More unusual sports that feature include: riding a bull for eight seconds, heli-skiing – where a helicopter takes the skiers to inaccessible slopes  and wing-walking.

Considered the master of all bucket lists, this outlines the top ‘things to do before I die’. Rebecca Rudkin, a spokesperson for Activity People, said: ‘It shows that people either want to visit a particular place such as the pyramids or the Grand Canyon or experience an adrenalin sport like sky diving. See the list here

‘Rather than being depressing, most people regard the lists as a bit of fun and a reminder that life is short and if we really want to do something, we need to get on and do it. We are, after all, a long time dead,’ added Rebecca. To make more of living, click here.

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The charity puts the increased participation in adventure activities of older age groups down to a number of factors, saying: ‘Reduced working hours, retirement and fewer financial and family responsibilities mean that the opportunity for experiencing new thrills has suddenly become more accessible.’

According to The Activity People – the UK’s largest network of adventure sports – enquires from the over-60 age group are up 19 per cent in 2010 on the previous year. ‘Water sports, hot air ballooning, zorbing, skydiving and quad biking are all activities that are popular with this age group,’ said a spokesperson for the company.

Alongside the rising numbers of over 60s taking part in extreme sports, there has been an increase in the number of injuries in this age group. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported that more than a third of the 212 people in British scuba diving incidents requiring medical treatment last year were over 50.

But Aged UK believes the benefits of a more active retirement far outweigh the potential injuries. ‘The more active we are, the more strength and balance we have, and the lower our risk of heart disease and raised cholesterol. Combine physical activity with the great outdoors – where most extreme sports take place – and you’ve got two fantastic ingredients for a happy, healthy lifestyle,’ states the charity.

The charity also highlights the social benefits of extreme sports: ‘Another great thing about getting involved in extreme sports – no matter what age you are – is the social aspect. Widening your friendship group by linking up with other like-minded thrill seekers can be hugely rewarding – especially as meeting new people can become challenging as we get older.’

Activity People’s advice to its older customers is: ‘A lot of activities like hot air ballooning are less strenuous than others. But if you do want to do a strenuous activity such as scuba diving we advise that you get a doctor’s note declaring yourself fit.’

Janet, who’s a retired teacher in her 70s, joined a group of friends to celebrate her birthday with a skydive. ‘It’s something I have always wanted to do and it was wonderful. We had a terrific time,’ she said.

But she discovered they weren’t the oldest skydivers. ‘Our instructor told us he had a woman in her 90s skydiving,’ she said.

According to the New Scientist, the things that make you happy can extend your life by up to ten years.  Clearly, skydiving does it for these women.  Check out a range of activities for all ages and fitness ranges by clicking here.

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1. Motor sport star Alice Powell. In January Alice Powell was named the British Woman Racing Drivers Club Elite Gold Star Winner for her success and achievement in 2010. It is the second year in succession she has won the award.

Presenting the award to the former karting star was the BBC1 Formula One TV presenter Jake Humphrey. Jake said: ‘I really do think it’s about time that women who are making waves in motor racing are recognised at the very top. So good luck in 2011.’

This year Alice hopes to compete in the Formula Renault UK Championship, which receives LIVE ITV coverage and crowds at the track that match figures of attendance at an average Premier League Football game. If you are a woman who is interested in karting and would like to know where Alice started click here.

2. Italian women clay pigeon shooters. Italy is home to some of the world’s top women clay pigeon shooters. Katiuscia Spada won the Skeet Women ISSF World Cup Final in Izmir, Turkey, in 2010. It’s not the first time the Italian police officer has been seen on the medal winners’ podium in the last three years; she won the Olympic silver medal in Beijing behind fellow Italian Chiara Cainero. Skeet is a clay pigeon discipline where clays are thrown by two machines for the shooter to kill. If you want to try clay pigeon shooting, click here.

