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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.