Go Ape!

If you go down in the woods today be sure of a big surprise… Go Ape is a high wire forest adventure course of rope bridges, Tarzan swings and zip slides set high up in the tree tops. Have you and your colleagues got the nerve to climb, swing and soar from tree to tree? The BDJ and Vital team tested their mettle in summer 2007 (Head of Advertising Alison pictured, above) and found the experience exhilarating and exciting. Some of our team even conquered their uncertainty of heights for an hour or two, resulting in a real feeling of achievement.

Go Ape participants are fitted with a climbing harness and taught how to trek from tree to tree. There are varying levels of difficulty so you can just try one or two sections of the course if preferred, or all of them, or cheer on your grittier companions!

Go Ape is a great way to get out in the open air, get moving and strengthen morale and relationships within your team.

We rounded off our afternoon with a delicious barbecue before snoozing on the train home.

Where: Aberfoyle, Dalby Forest, Sherwood Pines, Thetford Forest, Leeds Castle, Bedgebury Forest, Swinley Forest, Alice Holt, Wendover Woods, Moors Valley, Haldon Forest Park, Forest of Dean, Cannock Forest, Delamere Forest, Buxton, Grizedale Forest and Whinlatter!

When: March to October and various weekends over the winter.

Go Ape is a great way to get moving and strengthen morale within your team.

Price: For a minimum group size of ten, £65-£130 (+VAT) per person. Various inclusive options are on offer including a picnic, BBQ or conference facilities.

Website: www.goape.co.uk

Contact: telephone 0845 643 9215 or email info@goape.co.uk

Underground Cookery School

The Underground Cookery School offers a unique experience: the opportunity to learn to cook a meal without committing to a full course. Chef and patron Matt Kemp, who has worked in The Ivy and The River Café restaurants, opened the cookery school to show people what textures to look for and how to ‘cook to touch, rather than looking at a clock’.

The classes are designed to be informal and fun and the school's realistic motto is ‘everything is salvageable!’ If you book a team-building day, a choice of menu can be selected, including vegetarian and special dietary options. The day begins with champagne, canapés and music so that everyone relaxes, followed by cooking a three-course meal in your team under the guidance of a fully trained chef. You don't even have to do the washing up, and afterwards you can sit down to enjoy the meal you just prepared with a glass of fine wine.

Elizabeth Regan, 25, from London, attended the Underground Cookery School with her team on her first day in a new job. ‘The workshop helped us to work together,’ she said. ‘Every member of the team was involved in all aspects of the day and when we sat down to eat our delicious meal, we felt very pleased with what we had accomplished.’

A sample menu might include spicy avocado and king prawn salad followed by rump of lamb with salsa verde roast potatoes then white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. Is your mouth watering yet?

Where: St Mary's, 4/5 Eldon Street, London EC2M 7LS (near Liverpool Street station)

When: Contact the school for more information and bookings. Cookery lesson videos can be downloaded from their website, including ‘How to make Boston baked beans with chorizo’!

Website: www.undergroundcookeryschool.com

Contact: Telephone 020 3116 2076 or email info@undergroundcookeryschool.com

Delta Force Paintball

Want to vent some of your pent-up frustrations at Jean the receptionist? Kenneth the VDP winding you up? Although Vital in no way condones violence, taking your team paint-balling could provide the therapeutic release you're all looking for.

Delta Force claims to be ‘the celebrities’ choice’ when it comes to paint-balling, with a 100% safety record. A team day out at a Delta Force centre is designed to encourage leadership, nurture teamwork and establish a healthy and happy team.

On the day participants are issued with their equipment (including a paintball machine gun), briefed and given information on how the day will run, safety rules and regulations, and then the games begin.

Teams at any particular centre are divided equally by age, group size and paintballing experience to ensure all games are safe and enjoyable for all. ‘Game zones’ feature pyramids, an ‘Alamo Stockade’, double-decker buses, aeroplanes and military vehicles around which you can stalk your opponents! Winning teams and runner-ups receive certificates at the end of the day. Perfect to display on your waiting room wall.

Where: Centres nationwide including two in Scotland, two in Wales and seven surrounding London.

When: Contact Delta Force for more information.

Price: The entry fee depends on the size of your group and which centre you attend, and you then have to pay for number of paintballs. Prices vary from £5.99 to £7.99 per 100 paintballs.

Website: www.paintballgames.co.uk

Contact: telephone 0844 477 5050

Other activities to try

Quad-biking

White-water rafting

Hot air balloon flight

Archery

Canoeing and kayaking

A day at a theme park

Has your dental practice taken part in an interesting team-building activity? Tell Vital readers all about it by emailing vitaleditorial@nature.com.