Send them to Coventry
“THREE, two, one, go!” hollered the lifeguard. Seconds passed. Nothing happened.
Then, just as I was about to climb out of my capsule, the trap doors flew open and I was flung down a tunnel at a hair-raising speed of nearly 36ft a second.
I was on the Torrent, a white-knuckle water slide at Britain’s newest indoor aqua park, The Wave.
Recently opened in Coventry, it promises a raft of pulse-racing rides (from £10.50 adults, from £9 children, thewavecoventry.com).
The Torrent – with its five-star thrill-rating – is deemed the most hardcore, and the novelty of being held in a pod, not knowing quite when you’re going to be released, certainly makes it fun.
I next went flying down a near-vertical wall in a rubber ring, only to be thrust back up the other side of the U-shape by the force of my fall. Then it was time to brave the ultra-quick Cyclone, the climax of which sees you being hurled around a large bowl before being spewed into a plunge pool.
There is also a lazy river, but this river is anything but lazy.
The Wave, opened in October, is in a stateof-the-art complex that also houses a 120station gym and spa with herbal steam room,
25-metre pool, sauna, squash courts and café. My 14-year-old daughter Rosie and I visited the Mana Spa for a heavenly 30-minute back and shoulder massage (£40pp).
The leisure complex cost £36.7million, an investment aimed at attracting new visitors to the place that is set to be 2021’s UK City of Culture.
And once they are here, they will find lots more to enjoy. Coventry’s old and new cathedrals should not be missed (coventry cathedral.org.uk, free).
The original one was badly bombed during World War Two and you can wander around the ruins today – and even climb up its intact tower for views over the city (tower climb £5 adults, £2.50 children).
A modern cathedral, opened in 1962, stands next door. Its full-length stained-glass windows are particularly impressive.
At the Coventry Transport Museum you can discover how the city became a global leader in transport manufacturing (£14 adults, £7 children, family tickets from £28; transport-museum.com).
And the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum has fun and interactive sections for kids (free, theherbert.org).
For dinner, The Botanist is a popular restaurant with a hip feel (thebotanist. uk.com). Housed in what looks like a huge conservatory, our table was inside a mini bandstand.
We chose one of their signature dishes – hanging kebabs of crispy halloumi in sweet chilli, and chicken in garlic butter. If gin is your thing, try the Strawberry and Cucumber Breeze.
Afterwards we took a train ride to the Ricoh Arena for a night at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.
The hotel is actually part of the arena – home to Premiership rugby union club Wasps. Our rooms, on the outside edges, were huge thanks to the curve of the building.
Those overlooking the pitch on the inside can be transformed into VIP boxes during matches.
After filling up at the huge hot and cold breakfast buffets next morning, we rounded off an amazing weekend watching Wasps play – a weekend not spoiled by the team losing!