If you had asked me five years ago whether I’d voluntarily leap out of a perfectly good airplane, strapped to another human being with nothing but a sheet in a bag to save me, I would have thought you were crazy. Yet, on August 26th this year, that’s exactly what I did. And for the record, it was absolutely incredible!

Like most people, I have a healthy fear of danger. Skydiving is one of those activities that many of us shy away from, preferring to keep our feet firmly planted on terra firma. But when you’re looking for a way to mark a special occasion, something completely out of your comfort zone, it’s often those adrenaline-pumping activities that call to us. Why? Because they’re memorable.

I originally booked my tandem skydive for September 16th, 2023, but due to adverse weather conditions, it was postponed. Only recently did I manage to reschedule it before my time limit ran out.

Here’s the strange thing: at no point did I feel anxious, scared, or stressed about the jump. If anything, the anticipation of falling from 15,000 feet was so exhilarating that it eclipsed every other emotion.

From setting off in the morning to arriving in time for safety training, to waiting around in the Swoop Inn Café on-site (thanks to some pesky clouds), I was buzzing with excitement. We suited up in our harnesses, joking about how much we looked like superheroes, and finally met our tandem skydiving instructors.

I had the pleasure of being partnered with Dave, who, by rough estimation, has over 8,000 jumps under his belt. He walked me through everything that would happen and what was expected of me. Soon enough, we hopped on the bus—a vehicle that looked like something straight out of The A-Team. The small plane that took us up could easily have been a prop from that show too. About 10 minutes later, we were fist-bumping the other skydivers, getting ready to exit the plane.

I was the last to jump. You might think that by this point I’d be nervous, but there wasn’t time for that. Before I knew it, I was being shuffled forward, legs out and tucked under the plane, and then—woohoo!—I was off.

I can’t fully describe what it felt like. Freefalling through the sky at 120 miles per hour surrounded by the most beautiful blue sky, soft fluffy clouds below and this inner feeling of just being at peace. It’s awesome, no awesome’s not right, sublime, majestic, awe inspiring, epic, even.

As we descended through a small bank of clouds, Dave released the parachute. Suddenly, it was just me, the views over the northeast of England, and the coastline stretching out before me, oh and Dave of course. We performed some turns with the parachute, zig-zagging our way back down to earth. The landing was smooth and easy—legs up in the air, and then we were pretty much seated on the ground.

If I could have gone straight back up, I would have. I would have jumped again and again just to experience that freefall. It’s a feeling like no other, and I totally get why people love it.

So, if you’ve been thinking about doing something a bit different, I can wholeheartedly recommend skydiving. It’s a bucket list activity that will stay with you forever.

I jumped from Sky-High Skydiving at Shotton Airfield, Durham.

*This is not an advertisement, and I am in no way affiliated with the company. Just my own personal review of an amazing day.