On Sunday, Isaac turned 9 years old and in the lead up to his birthday he told me that he wanted something different for his party.
Last year he literally had a blast with a Science Party and prior to that he had a superhero themed party which were both held indoors, but Isaac is quite an adventurous boy with a passion for being outside and is quite a daredevil on the quiet, so I thought I would take a chance on the weather and book something outside.
I toyed with the idea of Go Ape or a climbing party, but he has done both recently and I wanted to give him and his friends the chance to try something new and have been following events at Avon Tyrell Youth Outdoor Activity Centre for a while on facebook so decided to see if they offered birthday parties.
There were three different packages to choose from and we decided on the Go Adventure package which allowed Isaac to choose three, hour long activities from a list of fourteen. He chose the Zip Wire, Archery and High Ropes.
He invited eleven friends who were then split up into two teams of six. Isaac’s team did High Ropes first, followed by Archery and then the Zip and the second team started with Archery, the Zip and finished with the High Ropes.
After a safety briefing, Isaac was first up and took on the balance beam first. He had to walk up an angled tree trunk towards a tree with ladder holds on it, climb up to a second tree trunk which he had to walk across, 9 metres (30ft) in the air, and all with nothing to hold onto bar his safety rope!
It took a lot of determination and resilience to take on the balance beam but he did it. Some of his friends also tried the balance beam, whilst others attempted the cable traverse, trapeze jump or walked the double incline log, all sitting 9 metres above the ground. Some got higher than others and one was even swinging on the trapeze upside down, but they all had a go and were cheering each other on throughout. I think being lowered down to the ground was good fun too.
For the Archery session, a qualified leader guided the kids on the skills of the sport to allow you them safely to enjoy it. They practiced perfecting their technique from the shooting line and once they had mastered the basics, the instructor then guided them through some games and competitions, with the added challenge of hitting the “bullseye” to get a £1……a couple of them did it too.
The Zip Wire was probably the most nerve-wracking event of the day but at the same time was also the one they enjoyed the most. It was climbing 30 feet up to the starting platform that got some nervous, but the leaders were amazing and kept distracting the kids from the height by talking to them as they climbed up. They were then hooked onto the 60 metre long zip wire and launched themselves off the platform and over a picturesque lake to the other side.
Adrenalin activities over, it was then time to stop for a picnic. I made the kids their own separate party food boxes, which saved a lot of waste and mess, and then it was time for the all important birthday cake, which had a Pokemon theme as requested by the birthday boy.
Isaac and his friends had the most amazing time and apparently have not stopped talking about his party with a difference. I would definitely recommend Avon Tyrell as an alternative party venue, there are plenty of grounds for a picnic, a fab adventure course that the kids can use too and the instructors were fun, friendly and encouraging.
Party packages start from £85 per group and activities include Zip Wire, Archery, Climbing/Abseiling, Canoeing, Kayaking, Raft Building, Adventure Course, High Ropes, Low Ropes, Bushcraft, Shelter Building, Art in the Environment, Pioneering and Orienteering.
Disclaimer: Thanks to Partyrama for supplying some of the party essentials.
I saw the images of this on Facebook and thought it looked amazing. What a fab place and idea for a Birthday party. This is something that my boys would LOVE. His cake is amazing too. happy belated birthday Isaac
That sounds really fun. Never mind the kids, I’d love the zipwire myself! What a great idea for a birthday party. Smashing pics too.
Wow what a fantastic day and idea for a birthday party….the perfect celebration for active kids! Love the archery in particular.
Oooo what fun. A great way to get the kids outdoors and know they are in safe hands….without you doing all the hard work. I love the Pokemon cake. A belated happy birthday to your boy x
Isaac looks like he a fab time. Well done to him for doing the zip wire – I know I wouldn’t of been as brave.
It looks like a brilliant place to have a party! I would love having a go at the archery myself
What a great idea for a party! We love Archery and my mummy used to camp at Avon Tyrell when she was in the girl guides x
What a fantastic place – so much to do and such an adventure! Also, that birthday cake looks amazing 🙂
What a fantastic place and set of activities for a party. The cake looks amazing too #countrykidsfun
How great a brilliant birthday adventure! I love these sort of outdoors pursuits and hope that my boy will love them as much when he is older. Fab cake!! #countrykids
Looks like great fun and just the sort of thing mine would love as well. Fab cake too #CountryKids
Wow that looks like an amazing party! And that cake looks totally AWESOME! Bugs would love that x
Looks like a great day. What a beautiful birthday cake Hope he had a great birthday 🙂
What a great party I’m sure he’ll remember that forever.
Now that is a birthday party to remember! What fun from start to finish and 3 great activities to take part in too. I’m not sure which looks most fun, possibly the zip wire though the balance beam looks the hardest. I think Isaac and his friends are all good sports for taking part and encouraging one another. wow to an amazing looking cake too. You really do go all out to give the children the most incredible parties each year.
Thank you for sharing with me on #CountryKids
What a fantastic party! So unusual too, ive never seen anything like that up here! That cake is amazing, happy birthday Isaac!!
This looks like the best Birthday party ever! My son would have loved doing something like this with his friends!
Great birthday party and great pictures. My daughter is 9 years old too.
This looks like a great idea for an action packed birthday party, the cake looks very cool too!
I did archery once as a child and loved it. Matthew has done it at Beavers. Great activities and happy birthday Isaac!
What an amazing birthday party, and THAT cake!! WOW!
What a fantastic way in which to celebrate a birthday. #CountryKids
That cake is amazing! It looks like the perfect place for a Birthday and I am sure that Monkey will love something like this when he is older. This year we are having a superhero party. Looks like he had a great time. #CountryKids
This sounds amazing! What an awesome party – no wonder they are still talking about it. We had a Go Ape right near us and I can’t wait to try it when the girls are older. #CountryKids
I love places like these , it is about time that they cater for the smaller kids, as well as the big kids (us adults) z
What an amazing party! I would have loved that when I was younger and I bet my son would love something like that too.
It looks like he had such amazing time. I wish this had been around when my son was younger as I used to really struggle with birthday party ideas for him