About us

Outdoor Alternative was established by the owners, Ian & Margaret Wright, in 1985 and is now managed by their daughter and son-in-law Jacqui and Andy Short.

The Centre is based around an 18th Century farmhouse where the family have lived for nearly 30 years. The original Centre was built in 1985 and the farm outbuildings were converted in 1993. The Centre sits in seven acres of grazing land allowing space for camping and games playing.

Rhoscolyn is a superb place for people interested in the outdoors; our aim is to provide accommodation for people to enjoy the area with minimal impact on the local environment.

We are committed to environmental sustainability and have an environmental policy that includes a commitment to energy efficiency, reuse, recycling, waste management and composting. We ask our customers to support us in these activities. We have recently been awarded the ‘Green Dragon Award’ for environmentally aware businesses in Wales.

We support the local community and reduce environmental impact from transport by sourcing as much as we can locally.

Margaret & Ian

Margaret & Ian with their 3 children came to Rhoscolyn in 1975 when Ian was posted to Search and Rescue helicopters at RAF Valley. The job of helicopter crewman and Officer i/c Mountain Rescue suited well and as a family we all learned just what a wonderful place the Island was to live. Faced in 1982 with a move away and now with 4 children, we decided leave the RAF rather than leave the place we loved. We had previously thought about starting an outdoor centre, decided we would do it and in 1985 we had our first customers.

Our kids have grown up with the Centre; many of the photos shown on the site were taken by Stephen - 'thanks!', Chris worked with us for a while before settling on the Island and Jacqui and her husband (and 3 girls) have joined us now to share the work and the experience of the Centre.

Maggie and Ian have really enjoyed 18 years of sharing the delights of Rhoscolyn and Anglesey with so many customers who have shown their pleasure by coming back and back again.

Jacqui & Andy

Andy & Jacqui bring their own knowledge and experience to Outdoor Alternative.

Jacqui is a qualified primary school teacher and has a particular interest in environmental education and organic horticulture.

Andy has 15 years management experience in the voluntary sector - most recently as Chief Executive of a national disability organisation.

His experience includes providing management development support to local organisations and the development of quality standards for disability advice services.

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