Contact Us
Find Us

Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE

Connect with us
  • Study
Browse subjects Search courses

Undergraduate Applicant Days

Undergraduate Open Days

Virtual Open Day

Browse subjects Search courses

Postgraduate Open Days

Distance learning courses

Life in Leeds

Student Blog Squad

Virtual campus tour

  • International
  • Research
@LBUResearch
Our courses

Virtual campus tour

COVID-19

Work at Leeds Beckett

Help to Grow: Management

The Retail Institute

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs)

Carnegie Great Outdoors

The Leadership Centre

Manage your preferences

The Leeds Beckett website is designed to enable you to manage your own privacy preferences. By clicking on 'Cookies' below you can manage what data the site collects about your browsing. This will only maintain if you are on your own device or using a synched version of your chosen browser. If you are using a shared or public machine without synching your browser then there is no need to change the preferences.

Our site is built with accessibility in mind and we seek to adhere to the WACG AA levels of compliance for digital accessibility. To support that we have provided instructions on managing animations below.

Cookies


  • For more information please view our Privacy Policy

Animations & Interaction

  • The Leeds Beckett University website occasionally uses animations to page elements and animated gifs to add impact to pages. If you wish to stop them from playing for accessibility purposes or for personal preference then please see the guidance below. Please note that browsers sometimes change how they operate, so please refer to your browser help files to find their latest information.

  • How do I turn off animations?
    Chrome

    Chrome users will need to use browser extensions. Animation Policy from Google will help you set your own preferences.

    Microsoft Edge

    There is currently no way to disable animations within Microsoft Edge. Users of Edge (Chromium) browser can install the Chrome extensions above and use them.

    Internet Explorer

    To stop animations on a single page you can just press the 'Esc' key. This will stop the animation on that page. If you wish to restart the animations you need to refresh the page. To permanently disable the playing of animated GIF images, open Internet Options > Advanced tab. Under the Multimedia section, uncheck the Play animations in webpage check-box, click Apply and Exit and then restart your computer.

    Firefox

    Type about:config in Firefox address bar and hit Enter to open Settings. Search for the image.animation_mode flag and change its value from Normal to None. Once you restart Firefox this will disable animations.

Contact Us
Find Us

Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE

Connect with us
Other Links

Raft building

Raft building is popular with a wide range of groups from corporate teams to school children and is often built into full adventure days or longer activity programmes.

Working as a team you will be given poles, ropes and barrels to use to construct a raft suitable to transport your entire team and perform a number of on the water tasks to test your design... the question is, will it stay together?!

Group of children around a raft with an instructor starting to pull it away
Shot from far away of a rafting group

Working as a team you will be given poles, ropes and barrels to use to construct a raft suitable to transport your entire team and perform a number of on the water tasks to test your design... the question is, will it stay together?!

Shot from behind the raft as it moves forward

Your team will work together to plan, design and build your raft. Not sure how to build a raft? The barrels float so it's all about tying poles and barrels together with the ropes to make a raft you can sit on.

Once the rafts are built you will get on board and set sail to see if you stay afloat! For bigger groups you'll race against the other teams to see who finishes first and whose raft is most successful at keeping them out of the water.

A group smiling and laughing on top of a raft

Our instructors will kit you up in one of our wetsuits and a cag jacket to ensure you keep warm, and they'll fit you with a buoyancy aid and helmet to keep you safe. You don't need to be able to swim to take part in this activity as we provide buoyancy aids for all participants and this will keep you afloat should you fall or decide to jump into the water.

Your team will be provided with a selection of poles, ropes and large barrels, and our friendly instructors will show you how to tie knots and will give you hints and tips on design and construction ideas. 

Team on two sides of a raft in the water

We offer raft building sessions on lakes, canals, and reservoirs at various locations in the UK and we cater for all ages and abilities. Raft building is popular with a wide range of groups from corporate teams to school children, and is often an activity built into full adventure days or longer programmes. Want to spend more time on the water, learning new skills or experiencing a journey? Try one of our Canoe or Kayak sessions instead.

We provide all the equipment needed for the session; barrels, ropes, and poles, helmets, buoyancy aids and wetsuits.

Shot from far away of a rafting group

  1. Developing leadership: by drawing on the skills of the team to construct a raft and by leading the way to victory whilst supporting and motivating your team
  2. Improving problem solving: by thinking and working out how to best use the materials provided and how to utilise the skills of each team member
  3. Improving communication: by brainstorming ideas with your team, listening to others and communicating your own thoughts and ideas on how best to construct your raft
  4. Building teamwork skills: by working together to construct the raft as a team, sharing design ideas and paddling together across the water
  5. Self-reflection: opportunities to reflect on how you worked as part of the team, what input you had and how you contributed

Two rafts next to each other in the water

Raft building sessions can take place on many bodies of water including canals, lakes, rivers, or reservoirs subject to appropriate permission, and depending on participants' levels of experience and desired session outcomes. 

