Adrenamag - Adrenalin Activities

The Met Office has stopped the long range forecasts, or seasonal forecasting as they call it, because of the criticism it received for not predicting the last three wet UK summers, not to mention the coldest winter for 30 years.

The Met Office says: ‘Because of the chaotic nature of variability and the potential for errors in the starting conditions, long-range forecasts can only be delivered in terms of probabilities.’ So when it comes to knowing what’s in store for the rest of the summer, it’s fingers crossed guys.

But fear not. If you’re on holiday or looking for weekend activities, Britain is better equipped than ever before to escape the drizzle. And, although life may be brighter when it’s sunny, there’s plenty of fun to be had in the mud and water. Here are six ideas to ensure you’re upbeat in the downpours.

1. Quad Biking. Quad motorbike enthusiasts often pray for rain – so blame them. They relish the slippery mud and the handling challenges. There are quad biking venues across the country offering different terrain. Sites such as Kingsland Quads in Herefordshire are famous for woodland, while other locations like Findon Quad Biking in West Sussex lay on a series of obstacles. All are much more challenging in the wet. Quad biking start from around £45.Click here for details.

2. Indoor karting. It doesn’t matter what the weather is doing when you’re racing around an indoor karting track. Double level tracks like the one at Coventry Karting, which is 300 metres, put corning skills to the test. Packages start from £30 to £40. Kick-start by clicking here.

3. Rally Driving. Whenever you imagine rally driving, it’s in the rain through forests and narrow dirt tracks, so the wetter the better. Rally Driving, Knighton, Powys, is the authentic experience. Top rally drivers hone their skills on the forests tracks. Not cheap – prices from £265 – but this is proper rally driving.  Start the accelerator by clicking here.

4. Clay Pigeon Shooting. Put the Barber and the green wellies on and get out shooting when the skies cloud over. You’ll be so focused on the target you won’t notice the rain. Prices can start from as low as £31 for two hours’ shooting. Fire here for more details.

5. Zorbing. Instead of the umbrella, cover yourself in a huge plastic bubble and roll downhill. For about £20, you can have a ball. Roll the curser here for more details.

6. 4X4 Off-Roading. Off road wouldn’t really be right without wet and mud, would it?4X4 Off Roading Canterbury, Kent, offers a special mud churner package for those who really like to wallow in it. Prices vary considerably but most venues provide tuition. Click here for more details.

Ayrton Senna de Silva would have been 50 this year. Arguably the greatest ever Formula 1 driver, the Brazilian was a three-time world champion.  He died in a crash in 1994 at the San Marino Grand Prix at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Italy, while he was leading the race.

In a survey in 2009, carried out by Autosport magazine, 217 current and former drivers picked Senna as their number one racer of all time. His reputation was built on fierce competitive spirit, blistering one-lap qualifying times and wet weather driving skills that many believe have never been bettered.

Oddly, his driving career began when his older sister Viviane received a 1HP go-kart as a gift. She didn’t feel it was an appropriate present for a girl, but the young Senna felt differently. He was off. In 1977 he won the South America Kart Championship and he competed in the World Kart Championship between 1978 and 1982, gaining runners-up positions in 1979 and 1980.

Senna’s rivalry with the French driver Alain Prost is one of the most unforgiving head-to-head combats in any sport.  It culminated in the Japanese Grand Prix in 1989, when the two McClaren teammates crashed going into the final chicane. With both drivers off the track and Prost out of the race, the typically determined Senna managed to restart the car, replacing his injured wing in a pit stop, and going on to win the race, although he was later disqualified. A reminder of the duo’s epic racing battles can be seen in the above video, when the arch rivals returned to their karting heritage in 1993, just a year before Senna’s death.

Today, Senna is the inspiration for racing drivers and kart enthusiasts across the globe, as the top video highlights. What are your memories of Senna? Did you see him race? Did he inspire you to take up karting? We would like you to get in touch with your memories. And those that we publish on the site will receive activity vouchers, which you could use to go karting. If you would like to get into karting, click here.

