Mount Cook in Matlock embarks on new adventure with Derventio Housing Trust to help residents

Mount Cook Adventure Centre in Matlock has teamed up with Derventio Housing Trust in a new partnership.

There is a joint Marketing Derby networking event planned on November 22 which will see business people invited to swap their suits for something more comfortable so they can fly through the air on a zip wire and embark on the centre’s challenging ‘via ferrata’ rock traverse.

As well as that, a unique new kind of triathlon is being held in summer 2025 which will combine the event’s traditional swim, bike and run but in a different order with some brain-teasing puzzles thrown in!

Mount Cook has been working with Derventio Housing Trust for a few years, with residents – many of whom are in recovery from drug and alcohol use – coming to the centre to enjoy outdoor pursuits such as archery, sitting round a campfire and climbing.

The housing trust provides more than 700 bed spaces of accommodation throughout the UK for people who would otherwise be at risk of homelessness. It is currently providing housing for more than 200 people in Derby and Derbyshire, and hundreds more in Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Nottinghamshire.

Operating in five counties, the trust runs numerous support schemes including Growing Lives in Ilkeston, which offers residents the opportunity to take part in a range of activities designed to boost confidence, including craft, woodworking, gardening and countryside walks.

It is through Growing Lives that residents have been able to enjoy Mount Cook, and which has inspired the new partnership between the organisations.

Madeline Horton, sales and marketing manager for Mount Cook Adventure Centre, said: “Our mission at Mount Cook is to provide access to the outdoors for groups of people, especially those who might not otherwise get the opportunity to participate in the adventures we offer here. We’d like to use our partnership to help Derventio raise funds so that more adults can benefit from its services.

“The feedback from residents who have been to our centre in the past is that the biggest impact it had was the sense of community it gave them. They came away feeling they had enjoyed a holiday, that they had gathered round a table together and shared experiences.”

One 54-year-old Derventio Housing Trust resident who enjoyed a stay at Mount Cook Adventure Centre said it was the first holiday he had ever had in his life, and that he was reduced to “tears of joy” when recalling the happiness it gave him.

Jackie Carpenter, assistant director of strategy for Derventio Housing Trust, said: “We are very excited to be starting this new partnership with Mount Cook Adventure Centre. Residents who have enjoyed staying there have loved their experience and we know what brilliant work the centre does with many different groups. We are looking forward to working together and hope we can use our partnership to raise funds and awareness so that more residents can enjoy outdoor experiences when they otherwise might not.”

Mount Cook is a not-for-profit outdoor activity centre which opened in 2016 and is set in a former quarry. It offers a wide range of activities including bushcraft, rock climbing, archery, high ropes, abseiling, land karts and a ‘via ferrata’ – which gives participants the chance to traverse across a quarry using an iron walkway hammered into the rock face.