Zorbing, Water Walking, Bubble Football in the UK and Ireland

With my daughter turning 13 we wanted to treat her to something really fun for her birthday. She'd always wanted to try Zorbing, so we decided a Zorbing experience was the perfect way to celebrate her becoming a teenager.

Before I booked anything I looked into all the different types of Zorbing, but eventually I decided a traditional harness Zorbing experience would be the most fun. There was one major draw back though, we needed two people to take part so that the ball was balanced, which meant either me or my husband would have to take part too. There was no way I was getting in a Zorb ball, so my husband got roped in whether he liked it or not! As it turned out he was really excited and the two of them couldn't wait to try Zorbing.

Their Zorbing experience came around really quickly, so before we knew it we were all at the site ready for the fun to start. The two of them got signed in straight away, and once they'd been given a short briefing from one of the instructors it was time to squeeze into the Zorb ball. Even though the track was a lot steeper than I'd imagined they both seemed really excited, and once they were secured in their harnesses they were ready to get the ball rolling.

Even though I wasn't taking part I was in charge of getting some photos, so I couldn't wait to see them set off. I'd booked two rolls for them, so for the first I stayed at the top to see them off, and for the second I waited at the bottom. Once they'd set off the ball picked up some serious speed, and as they hurtled down the track I could see them bumping and bouncing all the way.

When the ball eventually came to a stand still at the bottom of the hill the two of them were in absolute stitches! They absolutely loved their Zorbing experience, and if it's half as much fun as it looked I'll definitely be giving it a try some time soon!

I always try to think out of the box when I get birthday presents for friends and family- but I save all my best present ideas for my daughter. She was just about to start high school, after passing her end of primary school exams with flying colours. I had plenty of ideas of great gifts to surprise her with, but I needed to make sure I didn’t choose anything that would break the bank. I need to make sure I’m financially stable by the time her 12th birthday comes around and she no doubt asks for bigger gifts!

My daughter is really into sports. She’s on a local girls football team, whilst she has also taken part in lots of activities like laser tag and go karting as part of friends birthday celebrations. I knew that I was going to choose a great new sport for her to take part in as part of her treat; something she’d love, that she had definitely not done before. The list was endless, but one activity really stood out from the rest: zorbing.

I’d seen clips of zorbing online a few years ago and always thought it looked really fun. How can you possibly not enjoy being strapped into a gigantic hamster ball and rolled down a hill? Most importantly, it was as safe as it was thrilling. As a parent, I always worry that she is going to injure herself when she plays sports- and there was definitely no risk of that with zorbing. It was the perfect treat to surprise her with.

It didn’t take long to book with Roll Mania. I called up one of the team to tell me about the different kids zorbing packages that were on offer and the ones that were best suited for my daughter, then moments later I had booked the package. It looked so much fun, I even booked a harness zorbing session for myself for another day- I didn’t want to book on the same day as her, as I wanted to cheer her on from the sidelines!

She was completely over the moon when she got the present. She’d seen lots of zorbing clips on YouTube and always thought it looked like fun, so couldn’t wait to try it for herself. When we got to the site, the staff were all friendly and loved how enthusiastic she was- she was just so eager to get herself into the hamster ball. Finally, she got herself strapped in and the roll began. Even though she was reaching pretty quick speeds, when she got out she was eager to go back and try it again.

After reading about aqua zorbing, the two of us now want to go back and see what that is like- and neither of us can wait! Thank you to Roll Mania, for giving the perfect kids zorbing experience, as well as a great adult zorbing one too!