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Secret agent spy skills day for 10-16 year olds in Milton Keynes. ...

First Class cream tea train departures on Staffordshire's much-loved heritage railway. ...

Learn creative stained glass art in Bristol on a one-day course ...

Enjoy a maximum of three hours of paddle boarding in Scotland! These half day sessions aimed at beginners will take you from a wobbly land lubber to a smooth-paddling SUPer in a matter of hours. & all this takes place in the stunning Scottish setting of the River Tay near Aberfeldy. Get set for great scenery & the chance to learn a new sport. Stand up paddleboarding is the perfect sport for Scotland as it can be done on oceans lochs & rivers. It's a sort of combination of canoeing & surfing. Standing on a long flat board is just like surfing but then you propel yourself by paddling which is clearly more like canoeing. Despite this slight identity crisis SUP is getting really popular
- so much so that it's being considered for inclusion in the Olympics. For first-time SUPers in Scotland the River Tay is nice & gentle. Calmer waters combined with a large floaty board makes for a more stable start to your Scottish SUPing adventures. Indeed the right equipment is key to getting the hang of paddle boarding. The team at this adventure centre in Scotland will pick a board to suit your size (too small & it'll be unstable) & a paddle too. You might think that you need to be strong to SUP. It's actually more about technique. Having said that the instructors in Scotland will tell you paddle boarding is an all over body workout especially core strength. As you take to the Tay for the first time on your board with paddle in hand the trickiest part is getting up. You'll start by kneeling & then progress to standing. As we said SUP is all about technique so think slightly bent legs & gazing out to the horizon. The number one rule is to not look down at your feet
- it's sure to unsteady you! These & other golden nuggets of information will be shared with you by the coaches. Before you know it you'll be up on your feet on the board looking around at the beautiful Scottish scenery as your paddle smoothly around. Of course learning to paddle board in Scotland you might take a couple of early falls but keep the faith get yourself back up on the board & dip that paddle back in that River Tay water. Good tuition good quality equipment in a very lovely setting
- what more could you as a newbie SUPer ask for?


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When you go paddle boarding in Warwickshire you start right in the heart of Leamington Spa at the Boating Lake home to the Leam Boat Centre. It's a little oasis in the middle of the rather lovely Mill Gardens right next to the meandering River Leam & opposite Jephson Gardens. There's actually been a boating lake here since Victorian times. After falling into disrepair the attractive Victorian red brick boat house was restored to its former glory in 2001. Local teacher & youth worker Matt Bishop saw the potential in the place & now the Leam Boat Centre is thriving as a water sports centre that's open to all. We're offering you the chance to have a go at the hugely popular sport of SUP with either a taster or a discovery experience. The tasters teach you the basics whilst the discovery will see you heading off on a little paddle tour to Newbold Comyn Nature Reserve (bringing your own picnic to enjoy waterside) & giving you the chance to try different types of paddle board. St... ...

Take to your paddleboard in Sussex & enjoy the best of both worlds with coastal & river paddleboarding available from the one

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Welcome to Stanlake Park Wine Estate tasting tours where the wine will be flowing! This picturesque wine estate in Berkshire is a lovely place to visit. We are offering vouchers for two people to be part of a group tasting & tour at Stanlake. This really is a local wine producer at its finest. The estate is just stunning & so pretty with wisteria hanging over the walls gorgeous red-brick barns & lovely lawns perfect for lounging with a glass in your hand! You'll both be tasting six Stanlake Estate wines. Subject to availability that will include two sparkling a rosé a red & a couple of whites. You'll either taste them as you go along on your tour or at the end of your visit in the Cellar Shop or out in that lovely walled garden when weather permits. & indeed the walled garden is where you might well get to see some of the original vines that were planted on the Stanlake Estate in 1979. After 40 years of wine making Stanlake Park is one of the oldest wineries in Englan... ...

Be the ' Star in the car' & race against the clock around this special sprint track near Birmingham to see if you can top that leaderboard. Taking a reasonably-priced car & kitting it out with full race-spec safety gear means you can drive a normal family saloon to within an inch of its motoring life as you hurtle around the track & power up the straights in top gear. You climb in to the car kitted out in your race suit & helmet clunk the door shut click the seatbelt pop your favourite driving tunes CD into the car stereo adjust the mirrors turn the key listen to the err...'roar' of the engine & away you go. A screech of tyres maybe a little bit of tyre tread smoke & you're off. After several practice laps you're ready for the 'hot lap' which in a Stig style is against the clock & timed to the very last one hundredth of a second. As you zoom down the straights get the car leaning into those corners & rattle through the chicanes onboard cameras will capture... ...

Ride upfront on a footplate experience in Staffordshire & see what the track looks like from the working end of the train! This fabulous package gives you the chance to climb up onto a fully-restored steam-powered locomotive & ride on the footplate with the driver. Observe just what it involves to get a historic steam train all stoked up on the move & trundling along the Staffordshire track with the plumes of steam swirling around you. You really are quite literally in the hot seat on these experiences as you stand on the footplate & watch the overall-clad train crew shovelling coal into the furnace expertly working the levers & opening valves to power up & move these wonderfully solid machines. Expect heat noise & lots of steam too as the loco chugs into life & heads off on its journey along this superb rural heritage train line. The Churnet Valley line gives you 22 miles of valley views as you rumble through the likes of Consall station which is right next to the canal & the river. Then there's Froghall stop with its delightful tearooms on the platform. And you will be amazed at just how different everything looks from the very front of the train as you look out from your very privileged spot on the footplate
- quite an exhilarating experience! As you won't actually be taking the controls on this footplate experience you'll have more time to enjoy the viewpoint of the open locomotive & you'll be able to watch observe & understand what all the jobs involve. The crew is sure to explain how everything works & show you how it's done
- without you having to get your hands dirty! Don't forget to being your camera along to capture the moment you had the chance to stand on the footplate of a steam train on the Churnet Valley Railway!

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