DB London & Amsterdam's Summer Away Day

This summer, our Amsterdam and London studios escaped the city to enjoy a day at the local beaches to soak up some sun and have team bonding fun.

Keep scrolling to see what the studios got up to...

London

In London, the studio was transported from leafy Clerkenwell to the eclectic and artistic seaside town of Margate.  

Starting the day at St Pancras station, the studio split into ten teams - each with a unique name inspired by the hotspots of Margate. And upon boarding the train, we were tasked with our first activity.

Each team had to compose a short sea shanty inspired by their team’s name. Here’s one of our favourites from team eclectics:

Let’s get going DB day out
So many of us to give a shout out
Margate here we come
So bring on the sun

Hey ho Team pink grab drinks
Hey ho team pink grab drinks

A train ride later we arrive right on time
No one has an idea quite how to make things rhyme
Get right to the beach and into the sand
Grab the bucket and lend a hand

Hey ho Team pink grab drinks
Hey ho team pink grab drinks

The Tate is the next stop to get all arty 
Let’s all be behaved and look all smarty
Quickly rush through the gift shop
And get back to the party

Hey ho Team pink grab drinks
Hey ho team pink grab drinks

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Once in Margate, we went on a wild goose chase – with the harbour as our first stop. We were tasked to find and take a selfie with a bronze,12ft high Mrs Booth - named after the seaside landlady whose house had spectacular views over Margate harbour.

For the next challenge, we had to get our feet wet to take a selfie with the famous Antony Gormley sculpture - part of a series of solid cast-ironfigures that explore the experience of being human. The sculpture is only visible three hours below tide, so teams had to get cracking to get their photo.

With the tasks completed at the harbour, we all headed to the beach, ready to transform the seafront with some sand sculpting. With spades in our hands, teams were ready to get creative…

And finally, we headed to Trinity Square for our last activity - where a subterranean adventure awaited us at the Margate caves. Originally dug as a chalk mine in the 18th century, teams had to go deep under to find a fox, monkey, and lion...

After exploring the sites and completing the challenges around Margate, we reunited at the Rose in June pub where we were welcomed by DB’s favourite publican Deke (bringing back memories of time spent in his original pub, The Three Kings – our legendary Clerkenwell local and scene of many past DB shenanigans!) for lunch and drinks followed by speeches, announcements, and ice cream!

Amsterdam

Over at our Amsterdam studio, the team enjoyed an Ibiza-bohemia-themed away day!

The team took the coach to the next best thing to the Balearic island - Zandvoort! With over 9 kilometres of beautiful white beaches, stunning dunes, and a bustling centre – it was the perfect destination to visit for the day.

Like London’s away day, everyone was split into teams to create incredible sand sculptures! But this time, there was a theme. What animal is Design Bridge?

Each team had to present their sculpture and explain why their animal represented DB.

After some serious sand sculpting, the studio went to Hippie Fish – a bohemian-inspired restaurant on the beachfront. The team enjoyed a private beach hut with a live cooking show of fish, meat, and a veggie BBQ.

And you can't have a proper party without a groovy DJ! All in all, a fabulous day out for both of our studios! The perfect opportunity to enjoy a well-deserved beach break and a great source of inspiration. Until next time!

If you want to be at next year’s summer away day pop along to our careers page!