Bruce Fowler has no doubt. “We’re the best of the best. We are the best in the country, and why not in Europe, why not the world?” he says proudly.

It is a bold and tongue-in-cheek statement from someone in charge of a children’s educational outdoor centre, and some would surely contest the claim. But in the absence of direct proof, it is not unreasonable or surprising from a man so passionately dedicated to improving the life and learning of youngsters across the district.

The Nell Bank Centre in Ilkley is a name which will conjure up magical memories for thousands of adults who grew up in Bradford and Leeds. For many, it will have been their first experience of interacting directly with nature, from scouring the woods for millipedes to fishing for newts.

Its roots were established in 1977, when the estate north of the River Wharfe was gifted for a peppercorn rent by Bradford Council. Thanks to continuous fundraising efforts on the part of its charitable trust and the community, it has grown from a few second-hand £60 huts to include state-of-the-art accommodation for disabled living.

Visitor numbers increase by about 25 per cent year on year and it is expected to welcome at least 20,000 children in 2010.

“It’s not just us, it’s really other people saying we are the best,” continues Mr Fowler, centre manager. “You can’t really help it, when you think of where we are – where better than Ilkley, with its river, moors and farmland?

“It’s a truly amazing place and readily accessible so children from Ilkley can walk here. It’s part of their growing up, Nell Bank is part of their life.”

There are many arguments to back up Mr Fowler’s beliefs, not least the letters of thanks he receives from teachers and children each week.

Firstly, the location cannot be ignored. When groups of school children arrive, they are welcomed in a heated outdoor amphitheatre with framed views of Ilkley Moor and the Cow and Calf rocks. Situated in a 27-acre site and surrounded by about 100 acres of oak bluebell woodland, they can expect glimpses of deer, cormorants and herons, not to mention the kestrels nesting in the roof.

Depending on age, they can be expected to embark on a day full of discovery. For the younger ones, there is the opportunity to go on a real bear hunt through the squelchy squirchy mud to find teddies sporting a Nell Bank T-shirt or pretend to be animals fleeing from birds of prey.

Older children will perhaps be sent through the woods to find outposts of scents, mimicking the senses used by animals to find their homes, and embark on searches for minibeasts.

For older students, there could be the chance to renovate a barn, work as a team and gain vocational qualifications at the same time.

Even without the schedule of educational activities, just walking round the site offers a wealth of learning opportunity – the small garden boasts fledgling crops of blackcurrant and garlic and even a vineyard.

Fishing nets are stacked up by raised ponds easily accessible for the wheel-chair bound and wooden play areas offer fun - including raised ramps and tunnels for the disabled.

The children are surrounded by wildlife, even in the huts where walls are painted with murals of nature. “It’s possibly the best classroom in Bradford as kids can look at the pictures of the animals and then go out and catch them,” says Mr Fowler.

“The fact is there are people whose lives are changed by learning outdoors and schools see this as a very powerful means of motivating children and acquiring high levels of educational outcomes.

“Also, people have been frightened of risk – our risk averse culture has sanitised children’s expectations.

Out priority is health and safety of children, but you don’t need to be paranoid about it, you find a way of managing it.”

In 2008, the centre was voted the National Lottery best environmental project.

Not content with topping the league for education and conservation, the centre is now aiming to be the most accessible.

It recently opened a residential unit for disabled children and those with special needs, enabling children to sleep in dormitories on site.

Specialist kitchen facilities which can be raised or lowered have been installed and a whirlpool bath eases the aches and pains of being in a wheelchair.

The unit’s meeting room overlooks a wildlife pond and moorland, and buried pipework which absorbs the ground’s warmth to heat the building – part of the centre’s efforts to improve sustainability.

Whether the claim of being the best can be proved or not, there is no doubt that the centre has support.

Local groups are active, from Wharfedale Naturalists planting trees to fundraising efforts by Ilkley’s Round Table and Rotary Clubs.

The centre hosts a number of cross country and orienteering events and is almost fully booked for 2010 and already taking reservations for next year.

Mr Fowler says there is no compromise about being the best, not for the status but for the children of Ilkley and beyond.

“We have a lot of work to get through to finish the vision in many ways,” he says.

“Whatever the challenges, we simply want to be the best because we believe in what we are doing.”

The Nell Bank Centre is holding a family fun day on Saturday, May 8. For more details, e-mail bruce.fowler@ bradford.gov.uk or call 01943 602032.