3. Water sports super star, Kristin Boese. German Kristin Boese is a legend in women’s water sports. Twice women’s world kitesurfing champion, she has been nominated for world sailor of the year. The author of several books, she has also recently launched a modelling career. If you want to try water sports, click here.

4. Archery hot shot. Twenty-six year-old Nicky Hunt is targeting more medals in 2011. Finishing 2010 in number one position in the FITA world rankings, she helped the English team win the women’s compound team event then added the individual gold medal a day later. If you want to try archery click here.

5. Women skydivers. It’s known as the world’s biggest pink cloud with 181 women skydivers filling the Californian sky in 2009. Led by Kate Cooper-Jensen, one of the foremost skydivers in the world, Jump for the Cause was co-founded with Mallory Lewis, after her mother, legendary puppeteer Shari Lewis, lost her battle with cancer in 1998. Events in 1999, 2002 and 2005 raised a combined total of over $1 million and broke the previous world records with 119 women in 1999, 131 women in 2002,151 in 2005 and 181 women in 2009. If you want to try a sky dive or another extreme sport, click here.

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1. Monster Truck Driving, Sussex.Tired of the traffic and ready to put your foot down in a big way? Monster trucks are a ‘bad ass’ weekend driving experience. From £226 for a two-and-half hour session, it isn’t cheap, but the memory is as big and bold as the US ‘Grizzly’ truck you could be steering. And it’s just about the only time you will be able to bully your way over two police saloon cars without an expensive trip to Her Majesty’s courts.

2. Water Spills, Scotland. No year is complete without an excursion into the wilds of Scotland. Spring snow melts make for a rush of water and adrenalin in rivers across the central belt and the Highlands, which make it great for white water rafting. Prices start from around the £50 mark. And, while you’re up there, adding some canyoning and bungee jumping can make for an exhilarating weekend. The only difficulty is making sure it’s thawing and not still snowing.

3. Walking on water. Yes, really. You too can achieve the miracle of walking on water, courtesy of a plastic zorb. From about £20, the experience is a great buy and as the flotilla of You Tube videos testify, it’s the highlight of many a weekend.

4. Canyoning, Lleyn Peninsula, Wales. Canyoning or coasteering as some people call it, is a cross between mountain climbing, walking, pot-holing and swimming. Half-a-day’s canyoning is around £32.00. For that you get to make your way down a gorge in a wet suit, tackling obstacles as you go. But be warned, depending on the level of water, it can be a challenging activity requiring a high level of fitness. Maybe one to leave until later in the year, when you’re a bit fitter.

5. Riding, Oxfordshire. For those lucky enough to be born in the country, horses are akin to bicycles – transport that keeps you fit – but for the majority of UK urbanites, they are just creatures we lose money on at the bookies. A weekend visit to a riding school such as the one near Banbury can change all that. For around £30, you get a chance to ride indoor or outdoor, with qualified instructors at a centre approved by the Association of British Riding Schools.

6. Quad biking, Yorkshire. This Doncaster site is one of the UK’s most prestigious quad centres. Visitors get the chance bump and slide on Apache RLX 150cc, RLX 100cc and 50cc quad bikes over a disused quarry site. Prices start at around £25.

7. High Ropes, Devon. Close to Dartmoor National Park, the Tavistock high ropes course is another excuse to head to the west country for a weekend. The canopy-based activities offer challenges for different ages and levels of fitness, and start at £26.

8. Scuba-diving, Buckinghamshire. Scuba diving is a sport that is becoming more accessible and popular, particularly with the over 40s. And dipping a toe into the sport isn’t expensive. Less than £30 will be needed for an introductory session.

9. Ballooning, Lake District. William Wordsworth – one of the Lake District’s most famous sons – could have said: ‘I wandered lonely as a balloon.’ Surely, there can’t be a better way to view some of the UK’s finest scenery than perched in a balloon a few thousand feet in the air. Just imagine the poetry he may have come up with as he floated on high o’er vales and hills. Prices are around the £200 mark.

