Flights of fancy

We're at 3,000 feet when the tow-rope drops away. There's a jerk and the glider seems to hang for a moment, poised motionless. Above, there's only sky. Below, the tops of low-lying cloud gleam in the sunlight. My gliding instructor Paul Hepworth, seated behind me in the two-man cockpit, eases the joystick gently to the left and the aircraft banks silently, wing dipping in a long, silent curve.

Far below, beneath shreds of glistening cloud, York is laid out like a map: the Ouse glinting in the sun, the Minster rearing above the clutter of buildings around its feet.

We're in a silent world: suspended in mid-air in a flimsy contraption of polymer stretched over wood and metal. It feels as though if I stamped my foot, it would go right through the floor, leaving me sitting over a gaping 3,000 foot deep hole - though actually we're perfectly safe.

The cockpit instruments show we're doing about 50knots: but it doesn't feel like it - not, at least, until Paul banks the glider into another steep curve and the G-forces tug at my insides.

"Do you want to feel some negative G?" he asks.

"Uum, OK," I gulp, wondering what I'm letting myself in for.

Paul dips the glider's nose into a dive. Our speed builds to over 65 knots. He pulls back on the joystick and we use the speed we've gained to go into a steep climb. Abruptly, he pushes forward on the joystick again and the glider drops.

I let out a tremendous yell. It's terrifying, dizzying and exhilarating all at once - like going over the top of the largest big dipper, but with views you'd never get from a fairground. For a couple of moments my heart's in my mouth, until Paul eases back on the joystick and our weight returns.

Then it's my turn. Paul's already gone through the instruments with me on the ground, but he does so again. Joystick, rudder pedals, air brake, cockpit instruments. Then he hands over control of the glider to me.

I'm going to make a left turn. "Look all around first," he instructs me. I do so, checking there are no other aircraft nearby, then, following his instructions, ease the joystick forward and to the left, simultaneously working the rudder with my feet.

The glider dips and banks, the joystick juddering in my hand. For a split instant I'm near to panic, but then I feel my controls responding to the calm weight of Paul's hand on the second joystick. The glider steadies.

"OK, ease the joystick back to the centre," Paul says. I do so and the glider responds, pulling out of its turn. I feel another of the by-now-familiar rushes of exhilaration.

Our flight lasts almost half an hour. All too soon, we're gliding high above fields - laid out like patchwork beneath us - back to Rufforth airfield. Paul, who has been a glider pilot since 1985, brings the little aircraft to a smooth landing and, still trembling with excitement, I step out of the cockpit.

The gliding experience with the York Gliding Centre at Rufforth is just one of more than 300 great experiences offered by Ryedale company Motivark - and if there's a member of your family with even a hint of the daredevil about them, it would make a great alternative Christmas present.

There are two versions of the gliding experience: one, at £79, gives you a single flight with a fully-qualified instructor, the other, at £120, gives you two or three flights, depending on weather and flying conditions.

You'll be given VIP treatment for the day - and at the end of it you'll walk away with a gliding certificate and a month's free membership to the club, which will entitle you to as many further flights for between £20 to £25 a go as you can squeeze in.

If gliding's not your thing, however, Motivark have a host of other fun and adventure 'experiences' to offer.

The company, which was set up by the husband-and-wife team of Adele and Bob Proctor and their business partner Martin Harman earlier this year at High Easthorpe within the Castle Howard Estate, also offers a day as a big cat keeper at a zoo - during which, says Adele, you will literally have both lions and tigers eating right out of your hand as you help to feed them - to training as a Top Gun pilot from a fully operational RAF base.

There are rides in helicopters and hot air balloons; skydiving adventures in which you experience the daredevil sport in perfect safety, strapped to an instructor; rally-driving days; and the chance to race top-of-the-range high-performance sports cars. You can go up in a Tiger Moth biplane; try your hand at jet-skiing or windsurfing; fly to the edge of space, 80,000 feet high in a Mig 25 fighter jet (expensive, admittedly) - or take a 'zero gravity' trip on an aeroplane, in which for a few short minutes you'll get to experience what it's like on board the space shuttle.

Many of the experiences make great gifts, Adele says, whether for Christmas, birthdays, or even a wedding. "People do want to find that unique gift, something that will give a real wow! factor," she says. "A lot of the stuff we sell is not really that out of the ordinary but people don't realise how easy it is to do things. We make it possible for them to do things that they never thought they could."

There are more than 300 'experiences' to choose from, ranging from £30 to £11,000 (the Mig). Most are perfectly affordable, and many are suitable for older people or those with disabilities. They're not all adventure experiences, either. You can choose a range of sporting experiences, days out as a 'film star', TV presenter or in a recording studio, or else simply pamper yourself silly with a day at a health farm or spa.

All experiences are checked out by Adele or her team first - and everything is arranged for you. You are sent an attractive gift pack, with a voucher and details of your activity, and simply ring Motivark to arrange the day and time when you're ready. Then you take a deep breath and enjoy.

= Motivark can be contacted online at www.motivark.com or by ringing 08700 555666.

= The York Gliding Centre can be reached on 01904 738694. Full club membership is £150 a year, which entitles you to training flights at £20-£25 a time. If you are keen to take up gliding seriously, the centre also offers a £750 package which includes membership for a year and all the training flights you will need (typically between 40 and 60) to be able to fly solo.

Updated: 09:57 Saturday, November 24, 2001