Skip to content
brathay logo
  • Charity
      • One Brathay
      • Community Work
      • Brathay in Yorkshire and Humber
      • Brathay in Cumbria & North West
      • Stories to Tell
      • Our Impact
    • Brathay recently appointed CEO Teresa Jennings. She is smiling at the camera, sitting in front of Brathay Hall, a grand Georgina Building. She wears a bright pink blazer and black top.
      A warm welcome to our new CEO!
    • Group of young people outside on green lawn looking happy
      7 effective ways for young people to manage stress and improve mental health
  • People Development
      • People Development at Brathay
      • Our Core Approach
      • Team Development
      • Leadership Development
      • Emerging Talent
      • Wellbeing And Resilience Training
      • Client Stories
    • Brathay employees at their event stand. Frank and Robyn are wearing smart casual clothes and smiling in front of their stand. There's a banner behind with a picturesque view of Brathay that says
      Brathay booked to speak at World of Learning 2023
    • Circle 'stamp-like logo with red blue and grey stripes. Text in circle:
      New “Partnership for supporting Young People in Work”
  • Residentials
      • Schools Residentials
      • Community Group Residentials
      • Group Accommodation
      • Activities
    • Challenging and inspiring school residentials to ignite young minds
    • SWITCHED2 students working together on problem solving activity outside Brathay Hall
      Cumbrian students ‘live their best life’ at Brathay
  • Staycations
      • Escape to Brathay
      • En-suites
      • Self-Catering
      • Weddings at Brathay Hall
      • Venue hire
    • Two people having a breakfast with coffee. Croissants and a cooked breakfast.
      Best Breakfast Spots in Ambleside 2023
    • Collie dog in the lake district
      Our Dog-Friendly Guide To The Lake District
  • Challenges
      • Visit our Challenges site
    • runners running in the london marathon
      Run the London Marathon for Brathay!
    • Malc Collins prepares for his tenth Brathay 10in10
  • Get Involved
      • Donate
      • Fundraise
      • Join Love Brathay
      • Senior Leadership Team
      • Trustees & Fellows
      • Vacancies
    • Brathay 10in10 runner embracing (hugging) a supporter. The runner has their back to the camera, wearing a Brathay 10in10 t-shirt.
      Believing In Brathay: Fundraising For Young People In Need
    • Our Project Worker Katie is swimming Lake Windermere
      Our Project Worker Katie is swimming Lake Windermere
  • News
Home News, Events & Blogs What does Brathay actually do, then..?

What does Brathay actually do, then..?

2 November 2020

What do you think Brathay does?
Do you know us primarily for one thing?

Maybe you’re aware of our work with children and young people - the outdoor education work and residential programmes run at our Lake District centres. Or our community work with young people and families in Bradford or Barrow. Perhaps you’ve spent time with us on one of our programmes for corporate groups, or enjoyed a B&B stay Brathay Hall. We could simply be the name behind various challenge events, such as the Windermere Marathon.

So, which one is right?

All of them. We’re a social enterprise, improving wellbeing for everyone who comes into contact with us, using a surprisingly broad range of activities to support our charitable remit – to improve the life chances of children, young people and families, by inspiring them to engage positively in their communities. We know that everyone has the capacity to do extraordinary things that can inspire and benefit others.

Our work with children, young people and families is central to Brathay’s purpose. Every year we help thousands of young people to make positive choices that will change their lives by:

  • helping young people and their families overcome barriers they face on their path into education, training or work;
  • supporting young people at risk of exploitation, criminality and abuse giving them the strength to make positive choices and take control of their lives; and,
  • working with young people in their communities and offering inspirational residential experiences at Brathay that transforms their outlook.

Focusing on strengths

Focusing on each individual’s strengths through powerful experiences and structured support in the community, we inspire young people to realise their potential and develop a range of skills that raise aspirations and benefit the people around them.

To do that, we need money – which is where all the other activities come in. We put a great deal of effort into securing the income needed to keep us going, through seeking funding from grant-giving organisations, local authorities, individual donors, and other channels.

That income only goes so far, though. To allow us to carry out our vital work, we do all the other things that you might know us for, too.

Our work with people and organisations is not only of the highest quality, but also a perfect example of Corporate Social Responsibility in action for our clients, as profits from these programmes supports or core work.

We run programmes with schools and academies, supporting their students through their development and enhancing their leadership capabilities.

Our staycation facilities for the public are hugely valuable in supporting our work – as is conference facilities hire, and use of our amazing and beautiful site on the edge of Windermere for events and even wedding receptions. It all helps us to keep going.

Then there’s our amazing challenge events. With more than a decade of experience delivering the Windermere Marathon, and the incredible 10in10 challenge (10 marathons in 10 days around Windermere), we have expanded our events range to include cycling, rowing and walking challenges, as well as further running events, providing income through entry fees and the valuable fundraising efforts of participants.

All these supporting activities have something in common, other than simply bringing in additional revenue for us – they boost the wellbeing of everyone involved and are truly valued by our clients.

Our staff team are hugely experienced and professional, and everything we do is of the highest standard. School groups return to us year after year, impressed and reassured by our continued ability to achieve the outcomes they seek for their students.

Deep working relationships

The long-term relationships (some for decades) we have built with our corporate clients allow them to get more involved and support us in other ways, too. We are their partners – trusted to help them deliver great business performance by developing a skilled, collaborative and engaged workforce via personal, team and leadership programmes.

The feedback from our staycation guests reflects the fantastic experiences they have with us – they’re loving the location, facilities and friendly professionalism of our staff, and are reassured by our care and attention to detail.

Our Challenge events are consistently praised for the high quality organisation and delivery. Even in the hugely difficult and complex period after lockdown, we successfully delivered events including the Ambleside Trail 60 and Langdale Marathon, receiving enthusiastic praise for our careful planning, delivery and safety precautions.

So, Brathay is surprisingly complex, but also beautifully simple - the flexibility of our commercial lines supports our core youth work.

And everyone has a part to play.

One Passion

One Purpose

One Brathay

A Charity
  • Community Work
  • One Brathay
  • Community Programmes
  • Stories to Tell
  • Our Impact
A Social Enterprise
  • People Development
  • Challenge Events
  • Staycations
  • School Residentials
A Close-Knit Team
  • Join Love Brathay
  • Fundraise
  • Volunteer
  • Trustees & Fellows
  • Vacancies
Charity Details
  • Contact us
  • Accounts
  • Policies
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Page Sitemap

Subscribe to our Newsletter

*By subscribing you agree to receive emails from Brathay. You can unsubscribe at any time.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
British Assessment Bureau registered
We're certified by Adventure Activities Licensing Authority
Brilliant Residentials logo
we're approved by the John Muir Award
We're approved by Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme
We're Institute for Outdoor Learning
Registered With Fundraising Regulator

© Copyright 2021, Brathay Trust. All rights reserved. Brathay is the trading name of Brathay Trust, a charitable company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales.

  • Company Registration Number: 2814206
  • Charity Registration Number: 1021586
  • Registered Office: Brathay Hall, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 0HP.
Donate
Request a Call
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Do you wish to accept cookies?YesPrivacy policy