10. Off-road karting, Surrey. Just a short drive from the M25 is an off-road karting circuit without any traffic cones in sight. For between £80 and £90, you can rip up the mud and blow away all the memories of weekdays stuck on the M25. Proper driving that you can only dream about in the south east of England.

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Speculation grew that Prince William was checking out Blackpool as a possible stag destination when he attended a Premiership football match in the city with friends. Online bookmaker Betting Pro has Blackpool at 50/1 as a possible stag destination with casino capital Las Vegas at 25/1 and Kenya, where the couple got engaged, at 33/1. The current favourite destination is London at 6/4 while Scotland is a 3/1 shot.

Adrenamag has some suggestions for adventure activities and destinations for the happy couple. Five stag party ideas for Prince William:

Edinburgh. As Scotland is right up there in the betting and the Royal Family has a strong association with the country, Edinburgh is a capital choice for Prince William and his stags. The home of shooting, golf and whisky, it would be difficult for the Prince not to enjoy himself here. And, as an ex St Andrew’s University student, it will remind him of tucking into his Scottish oats.

Newquay. Cornwall’s surfing capital is another top extreme sports destination. Prince William’s love of the outdoors is well known so he’ll no doubt relish the spring tides.

Newcastle.The party capital of the north, Newcastle is a favourite budget stag destination; if the Prince wants to rein in the spending and the Northern lasses, this could be the toon to be in.

Birmingham.The UK’s second city may not be high on the stag party betting stacks, but believe or not, it’s a top extreme party destination. Bostin’ night life as the locals might say, together with a range of four-wheel adventures means Prince William, and likely best-man Prince Harry, should check it out. And combine it with a visit to Prince William’s favourite football team – Aston Villa.

Brighton. London by the sea, Brighton has it all. Exotic night-life and pulsating activities. Oh and it’s by the sea.

Five bachelorette party ideas for Kate Middleton:

London. The capital may be top of the betting for her fiancé’s stag party, but Kate and friends need to get in there first. Shopping, shows, restaurants, discreet clubs, want more could an about-to-be Princess want?

Bournemouth. A girlie weekend on the south coast. Apparently hen parties like to travel around the resort in a fire engine limousine. This may help Kate get used to waving at crowds.

Manchester. The BBC is heading up to Manchester, Kate and her friends would no doubt be welcome too. It boasts one of Europe’s most colourful gay areas, where exotic hen costumes and pink outfits are what everyone wears.

Cardiff. The Royals have political considerations to consider, so a night in the ’Dif may spread some royal cheer to the Principality.

Glasgow. Kate met her husband to be in Scotland and must have lots of friends in the country, so how about a weekend out in Glasgow? A former European Culture Capital it has a lot to offer. A popular hen party experience is cutting a CD in one of the city’s recording studios. Kate could even invite the Fratellis over for a session.

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2. James Cracknell OBE. The former Olympic gold medallist is the ultimate extreme sports adventurer. After rowing to gold in Athens, he’s been a full-time, full-on action man. He rowed the Atlantic with fellow celebrity Ben Fogle for Children in Need, was knocked out by a New Zealand boxer, attempted the Norwegian polar explorer Amundsen’s Omega3 South Pole Race and competed in the 2008 European Triathlon Championships for GB. In April 2010 James became the highest placed Briton ever in the 25-year history of the Marathon Des Sables – a six day marathon across the Sahara desert. In August, he was involved in a horror cycling accident in the US, in which he fractured his skull but is, hopefully, on the road to recovery.

3. Eddie Izzard. Stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard is an unlikely convert to the world of extreme sports. In the summer of 2009, after a couple of weeks’ training, the transvestite comedian decided to do seven weeks of back-to-back marathons for Sports Relief. In all he ran 43 marathons in 51 days, keeping fans posted about his progress on his blog Eddie Iz Running. He received a special award on BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year in 2009.


