Thrills, Spills and a Thorough Soaking!

I love water, love getting wet and enjoy a real challenge, which is just as well because a rafting experience day provides all of those things. My mate and I went to give this extreme sport a go and try something new.

When we arrived at the centre we were given a whole load of information about where to sit how to paddled and most importantly that we knew what the commands were! The commands tell the crew what to do, how to ride the water and hopefully stop the inflatable from flipping over. The guide explained that the quicker the crew can respond to his commands the more control we will have over the craft. Water safety was an all important part of the briefing, one of the requirements to being allowed to participate was the ability to swim and even though we all had to wear a buoyancy aid the guy told us it was surprising how many came along and claimed they could swim okay and yet when they fell into the river were unable to swim at all! To me that’s daft as they could get into serious trouble and put others at risk, but I suppose people believe that it won’t really matter, but in my opinion it certainly does you need to be confident in the water to take part in rafting.

Rafting is a team sport which has the guide as the captain, he got us all in the inflatable and gave us our places, balancing the craft with body weight. Once we had pushed off from the riverside the water current took the boat down the river at quite a speed, we did a few practice commands before heading off into the faster water and managed to keep the raft still by dragging the paddles behind us.
My pulse had started to race as we rushed down the river, the splashing water hit with quite a force and before long I was soaked, the concentration needed to keep the raft from flipping was incredible, the noise of the water made it a bit difficult to hear the guides commands but we all managed to do our best to react quickly. The camaraderie on the raft was brilliant, everyone trying their best at every twist and turn of the river.

The great thing about this rafting experience day is that you get to go rafting more than once which was excellent as there are different runs so each time is a completely different experience.

This has to be one of the most extreme sports which provides thrills, spills and a thorough soaking which all adds to the make the day a really brilliant experience with a bunch of people who are out to have a good time.

The warm shower and change of clothes, followed by a mug of hot coffee and the chance to recall the adventures added to the overall value for money and feel good factor of this rafting experience day.

Win at Least One Lap!

Arrival at the circuit in plenty of time gave me the opportunity to have a look round and size up the competition! The track was buzzing with drivers and support staff who were preparing for a final heat. The tension was almost palpable as the drivers made their final adjustments and started their engines, these looked like seasoned drivers who were belting round the track and cornering magnificently.

I went to the registration room and was asked to sign an indemnity which I was fully expecting, these guys don’t want to be sued for accidents or injuries from circumstances beyond their control.
The safety briefing was given to all drivers, there was a strict ‘no messing about’ air to the guy’s voice, although they want you to have a great time they don’t want people being reckless and foolhardy, fair comment I say. We were there talked through the protocols, flag and light signals and told to adhere to them at all times before being issued with safety helmet and overalls. The stewards and instructors were helpful guys and girls who were easy to chat with and clarify questions, these guys definitely want you to have a good time on your karting experience day!

We were escorted down to the track-side and shown our karts, which was slightly smaller than I had imagined, however, they were really cool and in excellent condition. I was really glad to have a few practice laps which gave me time to familiarise myself with the kart and take a tentatively slowish time to go round the track to see just how to handle it.

The serious racing began, karts all lined up and waiting for the green flag and lights, this is were the nervous need to remain steady and the mind focused to ensure a good start gets you the best racing lines. The wait seemed to last for ages, I’m sure this is done deliberately to get everyone buzzing and the nerves tingling!

I gunned the throttle and had a pretty reasonable start before slowing down to take the first bend, these karts are really powerful and tested my driving skills to the max. I was aware that I had been overtaken when this guy came right up behind me and whipped by as if I was stationery, I guess he’d done this before and decided it would be good to keep on his tail and follow him round. ‘All best intentions and all that’, he left me standing as I braked to take a corner and he accelerated away down the straight.

Beaten, but no disheartened I loved this karting experience, the wind rushing past, the smell of the track and the fierce competition it was easy to see why Formula 1 drivers often start off as kart drivers, it gives you a real adrenaline rush, gets the heart pounding and certainly made me perspire even though it wasn’t a particularly warm day!

