When I was at college, I had a friend whose father had started his own outdoor sports business. What had started as a father and son with a deep interest in paintballing and a sizeable woodland area behind their house soon became a busy site for outdoor activities. A contact of my friend's father, who sells second-hand ATVs, donated a few vehicles and enabled them to set up a short dirt course for quad biking. Owning 2 Land Rovers already that he was slowly bringing back to a functioning state, he dug out a short 4x4 driving course and charged for people to drive around it. It was becoming quite the lucrative business, especially when he teamed up with another friend, a fellow Land Rover enthusiast who had become interested in ultralight aviation, and wanted to start a business selling flying experience days to those wishing to try.

With the paintballing and driving experience that he had already set up, my friend's father took his friend on board and even helped him purchase the start-up equipment, which consisted of several hang gliders, chutes for paragliding, and several ultralight aircraft for microlighting. With qualified instructors and the perfect hill to use as a 'runway', they were able to turn what was essentially a copse-covered couple of acres into a lucrative outdoor pursuits centre.

Now the site features not only a fully-fledged 'Paintball Academy' (started by my friend after he had finished his college course), but different tiers of 4x4 and off-road driving, quad biking, microlighting, paragliding and hang gliding; all with fully-qualified instructors. With the money they've made so far they're hoping to extend it further and build a vertical indoor wind tunnel, allowing them to offer their punters the option of enjoying a bout of indoor skydiving - removing the need for a plane means less expense for both him and the people hoping to use the new facilities.