Set up in a former military base, Bristol Activity Centre has been running activities for over 20 years. They offer more than ten different activities for adults and children of various ages. They take safety very seriously. To ensure everyone’s safety, there are age limits placed on the activities.
We were a corporate group, and because we were mostly headed in different directions afterwards, few of us could car share. There was more than enough parking. I was in a car of five. The roads in from the motorway are tricky, even using a sat nav, which meant that we arrived late. If you plan on visiting, give yourself extra time for getting lost.
Bristol Activity Centre has been set up so that it still resembles a military base, with military paraphernalia from tanks and planes to ammo boxes and helicopters to add to the military feel. There is a cafe on site. They sell military style novelty gifts which aren’t a ridiculous price. I bought some bits for my stepson’s birthday. He’s going to get a kick out of a flask shaped like a bullet.
27 of us went, so we were split into two groups due to the limitations on numbers for some activities. We had a choice of activities and had voted for which pair the groups would do. I’m sure that you could stay all day and take up most of the activities on offer.
Air rifle shooting was first up for the group I was in. Because we arrived late, everyone else was set up with instruction and ready to go. We got what felt like a rapid and shortened instruction and I didn’t quite follow it all. I worked it out for myself. The sights weren’t easy to focus out of. I think I’m too small for the position they are in on the rifle. Focus didn’t help. I found it boring after the first few shots. I hit 3 out of the 4 targets straight away, then it got dull. We were all given 50 pellets, but I didn’t use half. I wasn’t alone. Most of the group had a lot left over. I just assumed that there was no novelty for me, having had an air rifle as a child, but the people who were all excited at the idea soon drifted away from the range and started to chat. I think they could do more to interest people in this activity.
Quads were next up. I was very impressed with the safety precautions and the long talk. One of the group was very nervous about riding, so she was put right behind the guide for the first introductory ride. It’s physically harder than you expect. And if you are on the smaller size, quite tricky. I inadvertently slid forward on the course when I hit a bump going downhill and discovered that it was a happy accident because being closer to the handles helped a lot. The engine gets very warm. I think we were the last group, so by the time we had our stint, as you can imagine, they were pretty hot by the time we got on them. I was a lot hotter after sliding forward.
We were led out onto the course. It starts with a very steep uphill. The first one to try it nearly toppled over. The course started slow and winding. It meant that our large group was constantly stopping and starting to let the ones ahead negotiate the bends. It wasn’t long before I became bored rigid with the course. The stop-start meant that you couldn’t get a feel for how to really ride a quad bike. I would have preferred a few long straight bits to get used to it before the winding track. It had a lot of challenges, big bumps and steep downhill slopes. The thought amongst us was that they choose the winding path to keep it slow. Maybe this middle aged woman has a touch of the boy racer inside her. Watch out if you go on a dry day. The track is dusty and, to put it very bluntly, you will have grey snot for a while afterwards.
To sum it all up, it was something different to the sort of thing I’d usually do. Maybe we had the wrong activities. I might have enjoyed it more with a more exciting quad bike track and a few more things to do, but for a shorter period. It was a pleasant enough afternoon, but I wouldn’t rush back.