At the end my arms ached, I think I had been gripping the wheel far too tightly, ah well, next time I have a karting experience day I’ll know the tricks of the trade and will win, well at least one lap!

Heart Thumping Experience

Anyone who knows their stuff about fast cars will probably agree that the Subaru Impreza WRX STI is one of the fastest cars on the rally circuits. Being given the opportunity to actually drive one of these awesome cars was a dream come true.

The fast car experience day lived up to both its name and reputation beyond my wildest dreams. Clutching my driving licence I headed up the M1 to Loughborough to join the safety briefing and explanation of what this experience entailed. I, along with some other folk, seated ourselves in the training room to listen to the tips and techniques involved in taking this car around the circuit. There were some awesome photographs on the walls of the room showing different cars and drivers on and off the track.

I drank too much coffee, well that’s my excuse for needing the loo before putting on the all important safety gear and making my way down to the track side to watch some pretty nifty drivers putting these cars through their paces during their fast car experience day.

I clambered into the passenger seat of a Hot Hatch, harnessed up and prepared myself for the thrill of my life. The guy wasted no time at all in showing his expertise as he gunned the throttle and put his foot to the floor before jamming on the brakes to take the first corner at an incredible speed. The sound of the car and the smell of the fuel were fantastic, with my pulse racing and my heart thumping we tore round the track a couple of times before coming to a screaming halt.

Great my turn, I thought I could drive, and I mean really drive and intended to show my skills by taking the car around the circuit in a really fast time. I’d had the safety briefing so there was to be no silly stuff which would jeopardise me or the guy sitting next to me, just skilful driving on my part.
I gunned the engine and took off, changing up through the gears as fast as I could before dropping back down into second to take the first bend, this car certainly holds the road well and I made the first bend without any problems, my confidence building I began to open her up a bit more and reached some incredible speeds down the straights, remembering what they’d said about racing lines and effective use of last minute breaking my four exhilarating laps were quickly completed. That was really cool, what an adrenaline pumping experience, I could have happily carried on with a few more laps.

To end this fast car experience day myself and the others were given the opportunity to stand and watch others complete their laps before returning to the briefing room to be congratulated, handed our Subaru certificates and given the chance to buy a photograph of myself in action, no pressure to buy, but it was a pretty awesome photo which will look really cool on my bedroom wall!

An Amazing Adrenaline Rush

Coasteering Experience Day

What a life changer a daft comment can make! I only suggested that after seeing an advert on the TV that ‘it looked fun’ and before I knew it my mum had booked me onto a Coasteering Experience Day as a treat.

I’m not an experienced rock climber or anything like that, so was a little anxious to find out what I’d let myself in for. I took along an spare pair of trainers, trunks and towel as recommended and joined a group of six other people who were all speculating on what we could expect to do and see during our coasteer, apparently that’s the name for each unique coasteering experience. The guide was a really cool guy, who was incredibly knowledgeable and really easy to get along with.

The day began by struggling and wriggling into warm steamer wetsuits, not the most endearing outfit I have to say but we all looked the same so no worries, we were also given buoyancy aids, irrespective of how well any one could or claimed to be able to swim, like the guy said the swell and the current can be pretty strong so everyone had to wear one, fair comment, the guy can’t afford to have anyone harm themselves. We all donned our safety helmets and orange lightweight over-jackets and popped into the minibus for the short ride to the coast.

The atmosphere really began to buzz once we arrived and started scrambling down over the rocks to begin the first rock climbing. Nothing too strenuous to start with and I soon began chatting casually with the others, to find that once we’d reach the top we were going to fling ourselves from the rock face into the sea. Not wanting to look at complete twit I declined the offer of going first, I shouldn’t have worried not one person had ever done this before so we were all in the same boat..well actually without a boat!

