A cool piece of Scotland in Birmingham

Christmas sale shoppers in Birmingham will get more than they bargained for when they come face to face with a 33-foot high, 50-tonne ice wall in Centenary Square. Expert instructors from Scotland’s The Ice Factor hope to get locals hooked on a winter break north of the border by giving them an opportunity to try their hand at ice climbing, one of over 50 adventure sports available in Scotland.

The ice wall is part of Birmingham’s Street Ice event and will be open until the 15th of January.

Over the past four years VisitScotland have seen an increase in participation in adventure sports of 12%. The market is worth about £144million per year to Scotland, which is expected to grow in the future. Scotland’s diversity of landscape - dramatic mountains, fast flowing rivers and extensive coastline, is the perfect complement to over 50 different adventure sports available all year around.

Scotland is also establishing itself as a main player when it comes to attracting world class sporting events. In 2007 Scotland hosted the biggest mountain biking event in the world (UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships), the final of the Wave Sailing World Cup and look forward to welcoming one of the most progressive surfing event in the world, the O’Neill Highland Open in April 2008.

Scotland is a friendly beginner’s destination for adventure sports with hundreds of activity providers offering lessons, equipment hire and trips throughout the year, all listed on visitscotland.com/adventure.

VisitScotland’s Product Manager for Adventure, Steve Duncan said:

“Our reputation as Europe’s adventure capital and as a year-round adventure destination is growing fast and this helps attract thrill-seeking visitors from the UK and overseas to Scotland, who want to experience an adrenaline rush for themselves. By working with The Ice Factor in Birmingham City Centre we want to give experienced adventure sports fans and beginners alike, a taste of what’s on offer on a break north of the border and show them that Scotland is a close-to-home must-visit adventure sports destination.”

VisitScotland has been working with the Kinlochleven based mountain adventure centre, which is home to the largest ice climbing wall in the world, to give potential visitors a taste of the kind of experience they can expect during an adventure break in Scotland.

Jamie Smith, Managing Director at the Ice Factor said:

“We have thousands of families every year from the Midlands coming to our climbing centre in Scotland and by bringing the wall to Birmingham we hope to raise even more awareness of our product. Climbing is an excellent sport for all the family, it’s very social and suitable to children, and at our facility in Kinlochleven we have a sauna, steam room, café’, bar, shop, rock and ice walls – loads of opportunities to satisfy the whole family. The area, in the dramatic and mountainous Highlands, is excellent for walking and sightseeing and we have great accommodation nearby."

A private rock session before your ice session means you can climb indoor rock and ice in the same day! Four hours climbing, £65 per person. For more courses log onto Ice-factor.co.uk.

To book your winter break accommodation in Scotland and take advantage of more than 170 excellent winter break offers log on to visitscotland.com/white. As an example, 4-star Onich Hotel, 10 miles from the Ice Factor, offers a three night winter break for only £99 per person.