EXTREME SPORTS GUIDE TO ESSEX
With the smallest town and the largest village in the UK; the county of Essex sure ticks a few boxes. And it is no different for the extreme sports courses and experiences scene with a decent range of activities ready to take and appreciate the many terrains of this Home County.
The county of Essex mixes a green garden of countryside with an enormous coast, and is riddled with a history of Christian landmarks, including a 1000+ year old church (oldest wooden one in the world) amongst the many tourist attractions. The county also provides activity attractions in the shape of driving experiences that include a full day of Stock Car Racing, 4×4 Driving, Gliding excursions and more.
Essex is around 50 miles from London along the A12 & M25 and takes around 1.5 hours by train. With coastal, aerial and driving experiences aplenty; the countryside filled county makes for a quality weekend stay. We recommend…
Stock Car Racing is up there with the most authentic insights to actual motor racing for any petrol-head or non-car lover, with the genuine look and feel of the racing features creating a sense of competition that can’t help but heighten the whole experience. From the officials waving a chequered flag to the champagne prize ceremony at the end; the ‘oily overalls’ effect is well and truly captured. One Purfleet based specialist offers a range of tuned vehicles and terrains upon which to test them, including 4×4 vehicles, Honda Pilots, Go Karts and the Stock Cars. The latter takes place on a quarter mile oval circuit with race officials and one simple aim; win the race! The day is neatly divided into sections, starting with coffees accompanying the morning safety brief, a mid-day BBQ feeding the hungry fleet of racers and a celebratory glass of champagne to finish off the day’s racing!
About forty minutes east from the Stock Car Racing is another motor sport venue providing off road driving experiences to really get stuck into some Essex soil. The Wickford based all-terrain specialists host a massive range of experiences, including Motocross, Clay Pigeon Shooting, Quad Bikes, 4×4 and even Remote Control Car Racing. With a café that’s open 7 days per week and a BBQ during the summer months; the centre makes for a great family day out in the mud! The Action Park operates out of a large farm and has many off road surfaces that put their army of vehicles to the test, including amongst others a muddy Rally stage, an Astroturf surface and four Quad Bike tracks. The minimum ages for experiences are generally from 8-17, though kids experiences are also available.
Away from the driving experiences in the Home County may well lead you to a day appreciating Essex’s huge coast out on the water. An RYA recognised Sailing Centre harboured at Farnbridge Port offers courses aiding sailors to achieve all of the relevant certificates. The courses include: Start Yachting/ Competent Crew/ Day Skipper/ Coastal Skipper/ Yachtmaster & Power Boat Level 2. The School offers long distance experiences for sailing to Holland and France, but with the the UK’s lowest recoreded rainfall; Essex is great for the shorter experiences! Night Sailing courses are also offered by this centre, which is an essential stage for the Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster qualifications. The Sailing School caters for all abilities which means no previous experience is necessary, and there is no age limit either which helps with the family day out experiences.
If a full day experience like the driving or sailing is a little too much, perhaps a challenging High Ropes Course would be more suitable. Don’t look down as you make your way through the forest and its range of natural & manmade obstacles, at 20-30ft in the air! The view from up there could take your step away, but don’t worry; you’ll be fully harnessed in! The Kelvedon Hatch operator is open to the public with no age limit, seven days a week from 10-5pm, all year round. Kids may also find the newly opened ‘secret bunker’ interesting as it has Quad Bike & Paintballing experiences to keep them entertained!
Helicopter & Hot Air Balloon Flying
Elevating even higher into the air of Essex is possible with one of the many fantastic flying tours available in the area. Whether you’d prefer to sip a glass of champagne leaning over the edge of a hot air balloon or buckle in for helicopter tour of Essex & London; the many flying excursions that are available offer a stunning view of the picturesque scenery and the abundance of countryside that the county has maintained for centuries. The hot air balloon rides make for the perfect romantic getaway and are extremely popular anniversary activities, whilst the helicopter tours are ideal for any thrill or site seeker! Minimum ages start from just 2 years old, and there is no maximum age for either of these awesome aviation activities.
Remaining in the air for another of Essex’s amazing aerial activities, Hang Gliding & Microlighting flights are available if the weather permits and are a superb combination of site-seeing and fantastic feelings, all in neatly packaged bundle. The stunning views and unforgettable nature of flying are a terrific method of seeing Essex in all of its countryside beauty, and even allow for you to take full control of the flight experience. The centre offers a range of timed experiences, starting from either a winch or aero-tow and flying in tandem with a professional instructor.
Getting your feet back on the ground with one of Earth’s great activities; Brentford’s Ski centre is helping skiers and snowboarders make the most of the UK’s great snow fall… well not exactly but the outdoor dry ski slope is good practice! The centre has Ski & Snowboard lessons for all abilities, freestyle courses and even caters for speed racers. There is no age limit and all equipment is available to hire at the centre that is open 7 days per week.
Essex clearly has a wide variety of experiences to appreciate the great outdoors from a range of heights and speeds. From the off road activities to the off land altogether; the county has plenty to do and a great surface upon which to play!
Check out our other extreme sports guides here:
Extreme Sports Guide to East Sussex
Extreme Sports Guide To Surrey
Extreme Sports Guide To Cornwall
Extreme Sports Guide To Buckinghamshire
Extreme Sports Guide To Berkshire
Extreme Sports Guide To West Sussex