What an amazing adrenaline rush as I launched myself off the cliff and plunged into the sea, wow, it was incredible. Brimming with confidence, the first jump is always the toughest, we all swam into caves to be astounded by the sheer unadulterated beauty of it all, nature at its very best.

The coasteering experience day continued with countless jumps, swimming and scrambling over the rocks all the while being shown different birds, animals and rock formations, I had no idea this kind of thing happened in the UK. The guide told me that coasteering is becoming an increasingly popular extreme sport with a whole host of different routes available depending on people’s abilities and experience.

Although the weather started to close in a bit and the sun disappeared, everyone was having such a great time that it was irrelevant, we were wet anyway, a little rain was not going to spoil the day! At the end of the coasteering experience day, I was exhausted, yet elated and exhilarated, what a fantastic way to spend a morning, thanks mum!

A Truly Peaceful Experience

Fed up with receiving the same sorts of gifts each year I was more than delighted when I was given a Flotation Tank Experience Day for my birthday! I decided to make the very most of my trip to London, I jumped on a train to spend the morning browsing the shops and treating myself to a light lunch, nothing too heavy or I might sink! How daft, it is impossible to sink in a floatation tank.

I had heard of floatation tanks and float therapy but was a little unsure of what to expect. On my arrival at the clinic I was made very welcome by experienced and extremely friendly staff. They explained the techniques and the process of using water which is saturated with Epsom Salts to suspend the body in the water, she said it was like being in the Dead Sea, but as I’ve never been to the Dead Sea was still a little unsure of how it worked.

I was then given choices as to whether I had the lights on or off, music, television or simply wanted to reduce my stress and get rid of all the aches and pains in my body naturally. As this was definitely ‘me’ time I decided not to have any music and I certainly didn’t come to watch television, so I chose to have silence and darkness.

I was then taken to the changing area and slipped into my swimming costume, I didn’t think this was the place for a skimpy bikini, and wrapped myself in a robe before being taken to the floatation room, which was tastefully decorated, very minimalistic with only the large floatation tank and a chair to put my robe on.

Somewhat intrepidly I stepped into the tank, determined to enjoy this floatation tank experience day to the full. I was surprised to find the water at a really pleasant temperature, not too hot or too cold. The therapist had explained how the water temperature is heated to the same as a human body’s temperature making it almost impossible to tell which parts of your body are in water and those that aren’t. I simply laid down and let the water effortlessly take my weight. The water is only ten inches deep and I was convinced that my backside would bump on the bottom of the tank but it didn’t! The water quite simply supported my entire body and although it was a strange sensation it was by no means unpleasant, if fact quite the opposite it felt wonderful just lying there so effortlessly and just like I had been told, it felt as if I were floating on air rather than in water.

I have never experienced anything as peaceful before, the therapist had told me that the floatation tank enable people to relax to the very deepest levels and this experience was certainly doing just that. As I closed my eyes, my mind seemed to drift and empty, I wasn’t asleep, I just felt in total harmony with my body in a very natural way.

For a truly memorable, unique and extraordinary indulgence a Floatation Tank Experience Day has to be one of the most incredible experiences around.

Floatation Tank Experience Day

A Strategic Game of Elimination

For those who are under the impression that paintballing its just a bunch of guys and girls charging through some trees daubed with camouflage paint, think again! Paintballing is a strategic game of elimination and the best team wins!

The paintballing experience day begins with registration, issue of the all important weapons, extensive safety briefing and much to my relief they showed everyone how to use the equipment. There was a mixed group of people from all walks of life, shapes and sizes, my team’s opponents were a bunch of executive guys who were out on a team building day, they thought they were the ‘business’ and strutted around, as guys do, talking of how they were going to annihilate our team within seconds, little did they know that we had some pretty awesome guys and girls on our team who were not going to take this paintballing experience day lightly.

