Activities for a vehicle-based stag weekendsubmitted on 30 April 2015
If you – or, more likely, a friend of yours – has recently become engaged, then you will in all likelihood be eager that your stag party is memorable.
Good stag celebrations feature the manliest entertainments imaginable. As such, these entertainments comprise exotic automobiles, the excessive consumption of alcohol, and the company of women of whom the prospective bride would, in all likelihood, strongly disapprove.
Of these three things, this article will focus on activities which feature vehicles. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the vehicular distractions available to stag party organisers.
Ariel Atom Track day
Most men enjoy ridiculously fast cars. The Ariel Atom is a ridiculously fast car, and one which is markedly less expensive than other ridiculously fast cars, since it dispenses most of the features one would normally expect from a car, like bodywork. The result is a car which can accelerate faster than most people can change gears.
That said, despite the Atom’s many virtues, it is not the most practical of vehicles. There is limited space to store your grocery shopping. The school run, too, might be out of the question. Besides, while it’s quite legal to drive cars of this sort on UK roads, it’s quite illegal to drive them as they are designed to be driven; i.e. at extreme speeds. This is especially true in the case of the Atom, for which safety features like crumple zones and windscreens would require an unthinkable surplus of weight.
If you want to really experience this sort of car, a track day is undoubtedly the best environment in which to do so. This will make for a rather thrilling – and, at a mere £69, rather inexpensive – day out. If your budget extends a little further, then you might consider one of the many other track day packages on offer, which allow participants to take the wheel of a varied roster of supercars, from manufacturers as prestigious as Lamborghini, Ferrari and Koenigsegg.
It has been eight years since Jeremy Clarkson first introduced this go-kart (and all of its face-rearranging acceleration) to Top Gear audiences. The now-disgraced motoring supremo’s glowing review of the Atom’s earlier incarnations is still viewable via Top Gear’s youtube channel.
Going out to sea!
There are a number of downsides to a track day, however. Only a limited number of people will be able to attend, and those that do will need to be in possession of a full UK driving licence. And the experience will not appeal to everyone. That being the case, you’ll need to explore other options.
If the groom is more enamoured with all things nautical, then fear not – there are a wide range of activities which allow the participants of a stag do to venture out across the sea. In the south coast, these activities are offered in abundance by Coastal Pursuits, an RYA approved company based in Southampton which offers both charter and training. Their website can be found at coastalpursuits.co.uk.
Depending on your budgetary constraints, your party can charter either a Yacht, a Rib boat or a motorboat, along with a qualified skipper to show you around the pubs the south coast has to offer. Prices begin at £449, and for that money you’ll have access to a rib boat which can support eight people. If you fancy a longer day out, then you can take a yacht out to the Isle of Wight, and enjoy the food, drink, and sunshine the region has to offer.
Tank battle!
We’ve already discussed boats and cars, but it would be remiss not to touch upon one of the more exotic forms of vehicular entertainment. Yes, there now exist places in England where, for a fee, you and a bunch of friends can drive tanks around for a day.
Each tank has been modified to fire paintballs, and accommodate three people plus an instructor. This trio will then need to co-operate with one another, each acting variously as a tank commander, a gunner and a driver. After a few laps of the purpose-built track, you’ll then have the opportunity to engage in a realistic tank battle. This is not an experience which can be replicated on your home gaming system, no matter how advanced the graphics might have become.
When people ask you what you did over your stag weekend, wouldn’t it be nice to respond by saying that you participated in a tank battle? Moreover, wouldn’t it be even nice to be able to say that you won? Well, now you can!
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