Bowles Outdoor Centre
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51°04′32″N 0°12′00″E / 51.075606°N 0.200125°E
Bowles Outdoor Centre [1] is an outdoor education/outdoor learning centre in southeast England, located between Royal Tunbridge Wells and Crowborough at Bowles Rocks.[2] The centre was founded in 1961 and became a charity[3] in 1964. It provides residential personal development courses for children and young people through outdoor and adventurous activities.
Bowles was purchased in the early 1960s and set up by John Walters a visionary founder who titled his creation The Bowles Rock Climbing Gymnasium. In 1964 the Bowles Rocks Trust[4] was created as an independent charity whose aim is to support young people through outdoor learning and development.
During the 1980s the teambuilding and experiential learning arm of Bowles was developed in order to help raise money for the charity's work with young people – an early social enterprise model. Bowles L&D has worked with many local and multinational companies over the years and continues to support the charity today. The Bowles Organisation runs leadership development, team development and team-building courses for businesses, particularly apprentices.