Beezra Activities Blogs
Is Adventure Good For You?
Yes, absolutely! There are loads of benefits to getting outside and putting yourself safely into a situation outside your day-to-day comfort zone. Some of the ones we see every week include:
1. Boosting your energy and raising your spirits by doing something unusual
2. Getting an endorphin buzz from the excitement and challenge
3. Facing your fears and realising you can achieve more than you thought
HOW DIFFICULT IS CANYONING?
Canyoning is an adventure where you find your way down a gorge by walking, scrambling, climbing and jumping through water and rocks.
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With a good guide who knows the area, you can make it as tough or easy as you want, by them picking easier or more difficult routes to suit all abilities.
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​The guide can show you different ways to get down the gorge in some places, and challenge you to push your limits safely if you’re ready for some adrenaline-packed sessions.
Cold Water Shock - What Is It and How To Avoid It
Cold water is any water below 15°C. Entering into cold water can have a serious effect on your body, so it is important to be aware of Cold Water Shock.
The average sea temperature is 12°C and rivers are usually colder, so this applies for most of the year in the U.K.
What happens?
- skin blood vessels close, blood flow resistance increases
- the heart has to work harder so blood pressure and heart rate increases
- sudden skin cooling causes involuntary gasps for breath
- movement can be seriously affected
- breathing rates can increase dramatically and get out of control
- you might panic and inhale water into your lungs
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Seven Sea Safety Tips?
1. Tide Times
Some beaches look vast but in a blink of an eye all that sand is replaced by ocean water, cutting off unsuspecting paddlers. Other waters hardly seem to move between high and low tide, but have a strong current dragging away from land on a falling tide. Check out the tide tables in your area to work out when the tide is on its way in, and the difference in metres between low and high tide.
2. Rip Tides
Rip tides are stretches of water that drag you straight out to sea, no matter how hard you try to swim back. If you get caught in one, swim sideways until you escape it, as they are usually fairly narrow. Better yet, know what they look like (often they look like inviting calm patches between the waves), and check for any warning signs near the beach.
3. Flags
On lifeguarded beaches search for flags to find out if and where it’s safe to go in the water. Red and yellow means life guarded area between the flags. Black and white means a launch area for surfers, kayakers and SUPs, so don’t swim here. Red means Danger do not enter the water. If an orange windsock is flying don’t take inflatables into the sea as it means offshore winds which will blow you out to sea.