve, Becky Falls, the Torbay coastline and the River Dart. An extraordinary variety of landscape and habitat can be found in the local areas around Colehayes Park, including the granite uplands, the sands and clays of the Bovey Basin and the shales, gritstone and limestone. Prehistoric remains abound on the moor and evidence of Bronze Age man is just a short drive away.

Backwater Adventures

Tucked away in the woods on the Colehayes Estate is our outdoor pursuits activity camp, Backwater Adventures. The friendly and experienced team at Backwater Adventures run fun, team-building activities for all ages such as clay pigeon shooting, archery, abseiling, bush craft, raft building & canoeing on our lake, and many more.

If you are planning a residential trip and would like to learn more about the service, please contact Andy on 01626 821276 to find out more.