OUR HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY

YD started in 1991 at Park School, Dartington. Indie Lyndale was the climbing instructor from the very first year and then became manager in 2002. She took it over completely in 2008 with her family and they have been running it as a family business ever since.
We value doing real activities in real places, getting covered in face paint and really enjoying the summer and surroundings up here in Dartington. We employ dedicated and qualified adults who love the activities they instruct.
We are very child-centric and place great emphasis on the individual child’s freedom to choose what they want to do, when and with whom. It’s their holiday after all.
There is always lots to learn at YD but it’s not at all like school. Learning is something which happens naturally at YD and doesn’t have to be forced.

Indie Lyndale

YD Organiser / Instructor of everything

Carli Jones

YD Instructor / Camp Leader

Darren / Daz

YD Instructor / Camp Leader

Ali

Pottery Instructor

Adam

Bush Craft Instructor / Camp Leader

Jo

Quest Games Instructor

Oli

YD Instructor / Camp Leader

Rachel

Caving, Adventure & Mosaic Instructor

Nathan

Caving & Climbing Instructor

Duncan

Circus Skills Instructor

Simon

Watersports Instructor

Sadie (New to YD)

YD Instructor

What sets our staff apart is their dedication to YD and to their activity. Some have been working at YD for 20 years and are experts in their fields, others started as children at the camp and have stayed on to become instructors and bring the energy and enthusiasm of youth with them. Each and every one of them returns every year filled with enthusiasm, commitment and the joy of meeting up with old friends.. They literally love it as much as the kids do.

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Indie has been working at Young Dartington as the climbing instructor since it started in 1991 and in 2002 she took over running YD and has loved every minute of it since!
Indie has been running her own outdoor company ‘Indie Outdoors’ for many years. She is a qualified teacher and International Mountain Leader and was the president of the British Association of Mountain Leaders from 2003 – 2006.

Indie
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Carli is currently studying Sociology and Social Policy in Leeds but always has time to come and run our camp for us each summer holiday. She is in charge of all the cooking and meals, shopping and keeping the camp running smoothly. She loves swimming and putting on a wig to dance to Abba each week for the talent show.

Carli
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Darren joined YD as a camp leader many years ago and says it’s the best thing he does all year. He can turn his hand to anything and helps with the smooth running of the camp as well as instructing some of the activities.

Darren
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Ali has been running pottery at YD for many years and the kids absolutely love her. She inspires them to produce the amazing pieces of work and has her own raku kiln, to fire the children’s creations right in front of their eyes. She is also a qualified teacher and black belt in karate.

Ali
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Adam is a genuine bush-man! He has explored the jungles of Borneo, learned tracking from native Americans and was brought up by wolves (well, with a slight stretch of the imagination). He runs our bush-craft sessions and is often seen singing or telling stories round the campfire.

Adam
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Jo for many years was one of our fantastic attendees. After all of the years we couldn't get rid of her so she joined the staff instead. A true veteran of Young Dartington!

Jo
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Oli is one of our longest serving members starting in the first year of YD back in 1991. Since then he has worked most of the roles and now help manage YD.

Oli
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Rachel runs Mosaics inspiring the kids to create wonderful mosaic tiles. She has worked at YD for many years having been the rock climbing and caving instructor in the past.

Rachel
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Nathan runs our rock climbing and underground challenge sessions. Nathan is a very experienced rock climber and caver with many adventures under his belt he is also a maths teacher at Sands School in Ashburton.

Nathan
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Duncan is our incredible circus skills instructor.He has the amazing ability to take on 10-20 kids with no previous experience and within 3 hours have them juggling, stilt walking, hula hooping, spinning plates and more.

Duncan
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Simon runs our Watersports out at Decoy Lake in Newton Abort. He is a highly trained sailor and everything else water. He has been a part of YD for 15 years now.

Simon
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Sadie is new to us this year but has been in the family for 25 years and has incredible skills within all things craft. She will instructing various things at YD this year.

Sadie