Category: Activity Profile

White Water Rafting in the UK

White water rafting is undoubtedly one of our most exciting activities, so if you’re thinking of putting your paddle power to the test here are a few things you need to know about this wet and wild water sport.

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It’s not just done on rivers..

The UK may be home to some of the wildest stretches of white water in the world, but white water rafting isn’t just confined to natural stretches of white water. Man-made centres like the Lee Valley White Water Centre, used for the London Olympics, are tailor-made for rafting too, and unlike natural stretches of white water conditions out on the water are much more consistent.

 

There are different classes of white water..

Stretches of white water are graded by how difficult they are to negotiate. The International Scale of River Difficulty is graded from 1-6 with class 1 white water being the easiest to pass, and class 6 white water being almost impassable. Unless you’re an experienced rafter you’ll mainly be taking on white water graded between 1-3, as this guarantees you plenty of fun without the risk of injury.

It’s not just rapids you’ll have to avoid..

If you’re taking on a natural stretch of white water it’s not just rapids you’ll need to negotiate. You’ll also have to dodge the danger of rocks, branches and river banks too. It’s not all bad news though, because with our instructors skippering the raft you’ll know exactly what’s coming your way and what you need to do to make it down the river in one piece.

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You’re going to get wet..

Part of the fun of white water rafting is getting a good soaking, and even if you manage to stay in the raft you’re going to get wet at some point. All of our venues provide wetsuits, helmets and life jackets, so when you inevitably get a soaking there’s no need to worry about ruining your clothes. It’s probably for the best you bring a towel and some dry clothes to change into though!

 

To find out first hand just how much fun white water rafting is follow this link to find your nearest venue.

Introducing Escape Games Bristol

We’re excited to announce the latest addition to The Activity People network is Escape Games Bristol.

escape bristol

Hidden within a beautiful listed building at the heart of Bristol city centre this unique escape game venue is the perfect place to put your logic and lateral thinking to the ultimate test.

Working as part of a team you’ll have 60 minutes to discover a once respected professor’s darkest secret, but with time running out fast escaping with the evidence will be far from easy! With authentic props and surroundings adding to the excitement too, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were trying to escape from real-life laboratory.

With 4 identical escape rooms our Bristol venue can cater for up to 20 players at a time. So if you’re looking for a truly one-of-a-kind stag, hen, birthday or team building event there’s nowhere better to test your escape skills.

To find out more about our Bristol escape game venue visit our website.

 

 

 

White Water Rafting – Strange Beginnings

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White water rafting is one of the most popular adrenalin activities in the world, and millions of people put their paddling prowess to the test by taking on some of the wildest, white water stretches they can find. The main reason people choose to take on the challenge of white water rafting is to experience the rush of racing down fast flowing water, negotiating rocks and rapids as they go. However in its formative years rafting served a much more practical purpose, a million miles away from the adrenalin fuelled white water sport many people recognise it as today.

In the 1840’s United States Army officer Lt. John Fremont and inventor Horace H. Day created the first rubber river raft. Their primitive but revolutionary raft was made from four rubber cloth tubes and a wraparound floor. They made their first successful voyage in 1842 when they used their raft to survey parts of the Rocky mountains which were only accessible by boat.

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As rafting slowly gained in popularity it became more viable as a business opportunity and in an attempt to capitalise on its growth John D. Rockefeller Jr. constructed a hotel in the Gran Tenton national park Wyoming. In the late 1950’s the lodge started offering trips down the river in surplus war rafts which were 8ft wide and over 20ft long. The trips were so popular that rival rafting companies started to spring up across the United States, offering rides down some of the fastest and most thrilling stretches of water in the country.

White water rafting grew in popularity throughout the 60’s and 70’s and in 1972 it was included to the Olympic Games held in Munich. In 1997 the international federation of rafting was established and the first international white water rafting championships were held in 1999. The introduction of an international governing body meant rafting became much more strongly regulated and as a result safety improved. The information available to rafters also improved and rivers were graded 1-6 using the International Scale of River Difficulty designed to reflect the technical difficulty and skill level required to navigate a section of river. Rafters use this system to find out what kind of conditions they can expect to face on stretches of river they’ve never been down before.

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Modern day white water rafting has changed dramatically and almost anybody can take to the water for the challenge of negotiating boulder strewn rapids and fast flowing water. There are rafting sites across the globe and its popularity continues to grow, especially in the UK. Scotland is home to some of the best and most difficult white water rafting routes in the world which may explain why it’s so popular. There are even artificial rafting sites with man made rapids that are tailor made to put a rafters paddling skills to the test. So whether you’re trying rafting for the first time or just want to hone your skills the perfect location could be closer than you think. It may have started out as a way of crossing treacherous stretches of water but the fun that can be had in a modern day rafting experience is second to none!

The Zorbing Experience: What to Expect from a Zorb Ride

There are two types of land zorbing rides: dry and wet. In areas where there are no natural hills or contours for the zorb to manoeuvre, a special track is constructed, either out of metal or by shaping a natural barrier from the land itself.
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On a dry ride, the rider is strapped into the zorb against one wall. The operator releases the zorb, and the rider rolls, head over heels, downhill. In hydro-zorbing, the passenger isn’t strapped to the zorb wall. The operator adds about five gallons of warm or cold water — depending on the weather — to the inside of the zorb, then sends the passenger on a wild ride. The passenger slips and sloshes around the inside of the ball as it rolls. Not surprising that the wet ride has been nick named – the washing machine ride!

wet zorb

Even though the zorb is clear plastic, the passenger is somewhat limited in what he or she can see while rolling downhill. Because the zorb has two layers of plastic and because of its speed, it becomes difficult to discern the sky from the ground when you’re on a roll.

The sphere doesn’t travel fast enough to become airborne over bumps, but it will bounce +as it turns down the hill. The actual speed depends on a variety of factors, including whether you’re rolling into a headwind, the weight of the passengers and if you’re strapped in or riding free. When strapped in, you’ll pick up more speed.

Contrary to what you might think, zorbing isn’t particularly nauseating — well, at least according to Andrew Akers, one of the sphere’s inventors. He says that in over 100,000 rides, no one has ever thrown up. While the zorb moves downhill at a good speed, because of its circumference, the person inside only makes one complete rotation about every 30 feet (9 m). While the length of each track varies, you can generally expect about 700 feet (213 m) of fun on your ride.

Zorbing is considered safe and has an excellent safety record. A harness keeps the rider in place on dry rides, and the 459 cubic feet (13 cubic meters) of air sandwiched between the two plastic balls provides ample cushioning.

harness

Because the zorb is on a confined track, the rider has no control over steering or stopping the ball, so a trained operator releases the ball. At the bottom of the hill, the zorb gradually slows to a stop, where another operator is waiting to secure the zorb so you can climb out with ease. A zorb course on land has small cushioned bumps on the surface that keep the zorb in line and the specially designed tracks have barriers on each side to prevent the zorb from veering from it’s designated course.

While it’s not unheard of for a zorb to get a puncture, it won’t pop and shoot down the hill like a balloon releasing air. Any hole in the zorb will lead to a slow air leak. As the air leaks out, the zorb loses its round shape and rolls slower and slower until it settles to a stop. Of course, with the amount of air a zorb contains, it can lose a good bit before the passenger notices any change in performance at all.