Loughborough, Prestwold Hall, Loughborough Quality Hotel

The hall is amazing, better than the photos, but maverick venue management are a complete and utter joke. The service once they have your money is terrible and Nici is the worst manager in the world she is so rude and the worst thing is she does not understand that every bride wants to be different, she simply thinks that every day should be the same! They also brought out lots of extras that we had to pay for that we did not request. AVOID, they are crafty and sting you with extras!

1. You pay a lot of money to excperience the G.Force but the driving instructors (not all) are constantley telling you to break. I understand the safety risks but I do have a full driving license and don't need someone constantly telling me to break and making me go round the bends in 4th gear so that the speed builds up slower. (very annoying!) - I paid £65 for 2 laps in the Lamborghini murcielago and only got up to 89 miles ph because the instructor was making me break half way down the run way before the breking point. At one point the instructor was telling me to slow down so cars could pass me by this was not because I have no common sense this is because he was a power freak who likes the sound of his own voice.

2. Audi R8 - just pulled out on to the run way and the Instructor made me change up gears far to quickly. I was on less then 2000 revs and he wanted me in 4th gear. How you are meant to feel G.Force driving like that I have no idea.

3. £40 for the DVD and they skip threw it quickly while you wait to make sure it's ok then when you get home 3 laps of the Audi is missing. Lots of time standing about wating because all you're photos are not on a single file but mixed in with everyone else's.

4. Food - Terrible

The ammount of money Prestwold must make you would think the setup ie.. Waiting for the DVD, photos etc would be a lot better. Even having to pay an edditional £20 for insurance after paying £200 is a little bit crafty especially when you havn't been able to feel the real power of the car.

The instructor's should be encouraging you to push the car and get that whole factor that you have paid for rather then telling you break, break, break after all you have to show a full driving license to drive one in the 1st place.

1 Day Rally 'Gold' Driving Experience booked using 'Into the Blue' vouchers, received as a combined Christmas/birthday pressie. Decided on this event at Prestwold Hall in Loughborough, as there was the option to drive a variety of cars on different surfaces. Wow! Not disappointed.

A good safety briefing before you enter the cars, and crash helmet and 'race suit' provided. You are split into 'teams', although you don't actually compete. This is done to give each person a turn at each event, with the least amount of queuing etc. You are designated an instructor for the whole day, who gives another briefing of what he expects and how it will be achieved. You then step into each of the following rally specification cars: Peugeot 206, VW Polo (straight from the rally factory) and two Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 5's! You also get the chance to drive (for a bit of fun) a reverse-steer Land Rover round a short, slalom course!

The Pug and the Polos are driven on the loose gravel stages, where you learn about drift, getting the rear end to come around, and also how to fish tail the car, user control, NOT using the brakes!

The Evos are driven on broken concrete surfaces, round a track marked with cones and painted lines. You must keep the cars inside the track, whilst travelling at speed (lots of it!!).

I would have killed myself and the instructor on the gravel stage, as we were supposed to imagine the outside of the track was a steep drop, as in the Welsh stages of the Network Q rally! I would also have destroyed the car by running into a large number of trees that would have been on the inside of the track! Fortunately, these were not really there, and there was plenty of space to run off if control was lost. Safety is paramount, while still allowing you to have fun.

You show your skills through the day, so the instructor does know just how far to push you on your last drive. Hey, I managed to get into 4th in the Evo along the straights!

Finally, you are shown just how it is done in a FAST passenger ride in a Subaru Impreza WRX STI road car. Believe me, this thing shifts and sticks to the road like its on rails! Malc (the instructor, with World Rally experience) chucked it around and shot round the course, but at no time was it out of control. Awesome display.

Overall, a top day with such a buzz, and the facilities are excellent, too. There is a diner, serving hot and cold food and drinks, and good toilet facilities. Spectators are fairly well catered for too. Although, the Health and Safety Executive have removed one of the viewing areas, so it is a little restricted. There is a freelance photographer who gets quite close to the action, and some of the shots are amazing! You can buy these at the end of the day, and the shots taken on gravel are superb.

I would recommend this day to anyone. Top class!