Fun? You bet!

Natalie told her Bournemouth readers: "I'm strapped inside what looks like a massive 8ft beach ball hurtling at 20mph down a hill just outside Swanage.

"The ball is picking up momentum, covering 10 metres every turn. I'm losing all sense of balance and direction. Where am I going? What am I doing? When is it going to end?

"All I can see is a blur of blue sky and green grass. Then I crash into a bale of hay, and burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"I climb out of a porthole and nearly fall over. I feel exhilarated. What a buzz! I've just been Zorbing!"

Zorbing is taking off in her patch after a Bournemouth student from New Zealand went home, saw the sport and snapped up the south of England franchise.

Natalie likened the experience to being trapped inside a washing-machine on a slow spin cycle.

The rider is held in place between two giant polythene balls, one inside the other, with the cushion of air in between them taking out the force of the impact during the descent.

Riders jump through one of the two entry holes, strap themselves in and hold on. It's all downhill from there.