Feeling Brave? Take On These Adventure Sports
Scale a mammoth wall or abseil from a dizzying height. Tackle an aerial obstacle course high up in the tree canopy. Strap yourself on a high speed zip wire and feel the wind soar by as you hurtle along. Duck, dive, run, jump, hop, and leap seamlessly as you practice parkour freerunning. Or simply take on some high adrenaline pursuits indoors or even in a cave!
When it comes to adventure sports, there's a wealth of choice. There's plenty of variety and options for the whole family so if you are looking for an adrenalin fix or simply something to scare the kids, try these options.
Tree tops adventures
If you have ever wanted to fly from tree to tree, or to float across the leafy canopy of a forest or woodland, then now is your chance. Fun, exciting, and awe inspiring, a tree tops adventure experience day is really the only way (certainly the most enjoyable!) to see the world from a great height!
You'll be kitted out in safety gear, including a super strong harness, just in case you have a little mishap up high. Soon enough you’ll be up and away on your adventure, which is a series of obstacles at varying heights within the trees. Your mission is to get across these obstacles as quickly, safely, and easily as possible. That’s quite a task! The course will include zip wires, rope bridges, balance beams, and scramble nets – definitely an adventure (and good exercise too!)!
Here's a suggestion:
Pop along to Brentwood, Essex, for a high ropes adventure. Test your endurance over six rope courses across three different levels.Zip wire
What’s not to love about dangling hundreds of feet in the air attached to a thin wire than is trying to hurtle you down a mountain at mega miles per hour? That’s right – there’s nothing not to love! It’s an incredible, heart stopping, pulse racing, sweat inducing, exhilarating ride that will leave you screaming for more. Or screaming, at any rate. Definitely screaming…
Imagine the wind in your hair and the world at your feet as you race down a slope clinging on to the extra safe harness for dear life. For a fast action adventure at ridiculous speeds and huge heights, zip lining is the most incredible experience day you can find. Unique, thrilling, and unforgettable, treat yourself or someone you love to a day of fun and exciting sport.
A top choice:
Take on the world’s largest fully underground zip line at Zip World Caverns in Blaenau Ffestiniog, North Wales. Try your hand at underground zip lines, rope bridges, via ferrata, obstacles, and tunnels.Climbing and abseiling
You need your wits about you, your muscles working, and your feet steady as you scale the heights that confront you. And then, once you’ve reached the top, after you’ve admired the view and your colossal achievement, you need nerves of steel and some very good ropes to get you back down again. Heart thumping, blood pumping, this is the sort of activity that sorts the brave from the (sensible) rest of the pack!
For those just starting out, who aren’t entirely sure that climbing is for them, try indoor climbing wall. Still difficult, still a challenge, but less daunting that the rock climbing or other outdoor activities that you can participate in. Perfect for getting the climbing bug!
Not sure about going up, but keen to come down? Then that’s where the abseiling experience day will suit you best.
If rock faces and abseil towers seem a bit tame, then there is always the ice wall. Oh yes! This is a fiendishly hard challenge to tackle, but it’s fun, exhilarating, and an amazing reminder of what the human mind and body can do when they work together! This is 50 feet of ice staring down at you – and you, with all the equipment you will possibly need – get to scale it. Impressive stuff!
Food for thought:
Trek up to Lochaber, Manchester, or London and try your hand at ice climbing. At these venues you can get a taste of an arctic expedition without pesky frostbite to worry about. If you can, head to the venue in Scotland as it boasts the biggest indoor ice wall in the world at 15 metres high.Parkour freerunning
You may not have heard the word ‘parkour’ before, but have you heard the word ‘freerunning’? They are one and the same thing, a mixture of acrobatics, gymnastics, and all out energy expending exercise that is daring, crazy, and a whole heap of fun! Just keep moving in whatever what makes sense, and don’t look back! You’ve seen it in the movies, James Bond seems to be an expert at it, but did you ever think you might get to try it yourself? You can with one of the fantastic parkour experience days on offer.
Becoming addicted to parkour is easy. After you complete your course you’ll have an entirely new perspective on parkour once you’ve finished ducking, diving, running, jumping, hopping, leaping… You get the idea!
Try this for size:
Enjoy some one-to-one time with a parkour pro in this experience available at Paignton, Brixham, Torquay, Totnes, Newton Abbott, and Teignmouth. Learn how to move on and between outside objects and buildings, as well as picking up the essentials like vaulting, rolling, running, climbing, and leaping. Your instructor will demonstrate moves for you to follow and copy.Adrenaline medley
Sometimes making a decision when it comes to fun filled, adrenalin pumping, excitement causing activities days can be too much to ask for. How is it possible to choose between bungee jumping and abseiling? Or parachuting and a zip wire? And what about when you have made a choice, but then are faced with even more options – how high do you want to do, how far, how long? Make the easy decision and do all of it on one day! You won’t even have to spend a fortune to try everything out either. The incredible variety days include a combination of the best of the best in high flying stunt experiences, including bungee jumping, zip wire flying, abseiling, and simulated parachuting!
The weather won’t be any reason not to jump, as the experiences all take place inside, including the revolutionary indoor bungee! Your terrified screams as you plummet one hundred and fifty feet on a bungee cord will be heard for miles.
Here's a suggestion:
Head to Sheffield, South Yorkshire, for four extreme thrills. Race 250 feet on the UK's longest indoor zip wire. Abseil 150 feet into the Abyss. Jump 150 feet on an indoor parachute simulator. Leap 150 feet on the UK's only indoor bungee jump.Lightening Fast! - What You Need To Know
- WHEN: Events take place year-round. Some outdoor events can be weather-dependant so check the vouchers carefully to see if that's the case on your activity.
- WHERE: Locations are dotted around the country. Some locations, such as those, take advantage of the local geology so you might need to travel to these to experience something at the next level.
- WHO: These experience are great for anyone with a head for heights and a passion for adventure! Some activities are ideal for group outings such as hen or stag parties, or even for corporate events – no one will forget you in a hurry if you organise this exciting, unique, and thrilling day out!
- OCCASIONS: These adrenaline-fuelled experiences are perfect gifts for a birthday, Christmas, or just to say thanks. They are fun activities perfect for blowing off some steam. Many are child-friendly too making these ideal for kids and teens.
- PRICES: Basic experiences start from £20 a head. Some of the more expensive activities take place in really unique locations. (correct at the time of writing)
- QUESTIONS: Need help? Ask questions here and I'll try to help as best I can
- TRIED THIS?: Would you recommend it? Share your thoughts here
(Photo credit to RitaE)
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