Coasteering NI

“Bring a Da” Coasteering on Father’s Day with CoasteeringNI – and any “Da” will do! Your neighbours Da, your friends Da, some random Da you don’t even know – just bring a Da!

The Da goes free for every child’s place booked and for Father’s Day we have no age limit for children!  You could be 45 and bring your mate (as long as he is a Da) and you only have to pay £30 for yourself and “yer Da” goes free!!!  Make sense?

NO???  Then give us a call on 07513868476 and we will explain it – just know you and “yer Da” are getting a cracker deal!

Oh! Here’s a wee bit about coasteering…

Coasteering is an exhilarating combined rock and water activity that can be delivered to every individual level which makes this activity suitable for those with no fear of heights or water as well as those who may not be quite so confident.

During your Coasteering trip you will learn rock climbing and scrambling techniques as well as how to jump from great heights safely.

Wearing sturdy footwear, wetsuits, buoyancy aids and helmets, participants travel along a section of coastline; sometimes swimming in the sea, sometimes scrambling on rocks and jumping from rocks into the sea.

Morning and afternoon sessions are available!

Are you up for some Coasteering (with yer Da)? Give us a call on 07513868476 or email jump@coasteeringni.co.uk 

Here’s what we think you look like…

YOU WANT TO LIVE EVERY DAY TO THE MAX

Something burns inside of you. It drives you forward. It’s the first thing you think of when you wake and it welcomes your dreams as you go to sleep. It overwhelms you and you struggle not to think about it.  That’s right, you live for the weekend! You make plans with friends, you seek new adventures, you explore, you have fun, you live! You know this is your life and you only get one chance at it so you make the most of it.

You have a passionate desire to live a life that other’s only wish they could have 

This is why we want to take you Coasteering

Now, make our day, get in touch and let us bring you on an adventure that you know you will love!

We are delighted to announce an all new Coasteering adventure available to you!

Wednesday has been know as Hump Day for the longest time.  We found this definition in the Urban Dictionary:

Wednesday, or the hump of the week!

The absolute BEST day of the week, the day of maximum hope that maybe, you might make it out of this week alive. A particularly good hump day can last you the rest of the week, and by Doomday morning (Monday) you survive by anticipating hump day. Nothing goes wrong on hump day

Most other days can be defined by hump day. Tuesday is the day before hump day. Thursday is one day after hump day. Except Friday is WOOOH!!! FREEDOM!!! Day, Saturday is Mostly Hungover day, and Sunday is Pre Doom day.

We agree with that apart from ruining your Saturday by being hungover.  No day should be wasted like that – you could be Coasteering, Surfing, Mountain Biking or just catching up with friends with a walk along the North Coast followed by coffee and good grub!

Sorry, we have gone off track!

Happy Hump Day! From now until September we have a special Coasteering trip every Wednesday evening from 6.00pm – 8.30pm and it’s 2 for 1!  Yep, bring a mate, bring your partner, your son, your daughter, your mum, your dad, your granny, whoever you fancy! Make them pay to go Coasteering and you will go for free!

We will be adding Happy Hump Day Coasteering to our diary over the next few days so you can book online!  To celebrate the launch of this magnificent Coasteering adventure we are giving away 10 places for next Wednesday’s Happy Hump Day Coasteering! So pay attention to our website and Facebook page to find out how you can have the Best Hump Day ever!

County Down has lots of Coastline with two main venues for Coasteering; namely Bloody Bridge just outside Newcastle and the cliffs at Ballyhornan.  Both venues are awesome although they are quite a contrast to Ballintoy where we do most of our Coasteering.  There are other venues for Coasteering in County Down such as Bangor and Ballywalter.

Coasteering at Bloody Bridge can be quite committing.  If the seas are rolling you ain’t going!  There are few escape routes so if the swells are above 3 foot then it makes it a really difficult venue to use.  There are some awesome jumps though and caves that you can swim in to.  Swimming in caves is a great experience, especially when the swell pushes you up towards the ceiling!

Usually we will meet at Bloody Bridge car park and if the sea is too rough we can always go Bouldering on the river!

The great thing about Coasteering at Bloody Bridge is that you can head back in to Newcastle for fish and chips at the Harbour Inn – that’s what we like to do anyway!

Our favourite venue for Coasteering in County Down is Ballyhornan.  The rock formations here are amazing and they come in a whole range of colours.  Jumps are bountiful here including the challenge of the Devil’s Cauldron and the plank!!  You will definitely test your nerves on these jumps!

There are some awesome channels with powerful currents for adventure swimming and the cave within the Devil’s Cauldron is great for exploring.

Coasteering at Ballyhornan can be quite committing too but we have been here when it is really rough and still been able to take people out.  We know the venue really well and can adjust the Coasteering trip to suit the conditions.

Check out these two albums for some of the craic you can get up to Coasteering in County Down:

HUGE Waves, epic swims and awesome jumps!

