Inject some excitement into your bucket list with one of these thrilling activities
Who’s ready to go wild after all this time indoors? The end of lockdown will be the perfect time to take all that energy and seek out an adrenaline-pumping experience – something that will safely burn up all the desire for action after months of inactivity.
These should be real bucket-list items, generating those once-in-a-lifetime memories – so while there’s plenty of excitement to be had close to home, you might want to venture further afield to include the activity in the trip of a lifetime.
Cling onto a cliff-face
Mountains have a lot going for them: beauty, tranquillity, the opportunity to test your nerve in the face of dizzying drops... Climbing safely takes skill and years of training, but there’s a quicker way to get a taste of the thrill, while soaking up the sunshine of southern Spain. The Caminito del Rey in the mountains outside Malaga used to be known as “the most dangerous path in the world”. Now restored with secure barriers and safe footing, it is still suspended on the face of a sheer cliff with plenty of pulse-quickening views.
How to do it: Get yourself to Malaga first! Book your ticket online here
Hang on to the world’s highest rollercoaster
We have some pretty good rollercoasters in the UK, but this is one area where they do things bigger and better in the United States – so as this is a bucket list, let’s aim high. And the highest rollercoaster in the world is in... Canada? Yes, that’s right: the Yukon Striker unveiled at the “Canada’s Wonderland” park outside Toronto in 2019 tops the charts, dropping a hair-raising 75m. The world’s fastest rollercoaster is the 150mph Formula Rossa at the Ferrari World theme park in the United Arab Emirates. Though for thrill after thrill, a day at Cedar Point in Ohio lets you ride 18 world-class rollercoasters, including the 120mph Top Thrill Dragster.
How to do it: For the Yukon Striker, book here; for Formula Rossa, book here, or for Cedar Point book here
Ride the world’s fastest zipline
Imagine hurtling, face first, through the air above a mountain lake – at speeds of upto 100mph. That’s Velocity 2, the world’s fastest zipline and it’s only one of the hair-raising activities at Zip World Penrhyn Quarry in North Wales. There’s even more aerial fun to be had - from climbing in caverns to swinging through treetops, with activities spready across three sites in Snowdonia. There’s something to excite everyone – including Europe’s highest swing. But if you want the ultimate in aerial thrills, you need to brave Velocity 2.
How to do it: pick your adventure and book here
Leap from Europe’s highest bungee jump
If you want to break your bungee duck with something a bit more manageable, you could start with the 48m plunge from the bungee crane at London’s 02 Arena, or the 45m drop from the Titan Crane in Glasgow. But if your bucket list gives you a licence to thrill, you need to follow in James Bond’s footsteps and head to the Verzasca Dam near Locarno in Switzerland, to recreate the 220m plunge from the opening sequence of Golden Eye. One thing’s for sure, it’ll leave you shaken - or stirred...
How to do it: book your assignment here
Jump out of a perfectly good plane
If rollercoasters, ziplines and bungee jumps aren’t exciting enough for you, it’s time to raise the stakes: take to the skies, then dive through them. Novices will need to do a tandem skydive, harnessed to an experienced instructor, but the sensation of freefall – and the ground rush as you return to earth – is still an unbeatable adrenaline high. There was a time when over-40s needed a medical before jumping, but not any more: just check the guidance and consult your GP only if there’s still any doubt. There are centres across the UK, most operating seven days a week (when the weather is suitable).
How to do it: find your nearest drop zone by clicking here
Swim with sharks
If all the talk of speed and heights doesn’t float your boat, why not go out on one of those? Or better still, get out of one of those... and swim with sharks. This has the great advantage, from the point of view of building your bucket list, of being an activity best enjoyed in a once-in-a-lifetime type location: Australia, Mexico, South Africa. It’s very much part of a bigger trip to your dream destination. Reputable operators will send you diving in a cage, so you’re not likely to be bitten in half like Robert Shaw in Jaws... but you will get up close to some of the most magnificent – and terrifying – predators on the planet.
How to do it: you can use Google to find local operators in your dream location, or start here
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