With the long-term rise in the value of the Euro against the pound, ash clouds, the BA strike, the credit crunch and the increasing awareness of the environmental impact of air travel, there’s no shortage of reasons for holidaymakers to stay closer to home. Not surprising then that the National Office for Statistics reports that in the year ending in April 2010, visits to Europe by UK residents fell by 14 per cent from 51. 7 million to 44.3 million, while trips to North America and other parts of the world were also down.

The British seaside holiday, it seems, is back in business. But it’s no longer about sitting on a deckchair with a knotted hanky on the head and a stick of rock in the hand. Instead of donkey rides on the beach, it’s more likely to be hanging off a cliff in Wales or hot air ballooning across London. Adrenamag headed off around the country to track down some day-out ideas that will keep the family’s pulse racing this summer.

1. Horse riding – Liskeard, Cornwall. Holidays can be life-defining moments. If you’ve never tried horse riding, you could discover you’re a cross between the Princess Royal and Frankie Dettori. Of course, you may also be a regular rider and want to keep up in the saddle on holiday. Either way, Cornwall and Devon offer a lot for both riding beginners and experienced horse people. It’s a terrific way to get exercise and see the countryside from a new perspective. Click here to hop into the saddle.

2. Hydro-zorbing – Liverpool. Instead of the ferry across the Mersey, how about zorbing across it? And, no this isn’t one of those cheeky Scouser jokes. Hydro-zorbing is the closest to walking on water you can get without falling in.  Unlike dry zorbing you’re not strapped; you stand up and make your way across the river using foot power.  Everyone who does it says it’s hilarious. Also, it’s suitable for children from age seven, right up to have-a-go grannies. From £19.99. Get the ball rolling here.

3. Rally driving – Saltburn, Teeside. Rally driving is perhaps the ultimate driving skill. The loose gravel track in Teeside is designed to replicate a real stage in a rally, testing steering and braking touch. So, if you’ve ever fancied yourself as a Hannu Mikkola or a Colin McRae here’s your chance big boy or girl.  Obviously not for kids, but more for steadying the nerves of hard-pressed parents and those who would never dream of having children. And if it is raining, all the better – splash the mud. Prices from £71.50. Click here for more details of rally driving in the UK.

4. Off-road karting – Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Bored teenagers who didn’t want to come on holiday with the family in the first place may be won over with off-road karting. Many of the circuits like this one in Northern Ireland are on shale, which allows plenty of sliding for the teenagers who need their hormones tipping back in place. You can also race against each other. Min age 17, prices from £48.99. Click here for more info.

5. Kitesurfing – Torquay. Also known as kiteboarding, kitesurfing involves using a power kite to pull a rider through the water on a small surfboard or a kiteboard. A kitesurfer uses a board with foot-straps or bindings, combined with the power of a large controllable kite to propel themselves and the board across the water. The sport is still in its infancy, but it is rapidly growing in popularity. It is very safe due to innovations in kite design, safety release systems, and instruction. Many riding styles have evolved to suit different types of riders and conditions, such as wake style, wave riding, freestyle, jumping, and cruising. Click for more details.

6. Scuba diving – Hampshire. Scuba divers say the best scenery in the world is under the oceans. But if you’re novice you can’t just plunge into the sea. Learn to take a dive at a scuba diving centre.  Long-term it can be an expensive activity, but it doesn’t have to be. Taster dives can be just £27.00. Kids who like swimming will no doubt go for it too. Clearly, not for those suffering from hydro-phobia. Min age 10. Dive-in here for more info.

7. Hot air ballooning – London. Balloons are often associated with open country, but if you really want a view down on the ground, where better to head for than the capital? A hot air balloon beats the Tube any day. Towering over the Tower of London or peering down on the Millennium Dome, is a side of London rarely glimpsed. It’s one or two steps up from the open top bus tour.  Prices from £125.00, it may not be cheap, but we’re talking a capital experience. Click here for details

8. White Water rafting – Scotland. Not surprisingly with all those mountains and water, Scotland is the top place in the UK for white water rafting. There’s a number of centres offering some world class white-knuckle rides on the Rivers Findhorn, Tay, Ochy and Tummel as well as at Aviemore and Newtonmore. Check out the difficulty levels before you book. It’s something your family will talk about forever. Click here, if you’re brave enough.

