Feel the SphereI’ve always loved rollercoaster rides where you are spun round and round and upside down, but I’m always a little disappointed when they are over so quickly, with the really scary moments lasting just milliseconds. So when hill-rolling centres started to pop up across the UK a few years ago, I immediately wanted to try what seemed like the ultimate rollercoaster, where you are harnessed in a giant inflatable ball and pushed down a hill at speed.
Reading an article in Active a few months ago, I thought I’d drop an email asking if they’d send me hill rolling. The next day I received a reply saying I’d be going to SphereMania in Ware, Hertfordshire, with Active’s Alison Ledger. It was a 40-minute train ride from Liverpool Street station, which is not far from my flat in Bow, East London
Following a short taxi-ride from Ware train station, I started to get excited when we saw two huge inflatable spheres sitting on the hillside, waiting to be filled with a couple of thrill-seekers and then pushed down a 110- metre-long run. We headed for a small marquee nearby to check in and also to shelter from the drizzling rain.
As we were early for our 1pm slot, we ventured out of the marquee – by now wearing borrowed SphereMania bright red macs – to watch a father and his two young children taking it in turns to run up and dive through one of the two small holes on either side of the sphere, listening to them scream as they immersed themselves into the six bucket-loads of cold water inside. They had opted for aqua-sphering where, harness-free, you slip and slide around inside as you roll down the hill. I had chosen harness- sphering because it’s faster, you go upside down, and more importantly for me, you don’t get absolutely drenched!
Before long, we were called over to put on a harness, removing any jewellery, belts, or potentially dangerous items beforehand and putting on a long-sleeved hoodie to protect our skin from the friction of the harness. We removed our socks and shoes, and then stood back ready to run, and dive into the hole. Excitedly, I dived through and, with an extra push from the attendant, as promised, made it inside, managing to gain my balance to stand up on the inflated surface by gripping onto the handles inside. Alison somewhat reluctantly followed next and gripped onto handles opposite me, repeating again that it had been a good idea to skip breakfast ‘just in case’. The attendant then shot through the hole to fasten us in, give a short safety briefing and, in my case, to reassure me that it wouldn’t hurt, all while taking a few snapshots worthy of a Facebook profile photo.
He soon disappeared, leaving us giggling, nervously wondering exactly how fast 20mph is going to feel when you’re thrown head-over-heels, again and again, in a giant plastic bubble. Before we knew it, the stoppers were removed from beneath the sphere and we were slowly pushed over the edge.
Continued...
Quickly, our vehicle picked up speed as we rolled down the slope. We cartwheeled and tumbled within our inflatable sphere that had little regard for bumps and humps as it sped downhill. We rotated seven times over and over, laughing and loudly screaming. Both of us soon realised that 15 seconds is actually a really long time.
A loud splash told us we had reached the water that had collected in the field at the bottom of the hill and our ride was over. We rocked back and forth, dizzy and disorientated.
The attendant at the bottom popped his head in and told us to come out feet-first, before driving us back up the hill with our sphere attached to his Land Rover, ready to dispatch another pair of rock and rollers down the slope.
I loved the thrill of hill rolling, but while we were waiting for our taxi, we both agreed that perhaps we could have stomached a slightly steeper and faster ride.
In the know
With Red Letter Days at SphereMania, both harness and aqua sphering for two costs £65.
Minimum age: 7, aqua; 12, harness
