The Best: Places to Get Active

Get to grips with the Great West Way – literally. There are plenty of places to grab adventure here – by the handlebars, the paddle or the steering wheel – and you’ll find a new way to get the heart racing around every corner. Plot a course to these exciting activities and you’ll go home with plenty of stories to tell.

Rock climbing at Avon Gorge
Bristol has a wild heart. Right in the city centre a rock face acts as a siren to all climbers, bringing them in their thousands to tackle the sheer limestone crags of Avon Gorge. There are an estimated 750 routes here but some are so physically and mentally challenging that they have only been climbed once – ever. Better perhaps then to start with a short session, learning how to work the ropes and find sturdy footholds on an introductory level climb. There are several companies offering sessions for beginners – get out there with Adventure Café, Undercover Rock or the Adventurous Activity Company. 

Scrambling up the rigging at SS Great Britain 
Ever wondered what it was like to be a Victorian sailor? Find out just how brave you had to be to climb the rigging on your visit to the SS Great Britain, Brunel’s world-beating passenger ship. Anyone aged 10 and above can take on the challenge of clambering up this lattice of rope, reaching heights of more than 25 metres (82ft) above Bristol harbour. Up for one more dare? See if you can muster the courage for one last push, edging out onto the nine-metre-long main yard (mast) above the Great Western Dockyard, now far below your feet.

Tackling Caen Hill lock flight
If slowly narrow boating along the Kennet and Avon canal sounds too much like a breeze, up the ante by including the Caen Hill lock flight in your journey. This run of 29 locks is not only a scheduled ancient monument, it’s also one of the longest continuous flights of locks in England and you’ll rise (or fall) 72 metres (237ft) in just two miles. Each of those locks has to be opened by muscle power – so you’ll be jumping on and off the boat to put your back in to opening these hefty wooden gates. And no, it isn’t any less sweat-inducing going downhill!

Racing at Castle Combe
Fancy yourself as an Formula 1 driver? Get behind the wheel and rev up for a driving experience you’ll never forget at Castle Combe Circuit. You’ll find out how to drive the ‘racing line’ around the track, do a few sighting laps with an instructor and then be let loose on the tarmac in a Formula Ford 1600, Ford Focus ST2 or Lotus Elise. There are no speed restrictions beyond what your car can do – which could well be more than 150mph (240kph).

Paragliding in Wiltshire
Imagine running as fast as your legs will carry you and then jumping straight off a hillside. In Wiltshire you can do just that, on a paragliding session above the beautiful Wiltshire Downs. Conditions here are perfect for paragliding, with reliable thermals above the undulating hills, and taking a tandem flight with an instructor is the closest thing to flying like a bird you can experience. You don’t even need to learn how to operate the controls if you don’t want to, though taking the reins while mid-air is the real thrill. 

Water sports in Cotswold Water Park
The Cotswold Water Park is the ultimate water sports playground, with more than 150 lakes offering the perfect, sheltered setting for waterskiing and wakeboarding. Experts can head out on a professional slalom course and use the high-powered boats to speed across the water and practice their tricks, while beginners can take one to one tuition on a private lake. If you’d rather just hold on and enjoy the ride, there are also inflatable rings and rafts that the boats pull at speed across the water. Lakeside Ski & Wake and 4 Lakes Waterski School will get you out on the water.

Mountain biking at Swinley Bike Hub
To really test your mettle, take on the three mountain bike tracks that run through ancient Swinley Forest from Swinley Bike Hub in Bracknell. The 1km (1093yd) Green route is best for beginners and families, with its gentle descents and easy climbs, but most cyclists can tackle the Blue (9km, 5.6miles), with its single track strewn with roots and rocks and plenty of dips and descents through the pine forest. To really get the blood pumping though, try racing down the gnarly Red trail. You’ll need decent off-road skills for this 13.7km (8.5 miles) steeply twisting trail with its berms, drops and white-knuckle descents.

Swinging through the trees at Swinley Forest
Make like a monkey at Go Ape where the Tree Top Adventure high ropes course runs for 704 metres (770yds) through the tall trees of Swinley Forest, reaching stomach-churning heights of up to 13 metres (42ft) above the forest floor. Strap on a harness (you can’t fall off) and test that head for heights as you cross gaps several metres wide on challenging crossings made up of swinging logs and rope bridges – you’ll even get to fly like Tarzan on a rope swing. Each stage ends with a zip wire – the longest is 160 metres (175yds) – and a massive smile. See if you can make it all the way to black, the most challenging stage of the course.

For more information and help planning your Great West Way journey, take a look at our suggested itineraries and the great outdoors guide.