Brits’ Top 5 Scariest Activities

Brits aren’t well known for their adventurous lifestyles, but that doesn’t mean that thousands don’t take part regularly in extreme sports and activities that require nerves of steel. From death defying leaps to encounters with dangerous animals, it takes a certain type of person to find them enjoyable. As a result, many of these activities are simply too scary for the majority of the population! Inspired by this infographic, we take a look at some of the UK’s most feared activities. Cliff Jumping Britain has hundreds of miles of coastline, which means that cliff jumping is actually one adventure sport that can be done easily right at home. Part of the group of adventure sports known as coasteering, it’s as simple as it sounds - you jump off a cliff into the sea. Exhilarating, but potentially highly dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s something that absolutely must be done with qualified guides. As a result, there’s little surprise that 73% of Brits would never try it. Shark Cage Diving Second on the list is diving with sharks while inside a protective cage. While this can actually be done off the coast of cornwall with (usually small) Blue Sharks, this is most often an activity for trips to South Africa, the Caribbean and Australia, where much larger and more sinister species can be found. Diving with sharks is actually quite safe, as most sharks do not see people as prey, and the protective cage is more than capable of repelling the curious animals, but most Brits still wouldn’t consider it. Bungee Jumping Bungee jumping is a well known and entirely safe activity (when done right), but it’s still one that scares more than two thirds of Brits. There are plenty of places in the UK where you can get your bungee thrills, most of which involve jumping from bridges and even at arenas. Much of the attraction (and fear) around bungee jumping is that there’s not one but two thrills - the feeling of free falling, and the elastic rebound. Skydiving Skydiving is one of those activities that can be so scary that those taking part often do it for charity. Of course, there are plenty of brave souls that do it for fun, but they could be in the minority! Skydiving is again perfectly safe if everything goes well, but the feeling of falling from such a height is enough to put off 62% of Brits. Most who give it ago love the exhilaration and the adrenaline that comes with the fear, and often want to give it a go again. Parasailing Parasailing might not actually seem that scary, but more than half of Brits say that they’d never try it, and there have been some fatalities at unregulated events. There are parasailing locations in the UK, but given the chilly water and rare sunshine, it’s an activity best left to more tropical climates. Almost 1 in 10 Brits have tried it while they’ve been abroad. And did you know that land-based parasailing is actually a competitive sport in Europe?