4. Steve McQueen. With a dad who was a stunt pilot for a flying circus, it’s maybe not surprising that movie legend Steve McQueen was drawn to extreme speeds. In his day job in Bullitt, McQueen shot one of film’s most famous car chases and off-screen he was a real-life racer, driving motorcycles, and cars both on and off-road. On-screen, of course, he’s famed for jumping fences on motor bikes in the Great Escape. If you want to try a range of McQueen’s favourite motor sports, click here.

5. Sir Jackie Stewart. Three times winning Formula One racing champion Sir Jackie Stewart went from one extreme sport to another activity. Not content with becoming perhaps the UK’s greatest ever racing driver, he represented his country at clay pigeon shooting too and now runs a clay pigeon shooting school at Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland. If you want to try clay pigeon shooting, near to where you live, just click here.

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Wave ski. Ron Urgandy, a recent contributor to Adrenamag wrote to remind us of the attractions of waveski. He said: ‘If you don’t know about waveskiing it’s like a kayak and surfboard crossed.’ The basic concept is to marry paddle power with surfing thrust. As Big Ron says: ‘You are strapped in at the feet and the waist.’ This allows the waveskier to eskimo-role in the waves. The board is a touch wider than a surf board but shorter than a surf ski, which is often used to rescue stranded surfers.

Over recent years, there’s been an increasing number of waveski competitions. There are places you can give it a go. And, if you’re interested in trying water sports in general, here’s another link.

Volcano boarding

Ash boarding or volcano boarding is a relatively new extreme sport. Estimates are that 10,000 fully insulated sports enthusiasts have tried it – mainly back-packers in South America. It’s the flip side to snow boarding, with the added threat of falls on rock – and the odd exploding volcano. Although Edinburgh Castle is, apparently, built on an extinct volcano, if you’re looking to volcano board in the UK you may struggle. But check out a range of other extreme sports by clicking here.

Train surfing

Train surfing is a headache for train operators in India and South Africa. The above film shows an infamous German protagonist who called himself ‘the trainrider’. The film claims he died of leukaemia. However, it’s thought more likely that the video was posted by fellow ‘S-Bahn’ surfers in an effort to avoid the authorities.

For extreme sport enthusiasts who wish to remain alive and out of jail, there’s a range of activities available here.

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Five intrepid kite surfers braved the Irish Sea for a marathon 9-hour journey from Cloghy in Northern Ireland to Silloth, West Beach in Cumbria. The five kitesurfing enthusiasts – Fraser Dooley, Martin Sandwith, Stuart Wood, Nick Elliott and John Flynn – withstood the rigours of the Irish Sea to become the first people to kite surf from Ireland to England.

Bad weather in the summer of 2009 meant a previous attempt to do the crossing had to be abandoned. In 2008 the kitesurfing friends set a record by surfing the 30 miles from the Isle of Man to Ireland. But the 110-mile crossing of the Irish was not a record. Professional kite surfer Kirsty Jones was the first to kite from Ireland to Wales and she holds the current record of 149 miles when she kited non-stop from Africa to Lanzarote. The Cumbrian kite surfers raised money for three charities – the RNLI, NSPCC and the Maryport Inshore Rescue.

Branson’s birthday kitesurf

Sir Richard Branson, who counts kitesurfing as one of his favourite sports, celebrated his 60^th birthday with an attempt to kitesurf across the English Channel, along with five-time world champion Aaron Hadlow and Laird Hamilton. However, strong winds and choppy seas across the channel meant the billionaire businessman’s birthday attempt to become the oldest man to kite surf the channel had to be abandoned.

If you haven’t tried kitesurfing and want to dip your toe in the water, click here

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1. Bungee jumping. As the intrepid student starts a new chapter at university, why not put a spring in their step – give them a bungee jump into their new life. Vouchers for two 170ft bungee jumps cost £120. It doesn’t have to be the world’s highest bungee jump to stand out in the memory. Click here for more details.

