Hens and stags can cost the earth. But if you’d rather not bankrupt your pals, there are loads of brilliant high-fun options whatever your budget
Words by Sarah Gillespie
UNDER £30
CAMPING
There’s nothing more macho than heading into the wilderness to connect with nature (if ‘connect’ means build a big fire and drink a crate of beer around it). No bouncers, no birds, no bother! This is a great option if you’re watching the cash – most of your stags will already have everything they need if they’re going to a festival this summer.
NEED TO KNOW
Wild camping (i.e. outside of campsites but not in enclosed land) is possible in Scotland, but there’s an Outdoor Access Code that you’ll need to adhere to. Check out Visit Scotland for its ‘leave no trace’ summary of the code.
www.visitscotland.com/see-do/activities/walking/wild-camping
UNDER £50
ZORB FOOTBALL
When explaining the concept of zorb football to your stags, you might have to pretend you haven’t seen it on TOWIE (one of the many shows you are ‘forced’ to watch). The premise is simple – grown men encased in inflatable spheres smashing into each other under the guise of playing a game of footie.
NEED TO KNOW
Chilli Sauce can organise zorb football in either Edinburgh or Glasgow for £30pp for a 60-minute game for ten players (add more players and the game can be extended to up to two hours).
www.chillisauce.co.uk
UNDER £100
ICE FACTOR
If you’ve been gripped by the recent series of Game of Thrones and fancy yourself as a bit of a Wildling, you’ll be excited to hear you can have a shot at scaling ‘The Wall’ right here in Scotland. Granted, it’s not 700ft tall, but it’s the biggest indoor ice-climbing wall in the world, and at 50ft it’s not to be sniffed at.
NEED TO KNOW
Ice Factor in Kinlochleven offers a full day of activities for £70pp, including rock climbing, abseiling, ice climbing and an aerial assault course. You’ll need a minimum of six stags for this package.
01855 831100, www.ice-factor.co.uk
OVER £100
OKTOBERFEST
Despite the recent spate of pop-up Oktoberfests (including Glasgow and Edinburgh), there’s still only one place to experience the festival, and that’s in its home: Munich. Serious amounts of beer are consumed (6.7 million litres last year), so it’s a great place to enjoy your last weekend of freedom, but it’s not just about the booze – there are all sorts of different meats and desserts to sample as well.
NEED TO KNOW
Return flights from Glasgow to Munich in October start at £130 (£180 from Edinburgh). Use a flight comparison site like Skyscanner to check rates.
www.skyscanner.net
UNDER £30
ELECTRIC CIRCUS
It’s hard to find something that will appeal to all ages, but nothing brings everyone together like murdering classic songs at karaoke (I personally enjoy massacring I Will Survive). Edinburgh’s Electric Circus has a massive selection of over 5000 songs in its karaoke rooms, and after a few drinks you’ll probably want to sing them all!
NEED TO KNOW
Electric Circus has a range of hen packages for under £30, but we like the look of ‘Pitch Perfect’: two hours in a karaoke room with a pitcher of cocktails each. From £16pp, and includes club entry on Friday and Saturday.
0131 226 4224, www.theelectriccircus.biz
UNDER £50
GIRLS’ NIGHT IN
Ask your bridesmaids to plan the ultimate girls’ night in by getting the hens to contribute to a kitty and splurge the lot on nibbles and champagne – and Man Candy Butlers to serve it all! Whether you’ll be done up in your glad rags with the tunes belting out, or in your jammies watching chick flicks, the skimpily clad butlers will be at your beck and call. You’ll never be so happy to get a bum deal.
NEED TO KNOW
Man Candy Butlers can send two sexy servants to your party from £60 for an hour.
07880 490591, www.mancandy-butlers.com
UNDER £100
TITANIC SPA
There’s nothing quite as relaxing as slouching around the house in a onesie. And it was only a matter of time before a spa realised this and offered an alternative to the ever-popular fluffy white robe. Enter the towelling onesie! The Titanic Spa in West Yorkshire is the first in the UK to introduce the blissful big babygrows, but we bet it won’t be long before others follow suit.
NEED TO KNOW
The Simply Titanic package costs £99pp and includes a massage or facial ,Titanic Heat & Ice Experience, a light lunch and access to the pool, Hydrozone, sauna and steam room.
01484 843544, www.titanicspa.com
OVER £100
THE RESIDENCE
I’ve been paying off hen-dos on my credit card for as long as I remember, and despite always having fun, just once I’d love it to be something that I’d choose to do myself. So why not pick something you already do as a group and glam it up? The boutique camping at T in the Park swaps smelly portaloos and mud-filled tents for gorgeous yurts, luxury Bedouin tents and cute Pod Pads. Bliss.
NEED TO KNOW
Residence packages cost from £599pp and include access to the VIP area, Thursday weekend camping tickets and a Residence car park pass.
www.theresidenceexperience.co.uk