10 alternative hen night ideas

The Great Outdoors
If you're a bride-to-be with bundles of pre-wedding nervous energy to burn off, it's time to get physical! Paintball, quad biking, go-karting, clay-pigeon shooting, golf and even bungee-jumping should take your mind off table linens and seating plans for a while. For something to stimulate your brain (don't worry, not too much!) as well as your brawn, try a treasure hunt. Be a Bond girl with a land, sea and air hunt that takes you on power boats and helicopters, or go back to nature with a weekend of pony-trekking and canoeing in the Brecon Beacons, via Urban Adventures (www.urbanadventures.co.uk). For dancing queens, www.lastnightoffreedom.co.uk can organise two nights' accommodation in a converted mansion house with its own nightclub for £145 per person. On Saturday, after spending the day trekking, you have dinner at the hotel and free entry to the club. On Sunday, you canoe away the cobwebs (or just have a lie-in).

Surfing
Whilst it may not quite be Hawaii, Newquay is still the surf capital of the UK, with its fair share of cute, shaggy-haired boys and the chance for you and your hens to learn to surf in a weekend. From March through to November you can book a few hours or a few days of tuition. If you have any energy left at the end of the day, there are plenty of clubs and bars for a glass of wine or two. Two days' surfing instruction, all equipment and accommodation for two nights will set you back £90pp through westcoastsurfari.com.

Gambling Gals
Choose highballs, highrollers and cocktail dresses for a glamourous hen night. You don't have to have wads of cash to enjoy low-stakes betting in casinos around the UK. London Clubs International (www.clublci.com) has casinos in towns and cities across the country, as does Ladbroke Casinos. With good restaurants and cocktail lounge areas to relax in, you can play as much or as little as you want. Many clubs are in rather swanky hotels, making it possible to book a stay and make a weekend of it. And with minimum bets on roulette between £1 and £5, it doesn't have to cost the Earth, either. Anyone can play, but one of your party does have to be a member of the casino. Simply join online or at the casino itself. Legally, you have to wait 24 hours before you can play, so make sure you get someone to join in advance. Membership is free and the member can bring up to six guests.