Limits put to the test at exhilarating Bear Grylls Adventure in Birmingham - review

Based at the NEC, in Birmingham, Bear Grylls Adventure is owned by Merlin Entertainments, who run Alton Towers.

Visitors to the attraction are challenged to test their limits on a number of mental and physical challenges.

There are 10 different experiences packed into the attraction - each testing your fears and survival instincts.

Activities range from High Ropes to Archery, Shooting to Climbing, Snorkeling to Escape Rooms.

More extreme activities include the iFLY and Diving with sharks and fish.

As you approach Bear Grylls Adventure, you are greeted by big fake rocks either side of an archway and the back of a chinook helicopter - where if you are taking on the High Ropes challenge (which sadly we had to cancel due to Storm Dennis on Sunday) you zipwire out of.

“Be prepared to have your limits tested. This is all about taking you out of your comfort zone,” Bear warns from a television screen as you enter.

And test your limits is right.

Our first activity of the day - the Escape Rooms. You have 45 minutes to escape from an abandoned gold mine - before heading down the mine shaft to signal for your rescue from an island before your radio battery dies.

The first room is a lot of fun and tests your mind and patience - as you search around the room for wires, dynamite (to blow the mine shaft doors off) and clues to help you escape.

As a family of four - two adults and two children - we managed to navigate the room together, discovering the clues and making our way out of the room.

The second room, however, proved to be a little more complicated. With time quickly running out, and not enough time to work out the numbered clues, we struggled to escape!

Next up for our day trip was the Fear Zone. The course includes being hooded and led around a winding corridor holding onto a rope or the person in front of you, with things dangling from the ceiling.

It is followed by walking along a ledge in an indoor thunderstorm, crawling through a large tunnel and squeezing through inflated walls.

The next room greets you with creepy crawlies in glass cages, before a scary surprise! The final challenge requires you to eat dried bugs - not quite I’m A Celebrity style - and a drink made from apple juice, vinegar, water and a special ingredient.

Our penultimate adventure of the day was archery - a personal favourite. Following a safety briefing and some guidance from staff, you are ready to go. After a few test arrows, it’s time to count up your score, before moving onto a game for all to enjoy.

With numbered targets, it is a race against each other to who can fire the quickest arrow with the highest score.

Last up is the unlimited Royal Marines-inspired assault course, which sees you clambering over walls, crawling under cargo nets, climbing ramps and swinging from monkey bars. If you weren’t worn out by the activities of the day, this will surely do the job as you try to beat Bear’s score!

The Bear Grylls Adventure is a great day out for all the family - especially if you are looking for something different to test your strengths.

We had a fun day out and I would thoroughly recommend the attraction to anyone. We are already looking to book our next day out to try out more activities.

For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.https://www.beargryllsadventure.com/birmingham.

Tickets are discounted online, while you can also receive 50 per cent off the Fear Zone and Archery during February.