Through our affiliation with British Canoeing and our partnership with the Canal and River Trust we have access to over 3000km of canals throughout England and Wales including the famous Leeds to Liverpool canal stretching 204km across the North of England. This access provides opportunities for fun on the water in beautiful, local sheltered areas.

Most of the large bodies of open water in England are concentrated in the Lake District National Park. These magnificent bodies of water, including the longest and deepest lakes in England, Lake Windermere at 17km long and Wastwater at 74m deep, can be accessed by the public at many locations. Through our partnership with the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) we have preferential access to some of the best locations in the lakes. Why not combine one of our activity sessions with a stay at one of 150 YHA hostels located across England and Wales.

Working as a team you will be given poles, ropes and barrels to use to construct a raft suitable to transport your entire team and perform a number of on the water tasks to test your design... the question is, will it stay together?!

Shot from far away of a rafting group

Your team will work together to plan, design and build your raft. Not sure how to build a raft? The barrels float so it's all about tying poles and barrels together with the ropes to make a raft you can sit on.

Once the rafts are built you will get on board and set sail to see if you stay afloat! For bigger groups you'll race against the other teams to see who finishes first and whose raft is most successful at keeping them out of the water.

Shot from behind the raft as it moves forward

Our instructors will kit you up in one of our wetsuits and a cag jacket to ensure you keep warm, and they'll fit you with a buoyancy aid and helmet to keep you safe. You don't need to be able to swim to take part in this activity as we provide buoyancy aids for all participants and this will keep you afloat should you fall or decide to jump into the water.

Your team will be provided with a selection of poles, ropes and large barrels, and our friendly instructors will show you how to tie knots and will give you hints and tips on design and construction ideas. 

A group smiling and laughing on top of a raft

We offer raft building sessions on lakes, canals, and reservoirs at various locations in the UK and we cater for all ages and abilities. Raft building is popular with a wide range of groups from corporate teams to school children, and is often an activity built into full adventure days or longer programmes. Want to spend more time on the water, learning new skills or experiencing a journey? Try one of our Canoe or Kayak sessions instead.

We provide all the equipment needed for the session; barrels, ropes, and poles, helmets, buoyancy aids and wetsuits.

Team on two sides of a raft in the water

  1. Developing leadership: by drawing on the skills of the team to construct a raft and by leading the way to victory whilst supporting and motivating your team
  2. Improving problem solving: by thinking and working out how to best use the materials provided and how to utilise the skills of each team member
  3. Improving communication: by brainstorming ideas with your team, listening to others and communicating your own thoughts and ideas on how best to construct your raft
  4. Building teamwork skills: by working together to construct the raft as a team, sharing design ideas and paddling together across the water
  5. Self-reflection: opportunities to reflect on how you worked as part of the team, what input you had and how you contributed

Shot from far away of a rafting group

Raft building sessions can take place on many bodies of water including canals, lakes, rivers, or reservoirs subject to appropriate permission, and depending on participants' levels of experience and desired session outcomes. 

Through our affiliation with British Canoeing and our partnership with the Canal and River Trust we have access to over 3000km of canals throughout England and Wales including the famous Leeds to Liverpool canal stretching 204km across the North of England. This access provides opportunities for fun on the water in beautiful, local sheltered areas.

Most of the large bodies of open water in England are concentrated in the Lake District National Park. These magnificent bodies of water, including the longest and deepest lakes in England, Lake Windermere at 17km long and Wastwater at 74m deep, can be accessed by the public at many locations. Through our partnership with the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) we have preferential access to some of the best locations in the lakes. Why not combine one of our activity sessions with a stay at one of 150 YHA hostels located across England and Wales.

Two rafts next to each other in the water

Booking information

  1. What's available?

    • Half day activity session
    • Incorporated into full programme

  1. Who can book?

    • Youth and community groups
    • Universities and colleges
    • Businesses

Interested in Raft building sessions?

Get in touch with our team using the link below to book or find out more.

Book now

We are accredited by:

Why choose  Carnegie Great outdoors

  • We are part of Leeds Beckett University with extensive experience working with external clients and groups
  • We hold Public Liability Insurance of £25,000,000
  • We provide all specialist outdoor activity equipment, which is thoroughly checked, cleaned, serviced and maintained by our team. We hold trade accounts with the leading outdoor equipment manufacturers and replace our activity equipment in line with manufacturer and National Governing Body Guidelines
  • We tailor our activities to meet your personal aims and objectives, or to fit the requirements of the group; meeting curriculum requirements, corporate learning aims, identified skill sets or learning objectives 

All sessions are run by our friendly instructors who:

  • Hold specialist qualifications issued by the National Governing Body for each of the activities
  • Have excellent working knowledge of the activity locations
  • Are DBS enhanced checked
  • Hold a specialist 16-hour Outdoor Emergency First Aid qualification which is renewed every three years and covers the care of casualties in remote settings, in line with Government HSE regulations
  • Hold professional indemnity insurance
  • Have extensive experience working with a variety of client groups in the outdoors
  • Have a sound understanding of the outdoor sector including relevant legislation
  • Maintain a high standard of customer care