Outdoor Activities

Street Zorbing Don’t try this at home!

I’ve just spotted this video of someone doing what can only be described as ‘Street Zorbing’ on YouTube and I’m hoping this doesn’t become the latest adrenaline craze with run away Zorbs being rolled all over the towns and cities of the UK!

Seriously though, the clip is apparently from a commercial that was being filmed so we’re guessing the man literally running inside the zorb was a professional zorber (do they exist?) or maybe they just gave a hard-up student a fiver and made them get in. Who knows?

Either way, that kind of zorbing really shouldn’t be tried at home. In fact, no kind of zorbing should be tried at home. So kids, if you want to have a go at zorbing make sure you go to a reputable company. There ends my lecture!

Kiwis, extreme sports and Zorbing

What is it with Kiwis and extreme sports? Why oh why do they feel the need to push themselves to the limits by throwing themselves in and out of things all the time? Is life in New Zealand really that dull that we really need crazy sports like Zorbing?

Personally, we think you’d have to be barking mad to even entertain the idea of climbing into a large, inflatable sphere and then willingly let someone push you down a hill. I can only imagine it feels like you’re trapped inside a washing machine.

Still, not everyone thinks like me as this mad sport is really taking off in the UK with loads of sites springing up all over the country offering zorbing. Oh and the kids tell me it’s not just standard zorbing anymore, you can now choose to roll down that hill in a completely blacked out sphere, or do a tandem zorb or even try one with water sloshing about in it. Now that really is like being on a washing machine spin cycle. Madness.

A more exclusive insight into falconry

For a while now I’ve been looking for a way to learn about falconry. I’ve seen a couple of demonstrations and displays at country fayres and quite fancy having a go myself at keeping birds of prey.

Of course, like taking on any animal it’s a massive responsibility, so I’ve been keeping an eye out for suitable falconry courses. One finally caught my eye today, as I came across a one to one falconry day course in Shropshire which I found from this falconry page here.

As is it just you, the expert falconer and his collection of birds, I reckon this is the best way to get a maximum of hands on knowledge. And I can ask as many questions as I like to get a better understanding of the sport without feeling like I’m hogging the limelight on a small group falconry experience!

Reading the info on the site, it looks like falconer Chris who leads the days has a wealth of expertise and a huge amount of experience breeding, rearing and training birds of prey as well as a being dedicated to protecting wild birdlife, so I’m hoping to learn a lot and have fun at the same time. Looking forward to meeting Chris and his magnificent raptors.

Clay pigeon shooting etiquette

Start on the right foot by getting to the field on time. Most of the experts suggest you need around one hour prepare yourself for the shoot, so take that into consideration also.

If you need to handle someone’s gun, be sure to ask before doing so as you might be winning friends by handling their gun without letting them know. 

Correct etiquette whilst shooting also means making your calls at a suitable volume. Call too loudly and targets will be flying on other fields; make your calls too softly and you won’t get the targets at the time you expect.

Let others know before you start firing your test shots.

Don’t shoot twice at the same target and don’t muck things up for others by carrying on if you miss – they may still be straight.

A lot of the rules of etiquette whilst shooting relate to respecting others on the field. Try to stand so you are not in sight of others while they are shooting. Don’t start talking while others are trying to focus on their shoot and don’t be a distraction to people shooting on other fields. Finally, there should be no visitors to the field during the shoot creating a distraction.

If you are moving around with your gun, carry it across your shoulder with the barrels to the front.

Lastly, be careful where you put your empty cartridges, disposing of them correctly is part of the correct etiquette whilst shooting.

Follow these few straightforward rules of etiquette whilst shooting and the activity will be more enjoyable for you and for those in your company at the shoot.

Intotheblue have a list of UK venues that offer clay pigeon shooting

Clay pigeon shooting

If you are involved in clay pigeon shooting, whether starting out or already involved in the sport, then you need to know about the etiquette whilst shooting. Following correct etiquette isn’t difficult once you have know the basics – and many of these will overlap with some of the essential safety guidelines you should know before you begin shooting.

Here are just a few of the key rules of etiquette whilst shooting and also some websites that will be interesting should you pursue this popular activity. Websites first,

A wealth of information to compliment below can be found on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_pigeon_shooting.
Intotheblue have a list of UK venues that offer clay pigeon shooting and finally, there’s NationalRural.org the governing body for clay pigeon shooting in the UK.

A family outing to the garden centre and we stumble across a falconry demonstration

Wondering where to take the wife and kids over half term, we stumbled across a falconry demonstration at our local garden centre and it made for a family outing with a real difference – and what’s more the kids were totally enwrapped!

 The expert falconer had a Harris Hawk, a Snowy Owl, a female Peregrine Falcon and a huge European Eagle Owl, all sitting pretty on their wooden perches in the field next to the car park.

 I have to say, it really was magical to watch these graceful birds of prey released into the sky, only to swoop back down and glide gently onto the gloved hand of their master. The kids absolutely loved it, so much so that they want actually have a go themselves, so it looks like dad will be paying out for that sometime soon, but I don’t mind too much as I’d secretly love to have a go too! This site (Intotheblue.co.uk) has plenty of falconry events which don’t seem too expensive even for a large family.

Birdwatching Weekend

Grandad gave the kids some information on the Big Garden Birdwatch weekend going on over the 30th – 31st January 2010 organised by the RSPB.

They are both very keen at bird watching and T had a birdwatching book and pair of binoculars for Christmas whilst L had a gift voucher for falconry courses which she can use later in the year.

Where we are is absolutely perfect for birdwatching, we live up a little track surrounded by fields and with a good old fashioned hedge 20 ft from our front door with open fields the other side of it.

I have 3 or 4 bird feeding stations set up in this hedge and we can just sit in the warmth of our dining room or living room watching countless birds of all varieties.

We get all varieties of tits and finches, loads of blackbirds, starings, sparrows and robins. We have pheasants, pigeons and have a very loud cuckoo which always arrives very early and is very close by (although we haven’t seen him yet). We also get both varieties of woodpecker, and have even had a young one tapping on our living room window when we were in there.

We have barn owls 2 fields away which we can go and watch when we like and a highlight for my daughter a couple of weeks ago was a buzzard hovering within 10ft of the car as we drove to school in the morning.