By Guest Blogger Jack Mauro

For a relatively small and flat land mass, the UK has a surprising amount of adventure activities. In the past I’ve covered cultural adventures, urban adventures in London, and coasteering in Lulworth Cove.

Today the question that I’m addressing is not “What exciting activities are there to do?”, it’s “How can I relax and soothe my sore muscles at the end of the day?”

The UK isn’t exactly known for its sunny beaches, so watching the sun set with a mai tai probably isn’t on the menu. When I lived in Taiwan, one of my favourite day-ending activities was a dip in the bathwater-warm ocean at sunset. Of course, you’re probably not going to try that in the UK either.

So, here are three ways to chill out after a long day of hard adventuring in the UK.

Soak in Some Natural Hot Springs

Image by Alun Salt

The UK isn’t the first place that you think of for hot springs, but there are several, in the southwest of the country, especially in the aptly named city of Bath, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its rich history.

The area is dotted with thermal springs, such as the outdoor springs at Taff’s Well, where you can relax your muscles after a long day of exploring the coastline, canoeing down the areas rivers, or spelunking in the region’s caves.

Hit a Spa for the Evening

Image by Lori Greig

If you’re not in the southwest, but are still looking for some hot water to help melt the knots in your muscles, then you’d best head for a spa. If you’re in Edinburough, you’d best head for the rooftop pool at the award-winning One Spa in the Sheraton.

Of course, that’s not your only option for spa days in the UK. Other great spots include Spa London and Thai Square Spa, both of which are in London.

Get a Massage

Image by  thomaswanhoff

If heat isn’t your treatment of choice, maybe you’d prefer a pair of able hands kneading the stress from your body. There are plenty of places to find a massage in London, but a few stand out. For a thai massage, you’d be wise to check out Thai London Therapy. If you’re on a budget, head to the London College of Beauty Therapy for a body massage. Massage schools are always great places for low-priced professional-quality massages. If price is not an option and you really want get fancy, then try out the ushvani hot oil treatment at the Ushavni Spa.

Of course, these aren’t the only ways to unwind after a hard day. I don’t mind hot springs, but I’m not crazy about them. I’m not much of a massage person either. I just prefer a pint at the pub.

How do you like to unwind after a long hard day?

Lead image by Thiago Martins

About the Guest Blogger

Jack Mauro writes about the food that he eats (the food you should be eating), the places he’s been (the places you should go) and the things he’s made (listen closely, he’ll tell you how to make them too).

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London Urban Adventure 5: Skateboarding, Scooting, BMXing, and Rollerblading

Image by James Alby

Often overlooked as adventure sports, these forms of two- to eight-wheeled self propelled urban transportation are among the graceful, skillful, and potentially painful of outdoors sports.  Most large urban centres have several parks where young death-driven maniacs can hurl themselves off of large concrete edifices, and London is no exception. London is home to several world-class skate parks including the One Minet Park in Essex (free), Bay Sixty6 (£6/$9.50 USD) on Acklam Road, and Mount Hawke (£3.5/$5.50 USD) in the southwest.

All you have to do is grab your toy of choice, strap on your helmet, and try to avoid high-speed interaction with the pavement.

London Urban Adventure 4: The Rat Race

Image by oobrien

Organized by Rat Race Events, the Rat Race is an extreme urban adventure race that takes place several times a year. Sometimes the race requires a team. Sometimes you can go solo. Only one thing is certain–it’s going to be f$%#ng hard.

Coming up in 2012 is the Soldier Challenge, in which teams of 2-4 will  be given four hours “to bag as many of the 35 military checkpoints” as possible. You won’t be told where the checkpoints are until an hour before the race begins. There’s no route. There’s no guide. It’s up to you to figure out where to go when, and how to get there. It’s basically free-for-all.

That is followed by the Survival of the fittest on November 17th in which thousands of contestants will struggle across a 10km obstacle course. There are two options run the course during the day or, for those who really like to punish themselves, run it at night under floodlights.

London Urban Adventure 3: Kayaking the Thames

Image by Lukr

Have you ever dreamed of kayaking in a smoggy city on one of the most polluted rivers in Britain? Me neither. But, if there was nowhere else to go, I’d be willing to give it a try.

