April Newsletter: Everybody meet Barry!
This is the March edition of a newsletter that everyone on the Adventure Oban mailing list receives at the start of every month. Fill in the very simple form at this link to sign up to get Adventure Oban news, updates and future plans straight to your inbox!
Everybody: meet Barry!
Adventure Library Project Coordinator Barry Harper
The clocks have bounced forward, the birds rouse us from our sleep in the morning and evening light means activities can last longer after teatime - that’s right, Spring is sprung! And here at Adventure Oban that heralds an exciting new phase of activity with an action-packed diary of events and community fun planned for the coming months.
Read on to find out what we’ve been busy with in the first quarter of the year and what’s coming up as we head into April:
Adventure Library Pilot
Last time, we told you that we were looking for someone to join the team to help lead our Adventure Library Pilot. Well, we found him! Barry Harper is well known to the West Highland outdoors community, already helping lots of people get stuck into the great activities our part of the world hosts.
Barry’s time will involve pulling together the Adventure Library kit inventory, exploring storage options, gearing everything up for the Library’s launch, organising ‘Come and Try’ activity days and getting out into the community to chat to you all about how the Library can help you and your groups.
Head to adventureoban.org/adventure-library to find out more and drop Barry a message at barry@adventureoban.org if you’d like to chat further.
Coming Up:
Spring Water Safety | 22nd April
April sees the first of this year’s Water Safety Meets. Following the success of last year’s Autumn Meet, we’re partnering up with RNLI Oban and Oban Sailing Club again to run a Spring edition on the 22nd April at 6pm.
The Water Safety events are intended to offer local guidance and advice about interacting with waterways in and around Oban. Each event is part of a year-round series of quarterly socials, designed to offer sport-specific advice whilst also providing somewhere for like-minded people to meet each other. Safety in numbers is key to being sensible on and in the water, so why not come along, learn something new and meet someone new.
This meet will involve talks and Q&A from the team at RNLI Oban Lifeboat as well as local swimmers, paddlers and kayakers.
The event is taking place at 6pm on Friday the 22nd of April, in the Oban Sailing Clubhouse in Dungallan Park.
Places are limited so book now to avoid disappointment via the following Eventbrite link:
http://springwatersafety.eventbrite.co.uk
Adventure Oban AGM | 23rd April
It’s nearly time for our very first Annual General Meeting! Whilst being an important legal obligation that charities need to carry out each year, AGMs also offer a great opportunity to come together as community, look back on the year that was and make plans for the season to come.
AGM’s are a public meeting, that means anyone can come along. However, if you would like to vote on any topic, you need to be a member ahead of the meeting. Happily, becoming a member of Adventure Oban is very easy, costs just £5 and lasts a lifetime (literally) - head to https://www.adventureoban.org/get-involved to find out more.
We think any event that brings the community together should be fun and that an AGM should be no different. So the first Adventure Oban AGM will be a fun-packed day at the beach co-hosted with some of the clubs that we’ve been working with over the past few years to offer a range of ‘Come and Try It’ activities as well as snacks, refreshments.
Save the Date! - Saturday, 23rd April from 10.30am.
Eggventure Oban Returns!
EGGVENTURE OBAN IS BACK! We had so much fun celebrating Easter with our adventure chocolate hunt last year that we simply had to bring it back. To celebrate Easter and as a thank you for participating in #onemillionmiles, we’re hiding caches of chocolate at a number of locations in and around Oban. The locations will be announced on Easter Sunday (17th April) at 9am. All info will be on our website including grid references for each location as well as advice and suggested routes for how to find them. Each location will involve a short adventure suitable for all ages and abilities - don’t forget to log your miles!
Save the Date! - Eggventure Oban | 17th April, 9am.
Oban Sportive | Call for Volunteers!
We’re chuffed to bits to be helping North Argyll Cycle Club (NACC) put on the Oban Sportive this year again. We had so much fun helping with the marshalling of the event last year and we need your help to do it again!
The Sportive is a cycling event for a variety of levels and abilities which attracts riders from the local area as well as a large contingent visiting from away. The event comprises two routes: a long route which loops Loch Awe and a shorter route which takes riders around Loch Avich.
Adventure Oban are helping to steward the event, with proceeds from entrance fees helping to support Adventure Oban activities throughout the year.
The Sportive is taking place on Sunday the 8th of May. We need volunteers to help marshal at key junctions throughout both routes. If you are available between 7.30am and 12pm on the 8th and would like to volunteer, please email hello@adventureoban.org with your name and preferred contact details.
Events like the Sportive are an important part of Oban’s outdoor community and does so much to advertise our area to the rest of the world. It’s exactly the kind of event that Adventure Oban was set up with a mind to support, so it’s great to be involved!
One Million Miles | Top Tips
Here’s a few handy hints to help you when heading out to log activity for One Million Miles:
1. Log your Strava miles. We’ve realised not everyone knew that the Strava group doesn’t automatically update your miles! You need to log them separately at adventureoban.org/onemillionmiles.
2. Add One Million Miles to your phone’s home screen. Click the 3 dots on your phone browser of choice and choose ‘add to home screen’ to create a shortcut that makes it even easier to log your miles!
3. Take Miltean on an adventure. If you’d like to take Miltean on an adventure send an email to hello@adventureoban.org or DM us on Facebook or Instagram.
As ever, we’ve got lots going on each week, so keep in touch via this website and all the Adventure Oban social media channels.
Happy Adventuring!