Off-Road driving lessons for kids with Land Rover. That sounds interesting, right?
I’ve a theory about teenagers.
They retain just enough of their toddler features that you can remember when they were UTTERLY adorable and innocent. This is what prevents you from sitting on them when they say things like, “I can’t post on Instagram, because we never do anything interesting.”
Seriously?
“We Never Do Anything Interesting”
This half term kicked off with a day trip to London. We rode the London Eye and went vintage clothes shopping in Covent Garden.
Flea went to the cinema with one of her friends, and they had a very late, giggly sleepover. There was a shopping day at the Trafford Centre with another friend. We’ve been bowling with friends, AND we’ve been to visit the kittens Flea’s Dad is adopting.
Oh, and if that wasn’t enough Pro Level Parenting for you, I drove Flea halfway across the country for a one-day hockey goalkeeping masterclass. But apparently we never do anything interesting.
I reminded Flea of this outrageous display of teenage indifference as we set off for our final half-term adventure.
Trying Out Off-Road Driving Lessons for Kids
Yesterday I took Flea to try some off-road driving lessons for kids. I’d actually bought the voucher last Christmas but we never found time to use it – until now!
Start Off-Road provides Land Rover-approved off-road driving lessons for kids aged 11 to 17. They’ll get the chance to drive a super fancy Range Rover around an off-road course. Depending on the age of the child and the length of the lesson, they might be driving up and down hills, doing agility exercises, splashing through muddy paths and small streams, and through ginormous ditches.
If you’re looking for a Christmas present for your tween or teen, I think these driving lessons for teenagers are a really great option. And if you like the idea of buying experiences rather than more stuff this Christmas, don’t miss our top experience gift ideas for kids.
Back to yesterday. The off-road driving lessons cost £100/hour plus an extra £19 for an in-car camera that produces a really cute video split-screen showing the child driving, and the road ahead. Lessons can be bought in 30 or 60 minute blocks.
At 13 and 16, the girls were the perfect age to try the off-road driving lessons. Big enough to see over the steering wheel, but young enough that the (I’m guessing) relatively basic exercises were very exciting!
What to Expect from your Off-Road Driving Lesson
The instructors start by showing the kids the car’s controls, with some simple steering and braking exercises around cones. Then they’re off.
During the hour-long course we had a chance to go up and down hills, take slopes with a sideways tilt, drive down into pits (and back out) and even drive through water. The course goes through woodland and fields, and there are plenty of bumpy paths, bridges and even the odd tree root to navigate.
What I loved was how calm the instructors are, considering these are off-road driving lessons for KIDS.
Our instructor Paul, was all “Excellent, a bit to the right…” while my inner voice was screaming, “OMG YOU’RE GOING TO HIT A TREE….. IN A SUPER EXPENSIVE CAR”.
Towards the end of several exercises the instructor turned off the car’s Driver Assist feature so the children could get a feel for controlling the car completely.
And at the very end of the driving lesson there’s a chance to drive fast across a field. No prizes for guessing this was Flea’s favourite part of the whole experience.
Is it Worth it?
As a day out, and something a bit different, we’d definitely recommend this. Taking driving lessons when you’re 13 is VERY exciting (although you mustn’t show it), and the chance to drive a prestigious car just adds to the fun.
If you’d like to see our kids trying out their first driving lessons, here’s Flea’s vlog of her experience:
Taking driving lessons is a lovely chance for kids to gain confidence and practical skills. But for Flea – who’s quite a way off driving just yet – it was really just a chance to get to do something that’s really fun that usually just for the adults.
For more information about off-road driving lessons for kids, see the Start Off-Road website for booking information at venues across the UK.
My six year old is already starting on the ‘we never do anything interesting’ nonsense. I took her indoor skydiving on Monday. This off road driving looks brilliant. I love anything that gets kids used to controlling a car before they go on the road, I think it makes them safer in the long run. This sounds like brilliant fun too. Although not if you’re a teenager of course.
Nat.x