'Adrenaline-filled fun for everyone aged five and above' – Our review of The Bear Grylls Adventure as age restrictions lowered

Well now for the first time ever guests as young as five can take part in the challenges on offer at The Bear Grylls Adventure in Birmingham.

So I scooped up the two most adventurous five-year-olds I know, my daughter and her bestie Amelia, and we headed to the attraction which is located next to the National Exhibition Centre.

Now, for parents with young ones who have a real zest for life and have no fear, this is big news, because originally the offerings were restricted activities to those aged eight and above.

To launch the age lowering, little ones who now meet the age requirements were invited to test the activities for the very first time – and we had the best time.

First up, we attempted to scale the climbing wall. It has over 20 routes to choose from inspired by some of the most breath-taking peaks from around the world from El Capitan to Fontainebleau as well as routes set specially to help the younger explorers learn to climb.

Alice and Amelia loved it, they stuck to the easier routes and soon found out their favourite part was bouncing back down to the ground.

If you'd have asked me last week if I'd have thought my little girl would have even attempted indoor sky-diving in one of the UK's five iFLYS - I'd have said you were joking. But no really, she did it and so did her friend - their fearlessness knew no bounds.

When I first peered at the enormous fans in the large glass wind tunnel, I thought there's no chance they will do this. But I was wrong.

Suits, helmets and goggles on, earplugs in and up they went, taking to the air to experience the the unique sensation of free fall flight.

Then were told we had two minutes in total for the skydive, one minute in the first round and one minute in the second round. The girls just did the first round as it was a little overwhelming and Alice became distracted by her goggles being a little loose on her face, but they were proud of their achievement afterwards and they felt perfectly safe.

If you wanted to fly all the way to the top on the second round it cost £10 extra. You just need to remember four important signals inside the tunnel: relax, straight legs, chin up and bend your legs.

Then it was time to keep our feet on the ground and for my two young explorers the assault course and the archery were real highlights.

The girls were soon shooting like they had received hours of training thanks to the team of experts on hand to teach them the right posture and the how to take aim.

They bombed around the assault course too – some bits were a bit tricky – and they didn't quite beat the record of 45 seconds. There's also the chance to face your fears 60ft above the ground on the High Ropes and dive into a tank of sea creatures but we didn't have time to do anymore.

British adventurer Bear, real name Edward Michael Grylls, is well known for his TV series Born Survivor: Bear Grylls, also known as Man vs.Wild. He was appointed the youngest ever Chief Scout aged 35.

And as you walk around the attraction in his name, there is a real sense of pushing yourself to the limits. The sound of military-inspired music echoes from the camouflaged walls and positive slogans are painted all around to spur you on like 'Never Give Up!'.

Bear said: “We’re super excited now to be able to lower the age limit at The Bear Grylls Adventure. This means we respond to demand and open our doors even wider - the goal is to help even more young explorers unleash their inner daredevil.

“The Bear Grylls Adventure really is the one-stop venue for a family day out this summer, where you can get tickets for just one activity all the way up to five different activities in a single day.”

Now open to children over the age of five, prices start from just £20 per person and spectators go free. Adventures can also save up to 20 per cent across selected activities by booking their visit online today.

Parking is about a 12 minute walk away and cost around £5 for the few hours we were there, which for us was no problem. The attraction was easy to find and we left feeling a sense of real achievement.

When you arrive at the attraction the first part you see is the outdoor high ropes structure and a zipwire coming out of a Chinook – this was positively mind-blowing for two very hyper five year olds.

Once you provide the tickets you get an electronic tag for the lockers, and a wrist band which shows the activities you’ve paid for. They also mention that you have unlimited access to the assault course.

The centre is the perfect place for families who enjoy a taste of adventure and it's great that smaller ones can now give it a go, however, it's not for the faint-hearted. It is pure adrenaline-filled fun for every age, five and above.

To book your visit now and to view the site’s opening times, please visit: www.beargryllsadventure.com/