Birthday Treat

It was probably the coldest day of 2013 when I set out on my first day of Coasteering – too cold for new snow but it still lay on the ground.

As we started our adventure I got snug in TWO wetsuits adding up to an extra 8 mm of skin! Feeling nervous but excited we made our way towards our first rock.

To be honest I’ve never really had a lot of balance and I was more afraid of slipping on my dodgy footwork than my first jump! One thing I will say – Stephen has a true talent in supervision of this nature. He knew when to leave me to fend for myself to build my confidence and when I literally needed a hand.

I didn’t really know much about Coasteering before my day out at Ballintoy – not even how to pronounce it properly but what I definitely didn’t know was how rewarding it is. The team really get behind you and tell you anything is possible – within reason of course.

I felt my confidence grow over the day during the activity – a feeling that still hasn’t left me a couple of weeks later. “I can jump off cliffs so of course I can ask my boss for tomorrow off” without the usual nerves. Confidence is everything.

There was a constant positive atmosphere – even when I was feeling tired from swimming or climbing I still kept going as I was enjoying it so much.

I have to say I don’t really remember getting home as I fell asleep quickly that evening. When I woke up I was most excited to check out my footage from my jumps!

I will warn you though if you are going to try Coasteering – you may experience pain in your belly the following day from laughing so much!

About our guest blogger

Taking care of your wetsuit is really simple and it is guaranteed to extend it’s life and save you money!  We know this to be true because  we do this with all our suits!  Our guides often get a couple of years out of their wetsuits and they use them far more than your typical wetsuit wearer!

Here are a few handy tips to make sure your wetsuit lasts for as long as possible

Rinse your wetsuit after every use

At the very least you should rinse your wetsuit as soon as you can after you wear it.  This will remove sea water, grime and sand.  Make sure to use cold or lukewarm fresh water.  If you take your wetsuit off without using a mat or a clean surface you may need to give it a gentle rub where you have stood on it to get that extra grime or grit off.

Why use cold water or lukewarm water to rinse your wetsuit?

The fabrics in your wetsuit will break down if you use hot water – always use cold or lukewarm water.  Equally, your wetsuit does not like to be too warm so avoid drying it in direct sunlight; UV rays will quickly deteriorate your wetsuit. Under no circumstances should you try and give it a quick dry in the tumble drier, on a radiator or in a hot press.  Just because you forgot to lift it out of the boot of your car and want a nice dry wetsuit doesn’t mean you should damage it with this sort of heat – put it on wet and next time you’ll remember to dry it properly!  Leaving it rolled up in the boot of your car isn’t good for it anyway – it will heat up and get smelly!!

Drying your wetsuit

So, you got your wetsuit rinsed thoroughly and now you need to dry it.  Chances are it is inside-out already so get it hanging up as it is, this means if you are going to be wearing it soon it will be dry on the inside.  If you have more time, turn it out the right way after the inside is dry and let the outside dry properly too.  Make sure to check the ankles and wrists are turned out fully.  Normal hangers aren’t ideal so look for something that is chunky or one of the funky slide hangers – this will reduce fabric stress.  When it is dry you can either leave it hanging or lay it flat but do not fold it as this causes creases that will not come out.  Our recommendation is to leave it hanging

My wetsuit stinks!!!!

If you follow the instructions above it is unlikely your wetsuit will get stinky but if does, wash your wetsuit in a bath of fresh, lukewarm water. Reminder: do not use hot water

You can buy special wetsuit soaps or use a small amount of baby shampoo.  Rub it gently and when you have cleaned it rinse it thoroughly to get all the soap out.  Hang it outside to dry but not in direct sunlight (easily done in Ireland).

Finally, and we shouldn’t have to say it, do not pee in your wetsuit, it can damage the fabric and glue, it will make your wetsuit smelly and most importantly, it’s gross!

Coasteering in an awesome that can be enjoyed by all the family and that is why we want to make it affordable. So we are delighted to announce a brand new pricing structure for families that want to Coasteering in Northern Ireland!

Our family Coasteering Adventures are suitable for children aged 8 and older; and with  no upper age limit you bring Granny and Granda too!  If the children are all aged 16 and older we would recommend attending an Adult Coasteering Adventure and you will still get the family rates as below.

We provide:

• All specialist equipment
• Knowledgeable and friendly guides
• Photographs of your trip
• Amazing memories!

We will be adding a load of Family Coasteering Adventures to our diary so you will be able to make the most of the school holiday’s.  It also means that you will be able to go Coasteering with other families – new friendships will be made.

Find out more about Coasteering by visiting our FAQ page

We work with a wide range of groups – families, youth organisations, schools, hen and stag groups, groups of friends, the list goes on.  What you may not know though is that we have 17 years of experience and skills working with young people at risk.

