Earlier this month the Leonard Design offices came together for the annual away day. This year had its ups and downs (literally), hiking to the summit of Mam Tor and descending to the depths of the Treak Cliff Cavern.
Each year the entire team at Leonard Design are invited to the company away day. An event aimed at building a strong well-knit and more importantly having a bit of fun and enjoying new experiences together. With offices both in Nottingham and London and some projects shared across the two locations these events are perfect to strengthen the bond between teams.
Previous years have included a variety of events with not one year being the same as the other, always keeping the event fresh and exciting. Wellbeing and having an active lifestyle is a big part in Leonard Design culture and the away day always reflects this. In the past the away day has comprised of snow days, white-water rafting, obstacle courses, cycling and kayaking to name a few.
This year the away day was held in the Peak District with two events combined. After the offices had combined the team set off to the base of Mam Tor, a 1,696ft tall hill near Castleton. Hiking in multiple small groups the entire team pushed themselves up the hill, despite extreme wind conditions, reaching the summit in the early afternoon.
After a quick stop for lunch, in the glorious sunshine, the team set off for Treak Cliff Cavern. With some of the most beautiful cave formations found in the UK, Treak Cliff was a stark contrast to the large, windy open spaces of the morning. Two groups meandered through the cave formations taking in the sights and looking out for the beautiful Blue John Stone deposits.
Each year we create and gift a Leonard Design product to everyone such as sunglasses and stripy socks (which many people wore for the hike). This year we all had afternoon tea at the mine in the sunshine and all got a Leonard Design mug to keep and remember the day.
Once the explorations were over the team were invited to sit back and relax in the evening with food and drink at ALTO hosted by Marc & Rebecca Brough of Stanton Young. After a full day of expeditions, the team were able to reflect on the day whilst soaking up the atmosphere on the roof terrace and having a boogie on the dance floor.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without the help from numerous people, especially the admin team at Leonard Design for organising the whole event. The whole event was a success and we are thankful for everyone who made the event what it was.
We had better start thinking about next year now!