Sometimes you come across a venue that’s so stunning that you wish you could be attending the event as well as organising it!
That’s exactly how we felt when we held our clients’ recent two-day conference and activity programme in an amazing 16 century Abbey nestled in the countryside…
The stunning Abbey certainly has the ‘wow’ factor when you approach up the long driveway; and was still home to nuns until 2002!
Our client was holding their mid-year review and our brief was to provide the conference, lunch, activity and dinner; and with a venue this quirky and versatile it certainly wouldn’t be your bog-standard affair!
After the conference, which took place in a high-ceilinged, wood panelled hall – we took everybody down to the cellars where we had designed a bespoke pub quiz style game, especially to make use of the amazing hidden space downstairs.
The wine cellars are a warren of games rooms and corridors and we turned these into the group’s very own “Sound of Music” quiz. Split into 8 teams, each group moved around the various challenges and games in this fast paced, competitive activity.
With a twist on beer pong, a codebreaking game and a ‘Guess the intro’ round to name but a few, there were plenty of laughs to be had!
Afterwards, everybody had a few beers whilst discussing what they thought the correct answers were, then went and got ready for the evening.
And this is where the magic really happened…
After pre-dinner drinks in the elegant Piano Bar, we took the group down the long corridor to the big double doors at the end… where we then revealed the spectacular former chapel where they were to have their dinner.
Surrounded by stained glass windows, pews and a domed ceiling, we’d created a long dining table and dressed it in opulent candles, fruit and gold platters. It really was a lavish sight! Even the staff said they’d never seen the room look so good…
And to top it off, after they’d finished their dinner, we pulled open the red curtains at one end of the chapel to reveal an Ibiza style DJ with lasers and lights giving them their very own nightclub!
They partied until the early hours but still managed to get up for breakfast in the morning in the nun’s former dining hall!
Number of attendees: 42
Duration: 1.5 days
Location: Worcestershire
As we were out in the countryside, we thought bushcraft activities would be ideal. Everyone could take part in archery, foraging or den-building, all taught by qualified instructors, and most families chose to give all three a try!
They spent the afternoon putting out fires, rolling up hoses and rescuing dummies from car crashes, all in full uniform. Everybody absolutely loved it, and it was a fantastic opportunity to get everyone together and experience what real firemen have to go through.