Recently we were working with a group of young adults (aged 16/17) as part of a 3 day personal development residential.  The young people were inattentive, hyper and not particularly focused on any element of the residential.  But the moment we sat them down to chat about Coasteering the next day we got 100% from them – they were focused, listened and asked sensible questions.

So what got their attention?

Apart from the fact that we spoke to them on their level without prejudice?  There were some keys words that certainly played a part – adrenaline, risk, danger, listening, working together, safety, HUGE jumps, good craic and loads of fun!

But it wasn’t just the combination of words, it was how they put in context along with facial expressions and body language.  Something that really only comes from experience

Typical young person’s response from 0:25 on the video

Organising a Stag Party in Northern Ireland?  

That means you are the best man!  Not the “yeah, I’ve known him for years and we get on grand” man.  Not the “he’s a bit of a dick sometimes but I reckon he will keep me out of jail and from getting dead” man. But the best man!

And being the best man means you have to organise the best stag do, the mother of stag party’s.  The sort of Stag Party the guys in the Hangover would be proud of.  The sort of Stag Party that will be talked about for years (in a good way) and everyone will say “you can see why he was picked as the best man, that was epic”.

But, if you have never organised one before how on earth are you to know what you need to do? There are loads to thing about…  Who to invite (and who not to invite), how much money everyone is prepared to spend, how long will it last, where to go, where to eat and crucially, what to do!

Who to invite…

This can be a tricky one but a good chat with the groom will make it easier.  The difficult people to consider are his dad, soon to be father-in-law, his work colleagues, his socially inept and rarely talked about cousin and those two mates that fell out over a girl.

A simple rule is invite people that will make the stag party better as well as those that the groom will feel guilty about if they are not there.  And you can always have another simple night out for everyone not on the A list

How much should you budget?

You need to be realistic about how much people will want to spend.  If you know that most of these guys are attending loads of weddings this year then you may need to be more thrifty, equally, if they are all loaded then you can go a bit crazy on how much they will spend.  Make sure you think about spending money too, not just accommodation, activities and travel.

And whatever you do, make sure you get money off them upfront – collecting money on a Sunday morning will be a nightmare.  Anyway, most things will need paid in advance.  We recommend giving everyone a deadline for payments with the very clear instruction that if they haven’t paid you they will have to sort everything out themselves – this’ll stop you being out of pocket!

How long will it last?

This will be dictated by the budget you have set and what all you want to do.  Some stag groups just want to get out for the day and night while others want a full blown weekend.  If you want to do loads make it a weekend and if not, don’t! Simples really

Where to go?

Northern Ireland has plenty of choice places to go on a Stag Party – it all depends on what you want to do?  A weekend crawling around bars will be best in Belfast, Newry, Newcastle or Portrush; whereas a weekend of adventure sports followed by sing song around the fire in your self-catering cottages would be great along the North Coast or the Mourne Mountains.

We cannot stress enough the importance of being upfront about being a stag party with your accommodation provider.  We have witnessed groups being turned away on arrival because the accommodation was not expecting a stag party – yes, some places have had bad experiences with stag groups and don’t let them stay.

Eating out

This is pretty simple as the group will normally plan this as the weekend goes along but if you want to get in to a particular restaurant we advise booking in advance and make sure they know you are a stag group.

Going out

Again, think about where you are going before hand, make sure everyone knows if the club or pub has a dress code and make sure stag groups will be welcome.  Sometimes, it is best to arrive in small groups of 3 or 4; bouncers can get a bit uneasy when a large group of lads arrive at the same time.

What to do

There are loads of activities available in Northern Ireland but like everything else you need to think about this in advance.  If it’s just you and the groom an afternoon of paint balling is not going to be that much fun, equally, if you take 40 people go-karting and the track only has 6 karts you are going to be spending a lot of time hanging around.

Cue our shameless plug….

Coasteering is an awesome activity for a stag party because it has everyone participating at the same time.  It can be as thrilling or as tame as you like.  Did you know we have taken people out that can’t swim, they have never even been in a swimming pool, we’ve had people petrified of heights too! You see, we can tailor the Coasteering trip to suit everyone on an individual basis even when in a group.

We can provide a bus service to collect you from your accommodation anywhere in Northern Ireland and bring you to any of our amazing venues.

Anything else?

The best best man will organise the stag party well in advance.  He will work out which weekend suits the most amount of people and book accordingly.  At peak times of the year you will need to do this months in advance and certainly no less than 8 weeks.  Last minute stags are not impossible so if you are ever stuck let us know – we can help with everything above.

Make sure everyone’s travel plans are known and that  you have mobile numbers for those travelling separately.  It is not uncommon for one car load to be late or last for hours.

Finally, it is your duty to look after the best man (never leave him alone with the rest of the hallions) and make sure everyone gets to know each other as soon as possible – getting that ice broke early on will make for one awesome weekend!

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