2. Bridge swinging. Show a graduate son or daughter that you have your finger on the pulse of extreme sports by buying them a voucher for bridge swinging. It will set you back £89 but will provide some great family memories and video footage. Click here for more details.

3. Paintball. How about half-a-day or a day’s paintball to fire away all that latent stress? It’s good for the family or ideal if they prefer a last blast with a bunch of old school mates. Half-day vouchers for two are £35. Click for details.

4. Canyoning and coasteering. Canyoning is an increasingly popular sport with people in their early twenties. Let’s face it few other age groups are up to it. If you don’t know, canyoning is a white water raft down a river gorge – only without the raft. Part mountain climbing, part pot holing, part diving, part horror show, it’s full-on action. An £84 gift voucher will get a student near you a piece of the action. Click here for details.

5. White water rafting. Alternatively reward your graduate with a real-life roller coaster ride in a white water raft. If the whole family wants to go, it’s a great bonding experience for the student who has to fend for themselves in the big world. Gift vouchers start from £82. Click for details

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Relentless NASS Bath and West Showground
Billed as the UK’s biggest action sports and music festival, the event features the UK’s first ever World Cup Skateboard Competition. BMX riders will also be competing against each other in the Relentless NASS BMX Street Competition.

Dates: 9th – 11th July. Admission: Tickets are priced at £30 for a day pass, £70 for a weekend pass, with a child’s day ticket at £17.50 and a child’s weekend ticket at £35.

Hunstanton, Norfolk
The Lifestyle festival host national ranked competitions in Kitesurfing and Windsurfing and have demonstrations and competitions involving some top pro skaters and BMXers. There will be workshops available in Kite Surfing, Windsurfing, Skateboarding, Street Dance and Parkour to name a few.
Dates: July 9th – 11th

Eastbourne
Eastbourne Extreme is one of the biggest free extreme sports festivals in the UK. Featuring a huge line up of air, land and water based outdoor pursuits, it takes place over two days on Eastbourne’s Eastern seafront from 11.00 – 19.00 on Saturday and 11.00 to 17.00 Sunday.It features: formula future powerboat racing, an ION man event, street surfing, kite buggies, knockhatch ski ramps and and yachting
Dates: July 18th and 19th. Admission: Free

Yaverland Beach, Isle of Wight
The Big Blue Extreme Sports Festival at Yaverland Beach, Isle of Wight Friday is a new event. Being the Isle of Wight, the sea will be packed with action sports including: Windsurfing Freestyle and Racing Championships, National Paddleboard Championships, Surfing, Kitesurfing on the bespoke slider park, Wakeboards, Sailing, Kayaking and the Thundercats. Festival goers can also take part in the ‘X-Mile’ raising funds for the Ellen MacArthur Trust.
Dates: 17th – Sunday 19th September. Admission: 10
adult weekend £20, youth (15 and under) £10Y

Sandbanks Beach Poole
Animal Windfest – Wild Wind and Watersports
Hip watersports and kitesurfing.
Date: 10th – 12th September
Admission: Various entries, lots of free demos and try-outs

British National Surfing Championships
The British National Surfing Championships take place at the glorious Fistral Beach in Newquay. Around 150 of the best British surfers are expected to battle it out in the women’s, men’s and seniors’ competitions. Having the contest late in the season should ensure the best possible waves for the surfers, as well as testing their endurance in the chilly water.
This being the UK and not Hawaii, poor weather conditions or the absence of surf could lead to the event date being moved. If in doubt, please check with the British Surfing Association.
Date: September 2010

The Triple Crown of Surfing, Oahu, Hawaii,
Looking for a special holiday and into your surfing. Try the Super Bowl of surfing. This mixed event is a real test of the world’s top surfers, who will try and tackle the North Shore, a coastline famous for its mighty swells. Enjoy the island paradise of Oahu at its best – hike Diamond Head Crater, grab a board and surf, go swimming, snorkelling, or sailing, or kick back in the beach or with a round of golf.
Date: November 17th – December 20th

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