Actually, kayaking on the Thames doesn’t sound too bad. Kayaking London offers several different paddles on the Thames including beginner classes (£120/$190 USD for four three-hour sessions), a four-hour discover London tour (£60/$95 USD), and a two-and-a-half-hour Big Ben by night trip (£29/$45 USD).

London Urban Adventure 2: Climbing the Castle

Image by Aleksi Aaltonen

The Castle Climbing Centre is a huge climbing centre located in northern London inside of, yep, you guessed it, a castle.  Aside from the coolness of climbing in a 200-foot tall castle, there are a lot of reasons to go get your climb on here. Accessible by public transportation, the Castle is easy for out-of-towners to get to. With over 450 routes and 250 bouldering problems, the Castle has a challenge for every climber. There are always pros onsite offering varying levels of courses. And, starting at £12 ($19 USD) per visit (after a £5/$8 USD registration fee) the Castle is something pretty much anybody can afford.

Yes, I’d rather be on a mountain, but, in the absence of a nice sheer cliff, the Castle is as good a facility as you will find.

London Urban Adventure 1: Parkour at the L.E.A.P. Park

Image by JB London

Parkour, the art of running awesomely over, across, through, and sometimes spinning around, urban obstacles with has been gaining in popularity quickly in recent years thanks to its adaptation to Hollywood chase scenes, like the epic chase at the beginning of Casino Royale. Now parkour lessons and parkour parks have been springing up in urban centres around the world. I placed this activity at number one because it’s something that I’d really like to try.

The L.E.A.P.  (London Experience of Art du depacement and Parkour) Park is the world’s first parkour park. Unlike a skate park, you can’t just show up and start trying to do backflips off of buildings. To use the park you must first pass an induction with a trained parkour instructor. You must also run with a buddy–running alone is not allowed. For more information about lessons and the park, check out the Parkour Generations website.

If you don’t believe that parkour looks like fun, just check out this video of parkour in London.

If you’re looking for top notch accommodations while in London, but aren’t into fancy hotels, you may want to check out these home rentals.

Lead image by JB London

London Vacations

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There are some moments in life when you question what you are doing. I felt that way as I stood shivering on a rock ledge above a raging sea into which I was meant to jump. Being neither a fan of heights nor being told what to do, I felt particularly put out.

Jump or not to jump, that is the question

Let me rewind a little. You see the day had started brilliantly when I arrived at Lulworth Cove, Dorset, UK, filled with boyish enthusiasm and boundless energy. Some friends and I had booked a coasteering day course with the intention of getting back in the saddle after a two year absence from the sport.

With the sun on our shoulders and a full English in our guts (that hearty British breakfast which so clogs the arteries) we set off up the steep coastal path in search of our instructors.

Trekking along this stunning piece of jurassic coast, it was not hard to understand why it has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status. It is nature at it’s most grandiose, wild, ragged, and extreme. As such I think we all felt we’d lucked out on the location of our coasteering course–until tit began to rain that is.

And then the heavens open

There’s something mesmerising about watching a solid wall of rain come towards you from a great distance. You feel as if you’re watching a painting until said wall of rain hits you and soaks you to the bone. Still, its good fun standing at a 45 degree angle against the wind trying not to be blown off a cliff. It somehow makes you feel ready to plunge into the September sea.

So what is coasteering anyway?

Think swimming, scrambling, and then free climbing in a wetsuit without really going all that high. It’s more of a horizontal movement as you grip the rocks with your fingers and toes and manoeuvre across the face. Coasteering is landscape to free climbing’s portrait.

Follow that with a bit more swimming, being battered against rocks, and then jumping off cliff ledges into the sea and you’ve got it.

This neatly returns us full circle to the beginning of the course, a ledge, and the conundrum; to jump or not to jump. In my book you only live once, so GERONIMO!

With thanks to Mulan for documenting our day courtesy of a hangover and unwillingness to get wet! And thanks to Purbeck Adventures for a great day in the water.

About the Author
Josh and Mulan run the travel blog www.londonlaunchpad.com which deals with their adventures around London and the world beyond. Connect with them at any time for travel chat, tips and advice on the website or at London Launchpad Facebook.

West Lulworth Vacations

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