We’ve all been on corporate away days. Some are great, with a combination of fun activities and serious meetings that allow you to progress your objectives and work better together with your team. Some can be terrible – in dull venues with no inspiring sessions, which make you wish that you’d stayed in the office. The key to a great away day is finding the right venue, once that’s done they will work with you to ensure that the day is exactly as it should be, with a mix of fun and work. Whilst staying in London might be good for getting people to the venue easily, we have a selection of unique venues for Away days near London (all about an hour away) yet still offer the ‘away’ part of an away day.
Stanmer House is located just ten minutes from Brighton, therefore within easy reach of London Victoria, Gatwick Airport and the rest of the South Coast. With rooms holding up to 50, roaring fires in winter and outdoor space a-plenty to enjoy in the milder months this is a lovely venue set in the rolling South Downs. With lots of experience in hosting team building events and business meetings this is a great venue whatever the time of year.
Just outside Staplehurst, Kent is Hush Heath Estate and if wine is your thing, this is the venue for your next away day. The Estate is 400 acres of wine and cider producing countryside with expertise in hosting between 25 and 200 guests. As the estate hosts frequent tours and tastings of it’s award winning produce, why not incorporate this into your away day for a fun and educational way to bond with your colleagues.
For a football themed away-day, the Kassam Stadium which is the home of Oxford United Football Club is within easy access of both the M4 and the M40 and is the ultimate flexible venue. With over 38 rooms, state of the art AV (and on site AV staff), personally tailored menus and extensive parking this is a great choice to get away from the capital, and being in a football stadium can add an extra dimension to your team building.
Mercedes Benz World is the UK home to Mercedes Benz and as well as hosting a huge car showroom, shop and restaurants it also has a test track where your team members can experience a range of different cars either as drivers or passengers – which will definitely be a day to remember. The venue, which has a large amount of event spaces to hire is located next door to the famous Brooklands race track, and is a few minutes from Weybridge train station, with easy to access from London Waterloo and Surrey.
And finally, for team building with a historical twist Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire is a great choice. Home to the Marlborough family this 300 year old magnificent building has a selection of characterful rooms available for hire, holding up to 180 seated delegates. For smaller, team building away-days the events team at Blenheim have over 20 years experience of organising these events and can advise on how best to spend your time at Blenheim. Options include falconry, cross-bow archery, or treasure hunts and all are designed to motivate staff and build relationships.
