The Skinny Gift Guide: Northwest Experiences
Objects are so 2014. It's all about the journey, man! With that in mind, we've put together a selection of experiential gift ideas, from foraging for mushrooms to, uh, scrambling up an ice wall, for the adventurous loved one in your life
FOR THE BOOZE HOUND
What better way to give the gift of expensive wine without actually having to buy it than to send your favourite oenologist on a tasting course? And what better way to enjoy the taste of expensive wine without actually having to buy it than to join them as their companion? Manchester Wine School offers a wide range of experiences, from single evening tastings (£25) up to eight-month courses (£95), plus courses accredited by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, so you can genuinely get pickled in the name of learning. (Keep an eye on Hanging Ditch and Salut Wines for tastings/workshops, too – the latter has reinvigorated quaffing in Manchester with its alcoholic vending machines. You read that correctly.)
For mixology, book your loved ones in for a cocktail masterclass at Santa Chupitos – this well-loved Liverpool den mixes seasonal specials with a solid set of standards, and their experts will show you how they're made (and let you drink 'em) pretty much any night of the week.
FOR THE WILD AT HEART
If your foodie friend is more likely to get their trotters in the trough than sniff for sulfites, a foraging course could be right up their, er, valley. Discover the Wild is a Greater Manchester-based natural history company led by 'The Mad Forager' David Winnard, who leads forages looking for mushrooms, seasonal hedgerow delicacies including spring greens and berries, and even edible flowers. Handily, Discover the Wild offers gift vouchers for any one-day foraging course (£35), so your pal can choose their preferred bounty.
Also offering gift vouchers is Eden Wild Food, led by Matthew Normansell, who offers public and private courses covering areas including the Wirral, Greater Manchester and North Wales (a 3-4 hour 'half day' course starts at £20). Further afield, Taste the Wild runs woodland and coastal foraging courses in North Yorkshire (prices start at £75).
FOR THE ACTUALLY WILD
Those who feel that, in general, life doesn't bring them close enough to a shark would surely be grateful for the gift of shark proximity. You can be the one to bestow this upon them by purchasing a voucher for a shark dive experience at Cheshire's Blue Planet Aquarium, which offers packages for both beginners and qualified divers (£95 and up).
If it's more of a casual stroll along the seabed that you're after, you can do just that at the SeaLife Centre in Manchester, which opened its new SeaTREK attraction, Europe's first sea bed walk, this year. Simply pop on what looks like an underwater spacesuit and spend ten magical minutes in the company of a giant green sea turtle called Ernie. Lovely. (£60)
Options for the non-aquatically inclined include Chester Zoo's experience days (from £59), which range from fruit bat to meerkat encounters as well as the mixed blessing of 'Zookeeper for a Day', where you can balance the excitement of making friends with rhinoceros with mucking out rhino-sized poop. One for that sadistic third cousin.
FOR THE ART GRAD
It can be difficult to buy for an art lover: judging taste is a tricky thing; there are only so many unopened boxes of oil pastels one needs and, well, that Koons is a little on the pricey side. Thankfully, a gift membership to Tate Liverpool gets them free, unlimited entry to all Tate exhibitions (in London too), a subscription to Tate magazine, exclusive talks and more, all bundled in a snazzy box designed by Turner Prize winner Martin Creed (£75). Tate Liverpool exhibitions for 2016 include Francis Bacon, Maria Lassnig and Yves Klein.
If possession of the elixir of knowledge isn't enough for more materialistically minded mates, then those of you with £300 at the bottom of your stocking can book a lucky so-and-so (or group) in to get their photo taken by Martin Parr at The Hepworth Wakefield. For one day only (20 Feb), the renowned photographer will be on site shooting portraits in front of a rhubarb-inspired backdrop. ("Rhubarb...?" It ties into a recent commission, for which Parr took portraits of Rhubarb Triangle farmers.) Pets and props are welcome.
FOR THE BRAINIAC
Finicky film buff for a friend? Snooty cineaste for a suitor? Manchester's HOME to the rescue: the arts complex continues Cornerhouse's legacy of educational offerings with courses exploring auteurs and oeuvres. Coming up: Examining Pier Paolo Pasolini (eight weeks, starts 12 Jan, £80/£60). Beats a third copy of 22 Jump Street on DVD anyway (or does it?).
Not confident enough to commit your companion to two months of Italian genius? You could always just get them gift vouchers to the tune of a HOME membership: £25 for the year gets your movie addict two free cinema tickets, discounts on further ones and priority booking for the theatre.
If your pal'd prefer to get behind rather than in front of the screen, then Scriptwriting North's introduction to writing for TV and film, held at FACT Liverpool on 6 Feb (£65), aims to help participants develop characters and get a grip on structure – perfect for that literary layabout who's been threatening to write the next Queer as Folk since you graduated, if only someone'd give 'em a kick up the proverbial.
FOR THE LAZY
Enforced exercise masquerading as a seasonal gift: it's what Christmas is made for! Salford's Helly Hansen Watersports Centre offers gift vouchers for any splashy activity, from powerboating to windsurfing to stand up paddleboating – which probably isn't as relaxing as it sounds – and there are top quality watersports centres in Liverpool and Leeds too.
Perhaps you have a friend for whom the prospect of hauling themselves up a towering edifice of ice would appeal? Look no further than Vertical Chill ice climbing, offering sessions suitable for beginners as well as seasoned winter climbers.
On that note, Manchester's Chill Factore is known for boasting the UK's longest indoor snow slope, and you can send your loved one hurtling down it from around £30 and up.
And if that all sounds like too much effort, simply hole up in a pitch black sensory deprivation flotation tank to reflect on the meaning of existence, and whether or not you can still feel your elbows (from £35).