Hovercrafting involves thrusting yourself across the ground at speed on what is basically a motor, a cushion and a huge fan. It is very noisy and very fun as I found out when I got to ‘hov’ a go!
History Of The Hover
When you think about it, hovercraft are possibly the ultimate vehicle – they can cross almost any terrain. Mud? No problem. Water? A breeze. Ice? Easy.
Hovercraft could have been a transport of the future. Despite enjoying some commercial success with car carrying hovercrafts once operating in the English Channel in the late 1960s, the only public hovercraft service in the world that is still in operation today, is in the UK. It runs between the Isle of Wight and Southsea.
Hovercrafts are sill in frequent use non-commercially as rescue and emergency vessels. They can often quickly reach places that boats and planes would take longer getting to – if they could even get there at all.
You can also tear about on one in a field for fun!
Hovercrafting Had Been On My List For A While
I wasn’t convinced this new thing would actually happen.
Just a week or so before we set off on a road trip around Ireland I was doing some research into our route and found a place where we could have a go on a hovercraft. We didn’t have definitive plans of where we were going to be on what date, and I left booking our experience until the actual day! Thankfully, just a few phone calls on the morning and they confirmed they could book us in.
It was October. It wasn’t the school holidays. It was midweek. It was not one of their busier days. We were the only people there.
The well used trailer clattered along the bumpy track behind the tractor as our instructor, Dennis, towed the Other Half and I to the hovercraft fields. It could clearly hold far more people than just the two of us so we felt a bit lost with all that space.
Getting Prepped
Arriving at the hovercraft fields we had a debrief and safety talk in the small hut, then picked out our overalls and helmets before being introduced to The Snapper. This was our small but mighty single person hovercraft which we would take turns to drive.
We would be kneeling in the craft to pilot it – I don’t think either of us had expected that. Thankfully there was some padding so our creaky knees wouldn’t take too much of a bashing.
Learning To Drive - Hovercrafting
“Think of it like learning to drive”, our instructor told us.
We would be starting in the practice field which he likened to the theory test. That’s where we’d get the hang of how the hovercraft moves and how to drive it.
Then we’d move to the track which is like the driving test. That’s where he wanted to see that we could safely drive, manoeuvre around the turns, and stop.
If we passed both of the tests, we’d move onto the racetrack where we would be timed against each other, and see if we could make it onto the hovercraft leaderboard.
Getting the hang of it - The Theory test
The ‘theory test’ took place in a flat field of cut grass with longer vegetation bordering the edges to help stop any wayward drivers. It was a simple square, perfect for a practice without any obstacles to navigate.
Dennis talked us through the controls which were very straight forward; squeeze what looked like a break lever on handle bars to move forwards. Break by simply releasing the lever gently. Completely let go of it and you’ll come to an abrupt jolting stop, so it’s better to slowly release it and come to a more sedate halt.
Steering was ‘just’ a matter of turning the handle bars and leaning with all of our body weight in the direction we wanted to turn, so that there is less air in that side of the cushion. I say ‘just’, it didn’t always quite respond as intended
It was super noisy when he started the ignition. It was like multiple lawnmowers being switched on at the same time. Kneeling in position, in what felt like very close proximity to the ground, I tentatively pulled the lever and felt the cushion inflating beneath me until it started to move forwards. Squeezing a bit harder I started to pick up speed and move across the grass.
It was more physical than I had anticipated, taking a lot more leaning to help turn the craft. After a few particularly short and sharp stops when I felt I was getting too close to the edges, I got a better handle on slowing down too.
It felt pretty nippy, but in reality the video footage we got looks as though it was in slow motion!
Putting It Into Practice - The Driving Test
Theory done and we moved onto the track. This was a proper course to follow with corners, bends and ditches. The ditches usually have water in which the hovercrafts easily blast over, but they were empty after a dry spell.
As I got to the ditch on my first lap I briefly hesitated. It looked steep. It really wasn’t, but being that close to the ground made it seem a much bigger drop and I momentarily thought the hovercraft would catch and tip over. Of course it wouldn’t, but I eased off the acceleration all the same and cautiously went through it. Safely on the other side, it built my confidence for speeding through it on the next laps.
This was great fun, leaning into plenty of turns without getting stuck in the long grass, and really flying along the long fast straights sending dry mud and grass in all directions.
We took three laps each after which we could both really feel the muscles in our quads and thighs which had been working hard. Dennis was happy we had both passed our driving test, and gave us a few additional pointers before things got competitive.
Getting Competitive - The Hovercrafting Race Track
The other half is far more competitive than I am, but I did try and race around this last track as fast as I could. We were seeing who could get around the quickest, and whether we would be fast enough to make it onto the official leaderboard.
Similar to the previous course there were bends, slaloms, straights and ditches.
I was going fast as I came to a ditch which actually had some water in it. Without hesitating this time, I seamlessly skimmed across the top of it creating a plume of spray.
I was feeling more confident with each lap, picking up speed and making some neat, tight turns -at least that’s how it felt to me! These swift little speed cushions can reach over 30mph, and even though it felt fast as I flew across all of the terrain on the track whilst getting spattered by dry flecks of mud, I’m not sure I got it up to that lightning pace of acceleration.
As for the race, not surprisingly the other half beat me and won the fastest lap, but he wasn’t quite fast enough to make it onto the overall leader board.
A Muddy Great Afternoon Hovercrafting
I thoroughly enjoyed our hovercrafting experience. Thrusting ourselves around on the marvellous machines got the adrenaline pumping, wind in our hair and mud in our faces. It included a bit more physical exertion than we’d considered, and invoked some healthy competition.
We had a great afternoon as just the two of us were hovercrafting. It’s also a great activity for groups and could be a more unusual idea for a team building day, a different option for stag or hen dos, or perhaps a fast paced way to celebrate a birthday.
Want To Try It Yourself?
- Our fantastic hovercraft experience was with Limitless Adventures, the only place for a hovercraft experience in Northern Ireland.
- There are several places in the UK where you can also give it a go such as
- HoverForce in Cheshire
- Axceler-8 in Leicestershire
- Adventure Sports in Warwick
- Avalanche Adventure in Market Harborough
- You can also find places to try hover crafting through experience companies such as Into the blue and Buy a gift
Cost Of Experience
- We paid £40 per person at Limitless adventures. That’s the cost for anyone aged 12 and above.
- For anyone between 8 and 11 they offer Whippersnapper experiences which are £30pp.
- There are various packages available where you can try several different activities such as archery, laser clay shooting, football golf and power turn buggies. The more activities you do, the cheaper it works out for each one.
Recommendations
What to take
- A camera. As there is only one person on the track at a time it means you can easily get some pictures and videos of anyone you’ve gone with.
- Spare clothes – just in case you get particularly muddy.
What to wear
- When we went to Limitless, it had been particularly dry. However, the final course does see you taking the craft over some big sections of water, so you could get a bit wet and muddy.
- They provide you with overalls to give your clothes some protection. As you’re speeding around the course the mud and grass does fly so it’s wise not to wear your best outfit.
How long will you need
- At Limitless Adventures if you’re just trying the hovercraft it will last for about two hours.
Hope you ‘hov’ a great time if you go!