Blown away in Bedfordshire

Thirdly what if I told you in Bedfordshire you can go clay pigeon shooting with a former deputy mayor, cable tow on a peaceful lake overlooking treetops and fly in a simulator in an abandoned Ministry of Defence wind turbine with James Bond’s stunt double?

For those of you who have never gone, and others who are understandably geographically challenged, Bedfordshire is a typically nondescript county squeezed between Cambridgeshire and the M1 in that nondescript north-of-London hinterland no one really cares about unless you live there.

Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a cultural backwater (that’s Northamptonshire you’re thinking of) because Bedfordshire is full of get-off-the-sofa-and-have-fun ideas that make for a cracking stag and outdoor activity weekend with the boys.

It’s about an hour’s drive from Oxfordshire (via one million roundabouts) making it accessible for a day or overnight trip.

And in Riseley is Sporting Targets, an outdoor activity park with clay pigeon shooting, archery, 4x4 racing and quad bikes set in 36 acres of isolated countryside.

Opened in 1989 by local landowners looking for another way to make some cash, Sporting Targets comes across as a classic gentlemen’s weekend club retreat.

But even if the vehicles’ number plates parked outside do have ‘GUN’ and ‘DEER’ on them, this is not some exclusive country club where you must wear tweed; anyone, of any standard, can join in.

This was the first time I’d ever been shooting and with the careful guidance of tutor Fletch by the end of our session was hitting the clay pigeons like I’d been doing it all my life.

Such was the relaxed nature at Shooting Targets there was also the chance for a chat with owner Ian Clifton – former deputy mayor of Bedford Borough Council. If this place is good enough for deputy mayors it’s good enough for you and I.

To the west of Bedford you discover the 100-acre Box End Park with waterskiing and the instantly addictive cable tow.

I was greeted by a very smiley girl at reception (very hot) who even makes a safety video seem like something you should be interested in.

This giant man-made lake for cable tow waterskiing is filled with underground spring water in a picturesque and isolated setting surrounded by trees and even a quaint church spire in the distance.

But this isn’t a quaint sport. The cable tow drags you round the lake until you can’t hold on any more. The great thing about cable tow – or wakeboarding – is it’s just built to have fun.

It’s all about getting on to the water and ending up face down in any one of a number of amusing crashes. My favourite was being hauled out of the wakeboard face first Superman-style into the water – often about three metres from the start point.

The motto must be get strapped in, stand up, hold on for dear life for as long as you can and wait for the inevitable wipe out.

A three-hour taster session and coaching starts from £45 and by the end of this you may have developed a new hobby.

It also gives you a surprisingly tough workout and your triceps, back and stomach muscles will ache for days. For those of you familiar with cable tow, Box End Park has a man-made island, which they assure me means less wake to damage your boarding.

The lake has jumps galore for the more experienced wake boarder (who were getting some seriously big jumps in) and a brand new restaurant, bar and conference rooms.

The aptly-named BodyFlight is situated a few miles north of Bedford on an abandoned MoD site.

Once through the barbed wire fence and security gate you reach an impossibly large cylindrical silo which houses a giant turbine. The setting adds to the bizarre experience which is about to follow.

Stepping into the BodyFlight building is truly like something from the pages of a science-fiction novel. Inside is a turbine coughing out 180mph winds where you can ‘fly’. There are no gimmicks in this futuristic world of human flight. Well, perhaps one – you’re joined by James Bond’s stunt double.

Yes, the man strapped into a figure-hugging boilersuit and jazzy helmet who defies gravity with acrobatic twists and turns and incredible manouvres in the wind tunnel flight zone was Daniel Craig’s stunt double in Quantum of Solace, when the BodyFlight was used in the film.

Seriously guys, don’t take your girlfriend to this place. James Bond with blow them away.

Well, not literally. Once you’re strapped in to your ridiculously ugly boilersuits (which makes Daniel Craig’s double look even better than you) you step into the flight room.

With Daniel Craig holding on to your body tight (remember guys, no girlfriends) to make sure you don’t flip and crash or smash into a wall you hover miraculously in the air.

In these winds of up to 180mph you hang in the air, your cheeks flapping around and grinning like an idiot sticking your thumbs up to a gallery of family and friends pointing and laughing through viewing windows and portholes.

It is a sensational experience you can’t get unless you are leaping from a plane.

But I can’t trust a pursuit where with you have to wear an ugly boilersuit and goggles and have winds morphing your face like plasticine and saliva dribbling up your cheeks while photos are taken to capture you looking like an idiot.

So what have we leant?

We now know where Bedfordshire is but we also can be sure Bedfordshire makes that list of cheap, cheerful yet classy activity weekend destinations which offer everything you need for lads weekend, stag party or short break away from the humdrum.