9. Coasteering – Abersoch, Wales. Coasteering is a new extreme sport that is becoming increasingly popular, particularly in Wales. It involves making your way along the coast with a combination of scrambling, swimming, diving, climbing and jumping. But be warned: it can be pretty extreme. The Lleyn Peninsula and around Snowdonia will test the nerves and the body to the limit. But there are fully qualified instructors on hand who are registered with the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA). Good for older teenagers and young adults. Apologies for the ageism, but over 40s need to be fit and may prefer to walk around a castle or slope off to the pub. Click here if you’re up for it.

10. Laser combat – Kidderminster, Worcestershire. Unlike paintball where you have to be at least 12, with laser combat you only have to be six. Therefore – to quote the old cliché – it’s fun for the whole family. And, because you’re using laser guns, it means you don’t have to buy paintballs, which keeps the cost down and is ideal for trigger happy six-year-olds.  Good for tiring out kids and adults.  From £19.99. Click here for details.

The public sector is facing the biggest change in its history. George Osborne, Chancellor in the UK’s Coalition Government, is asking Whitehall departments to reduce spending by up to 25 per cent. How will notoriously conservative (with a small c) civil servants cope with change on this unprecedented scale? As hurricane winds of change sweep through government departments, how will leaders and employees cope? How can organisations help their people learn to survive and thrive in the brave new world of changes. In the words of Bob Dylan

Jack Broadley is a former Royal Naval officer who trained officers at the Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. He now runs a consultancy specialising in developing future leaders, working with clients to maximise performance and enhance levels of effectiveness, especially during periods of rapid cultural change such as mergers or acquisitions.

His solution is extreme. ‘We see extreme sports activities and team building as a metaphor for change in organisations,’ says Broadley. He believes that putting people in team building activities such as high ropes or on the water can replicate many of the challenges faced in organisations. ‘It requires reacting quickly to rapid change, and above all the environment is unfamiliar,’ he says. Sound familiar to anyone in the public sector?

Challenge leaders to be authentic

‘Putting people in an environment where they learn quickly from their mistakes can be hugely beneficial for managers and teams,’ explains Broadley. But he adds there is a difference between challenging and frightening people. And surely many in the public sector are frightened enough. ‘We don’t believe in scaring people, they learn better when they are in a supportive environment,’ he says.

As a practitioner in this field, Broadley is keen to stress that one of the keys to business to getting more out of team building exercises is putting the skills learned into context. ‘What is critical is that people take the skills and apply them. It’s not  just a fun day out of the office,’ he says.

Broadley notices that when managers and teams are undertaking a sport such as sailing, relationships that, on the surface, seem okay in the office environment can break down. ‘When you put people on a level playing field, they can’t just rely on rank or hide behind their desks. It is about developing authentic leaders,’ he says.

‘It keeps things real. Managers learn about their own strengths and where they have to rely on other people. The do-it-yourself approach is definitely old thinking,’ believes Broadley.

Quite how the press and the public sector unions would react to managers hanging from ropes or yachting on the taxpayer is uncertain. But one way or another, Broadley argues that people within organisations, public or private, need to be better equipped to handle change.  If you want to consider some team building activities for your organisation, click here.

And, you can contact Jack Broadley via his company website.

Adrenamag has got activity vouchers to the value of hundreds of pounds to be win.  All you have to do is answer this simple question:  The US singer Pink likes to exit her concerts using which extreme sport Is it A) A Segway? B) High Ropes? C) Zorbing?

Send your correct answer – either A, B or C to: info@adrenamag.co.uk Closing date for entries is July 31 midnight GMT. And you could be in the pink.