The ultimate British Isles bucket list

Make the most of your time on home soil with these adrenaline-inducing experiences, picked by Tamara Hinson

Bucket-list experiences are closer to home than you think (PADI)

Apparently, we’re all clamouring to book the bucket list-worthy adventures we’ve dreamed about doing for years. Our advice? Don’t just focus on far-flung destinations – there are plenty of once-in-lifetime experiences to be had closer to home.

Skydive over Devon

With Devon skydives you get views of both the sea and stunning landscapes (Skydive Buzz)

Throwing yourself out of a plane is considerably less daunting when you’ve got something spectacular to look at (which is why Uluru, the Swiss Alps and Dubai are three of the world’s most popular skydiving spots).

However, we suggest swapping Dubai for Devon and booking a parachute jump with Skydive Buzz, which is based at Dunkeswell Airfield near Honiton. Opt for a tandem skydive to enjoy gorgeous views over both the English Channel and the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Suddenly, being strapped tightly to a total stranger seems rather appealing.

From £149 for a tandem skydive 

skydiveukltd.com

Take a stunt flight over the Sussex coastline 

Do a loop-the-loop over Sussex (Ultimate High)

Every watched the Red Bull Air Race and thought “I could do that”? We’re sorry to shatter your aspirations, but you probably can’t, although we’ve got the next best thing – an aerobatic flight in a fighter jet flown by one of Sussex-based Ultimate High’s ex-military stunt pilots. If you’re still comfortable (read: not vomiting) after some gentle loops and rolls, you’ll progress to some more complicated manoeuvres, such as Derry Turns and vertical rolls.

The best bit? If you get the chance to gaze out the window (we suspect you won’t) you’ll enjoy a fantastic view – Ultimate High’s flights depart from the Goodwood Aerodrome, near one of the most spectacular sections of the West Sussex coastline.

From £345 for a 35-minute flight 

ultimatehigh.co.uk

Scuba dive with seals

Spot seals off the coast of Devon (PADI)

Diving with sharks might well come with a whole host of bragging rights, but they’ll all be useless if something goes wrong and you get eaten alive. Our advice? Swap the man-eaters for something much cuter – the famously curious seals which hang out off the coast of Lundy, the largest island in the Bristol Channel.

Anyone with a Padi Open Water qualification can sign up for the experience, which includes two guided dives in an area famous not only for its seals but anemones, sea squirts and underwater kelp forests. However, the seals are definitely the stars of the show here – don’t be surprised to find one nibbling on your flipper. 

From £132pp for two guided dives 

easydiversnorthdevon.co.uk

Abseil down Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower

Challenge yourself to a truly towering achievement (HELEN YATES)

A growing number of landmarks are offering adrenaline-fuelled descents of their structures for anyone looking for an alternative to elevators. Notable examples include abseil descents of the Macau Tower and bungee jumps from Las Vegas’s Stratosphere.

For something closer to home, consider abseiling down the side of Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower. Sign up for this controlled descent and you’ll enjoy brilliant views of Portsmouth Harbour, the Solent and the Isle of Wight – hardly surprising given that, at 170m high, the tower is taller than the London Eye, Blackpool Tower and Big Ben.

£100pp

spinnakertower.co.uk

Climb to the summit of Scafell Pike

Astonishing views await at the summit of Scafell, England’s highest peak (Cumbria Tourism)

Climbing Everest is hard work and expensive – packages start at around £40,000, and cutting costs isn’t really advisable when you’re climbing the world’s highest mountain. Summiting Cumbria’s 3,209ft-high Scafell Pike, however, is much simpler.

There are various routes to the top of England’s highest peak, ranging from gentler ones such as the three-hour trail which starts in Wasdale, to the notoriously tough one which starts in Great Langdale and winds its way to the summit via several nearby peaks. But it’s worth it – make it to the top and you’ll enjoy views of the lakes and moorland which inspired William Wordsworth, and on a clear day, you’ll be able to see Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the Isle of Man. Suddenly Everest looks rather plain.

scafellpike.org.uk

Go on a sea safari

Spot seals, dolphins and razor bills on a Scottish sea safari (Stonehaven)

Safaris top many people’s bucket lists, despite the fact they’re ridiculously expensive and usually involve spending hours trawling a vast expanse of baking hot dust for a wild animal which might or might not decide to put in an appearance. Not so with a sea safari along Aberdeenshire’s coastline, famous for its towering, puffin-splattered cliffs. Sign up for a Stonehaven Sea Safari and it’s highly likely you’ll spot a seal or dolphin, while sightings of razor bills, kittiwakes and guillemots are almost guaranteed.

From £20pp

stonehavenseasafari.co.uk

Drive the Malvern Hills in a classic car 

Tour the Malvern Hills in a Morgan Plus Four (Morgan)

We’ve always wondered why so many people want to rent supercars when classic cars are so much more fun. This summer, dust off those driving gloves/Biggles-worthy goggles/hair scarves and hit the road in one of the Morgan Motor Company’s Morgan Plus Fours, then sign up for a tour of the Malvern-based factory, where you can watch workers turn fragrant strips of ash into pieces of bodywork and stitch the company’s winged logo onto leather headrests. There are day, overnight, weekend and week options, although if that’s not enough, we’ve got it on good authority that a Morgan fan recently hired one of the cars and shipped it to India for a three-week road trip.

From £235 for day hire

morgan-motor.com

See bioluminescence in Jersey 

Bioluminescence is visible in late spring and early summer (Jersey)

If you thought sparkly seawater only appeared in The Beach and a handful of destinations in the Caribbean and Central America, then think again, because in late spring and early summer it’s possible to witness bioluminescence – a glow produced by millions of tiny organisms, in this case glow worms – in Grouville, near Jersey’s south-eastern tip. During the night-time walks you’ll learn all about these wonderful worms, including how they keep Jersey’s sand soft and aerated by churning it in the same way earthworms churn soil.

From £18pp

jerseywalkadventures.co.uk

Admire the Northern Lights in Scotland 

It’s a misconception that you have to drag yourself to the frozen wilderness of Alaska, Finland or Sweden to get a glimpse of the aurora borealis, which are regularly spotted in northern Scotland between October and March. The country’s Highlands and islands are the best destinations for aurora hunters, many of whom flock to Moorfield House Hotel in Cairngorms National Park, which is on the same latitude as parts of Sweden and northern Denmark.

Double rooms at the Moorfield House Hotel start from £79 per night

visitscotland.com

Climb the Forth Bridge (soon, hopefully)

Leave Sydney’s Harbour for Scotland’s Forth Bridge (Visit Scotland)

Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge sounds like a lot of fun, until you get to the top and find a tangle of selfie sticks blocking your view of landmarks you’ve seen plastered over everything from T-shirts to chocolate bars.  Although we can’t guarantee the planned Forth Bridge Experience, which will allow visitors to walk to its highest point, will be a selfie stick-free zone, we’re going to go out on a limb to suggest the view will be even better – look to the east and you’ll see the Firth of Forth islands, or to the south to see Edinburgh and the jagged Salisbury Crags beneath Arthur’s Seat. The Forth Bridge is also one of the few bridges with Unesco World Heritage status, thanks to its engineering  – when it opened in 1890 it had the world’s longest bridge spans (541m). Beat that, Sydney Harbour Bridge.

forthbridgeexperience.com