After putting on our combat gear and of course daubing our faces with camouflage paint, well you can’t be taken seriously if you’re not looking the part, our first mission was explained, as I said this is well organised combat, with the knowledge that no one is actually going to kill you or beat you up and to make sure there is no foul play experienced marshals are on hand throughout.

We began by quickly discussing the mission and tactics we were going to use to get the better of these guys, with adrenalin pumping we headed off into the woods at a pretty fast pace to get the most advantageous positions. The mission had seemed simple enough however, after a short while the weapons began firing and the first few casualties of combat had been hit and covered with paint, and let me tell you that there is no mistaking that you’ve been hit, not only are you marked these paintballs give quite a thump when they hit you!

Dodging and weaving through the trees we were doing okay but unfortunately the other team won, but only this first mission, we had another five to go, so plenty of time for revenge. A short break to catch our breath and the next mission was issued, okay, we know what we are doing now so this time victory will be ours! Yes, we charged through the trees thinking we were Rambo, but who cares we came here to have a fun packed day in the outdoors and that’s just what we were getting, an experience to meet new people who also enjoy being just a little scared at times and have some exhilarating fun at the same time. Our team were awesome, dodging behind trees and hiding in the undergrowth to catch our breath and still managing to blast our weapons at the opponents skilfully.

Okay, so the others did win more times than us, what the heck, the paintballing experience day has certainly lived up to expectations, next time I’ll make sure I’m in better shape and really give those guys something to think about.

Paintballing Experience Day

Because I’m Worth It!

Beauty Treatment Experience Day

My beauty treatment experience day began from the moment I received this fantastic gift! With the wide range of treatments on offer it was difficult to choose which one to opt for! My nails were in a desperate state so should I go for the luxury manicure or a more relaxing aromatherapy massage? I decided that an aromatherapy massage was definitely in order to help soothe away tension and help reduce my stress!

Arriving, somewhat apprehensively, I was relieved to find the atmosphere relaxed and informal, the staff went out of their way to make me feel comfortable offering coffee, while I completed an easy medical questionnaire which basically just asked whether I has any specific medical conditions which I was currently being treated for, no problems there so I trundled through to get changed into a sumptuous white fluffy robe and slippers.

The beauty treatment room was spotlessly clean, warm, with subtle lighting which made it very welcoming. I soon began to feel more relaxed as the aromatherapy massage therapist talked me through the choices of oils, as she said there would be nothing worse than having your body covered in a fragrance that you didn’t like the smell of or actually made you feel ill! Apparently not all aromatherapy oils suit everyone so it was reassuring to know that my beauty treatment experience day really was dedicated and individual to me rather than having a run of the mill ‘one oil does all’ attitude, this therapist took her work and expertise very seriously indeed.

We decided on using a blend of oils which were excellent for relaxation, with the delightful aromas of cedar-wood, which stills the mind and geranium which helps to relieve nervous tension. I removed the robe and wrapped myself in a large white towel and climbed up onto the massage couch.

The beauty treatment experience day began in earnest once I was laying face down on the treatment bed and the therapist began by gliding her hands over my back which she explained was necessary to warm up the muscles and prepare my soft tissue for deeper treatment, I had already began to relax and so although interested in what she was doing and the reasons why I hoped she wasn’t going to keep up a running commentary the whole time! Shoulders and arms were next, oh my! this was really relaxing and much to my delight the commentary stopped.

The deeper treatments began in earnest with pummelling and kneading techniques which found every ache and tense muscle, particularly around my neck and shoulders, the therapist deftly and expertly massaged the tension away. The oils were massaged into my skin leaving it feeling like velvet, not sticky or tacky. The choice of oils had been exactly what I needed and before long I actually thought I was going to drop off to sleep, all of my apprehension had disappeared, I was really enjoying this ‘me’ time.

As the saying goes, ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ and before long my beauty treatment experience day was drawing to a close. I somewhat reluctantly got myself dressed and headed off home with all intentions of returning at the next available opportunity, I know what will be at the top of my Christmas ‘wish list’ this year!

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