The world's first purpose-built, multi-storey skate park opened its doors in Kent earlier this year, giving skaters and BMX riders three floors on which to do their thing.

Coaches at the £17 million cutting-edge facility in Folkestone offer lessons for beginners of all ages, so we sent reporter Rhys Griffiths down to get padded up and onto two wheels...

Having recently celebrated a birthday which puts me months, rather than years, away from the big 4-0, I can't help think there's something faintly ludicrous about getting into the saddle of a BMX for the first time in my life.

In my mind, this is a ride most commonly associated with young extreme sports enthusiasts and the kind of scallywags you find hanging about outside the shops.

But things have certainly changed in recent years, with the sporting credentials of BMX - or bicycle moto cross - having been burnished by its inclusion at the Olympics for the first time at Beijing 2008.

Now Folkestone is home to the world's first multi-storey skate park, in the form of the impressive F51 in Tontine Street, I could not resist the chance to give it a go myself.

I've cycled ever since I was young - a mixture of mountain, road and hybrid bikes down the years - so arriving for my hour-long lesson with coach Chris Bradley I was excited (and maybe a little nervous) to see how my experience on two wheels in the past would translate to the world of BMX.

After getting kitted out in pads and a helmet, Chris ran me through what I could expect from our session.

"For a beginner's lesson typically I'd start by assessing your skill level," he said.

"I'd ask you to ride around just for two minutes, do what makes you feel comfortable, what looks fun to you, and I'll watch it. Then, based upon that, we'll build from whatever you've done."

Chris gives BMX lessons to both children and adults, and it is necessary to tailor that experience depending on who is being coached.

"When I'm teaching kids it's good to keep it fun and practical, but with an adult it's really easy to explain the physics of it, the geometry, how things work," he explained as we wheeled out onto the street floor of the skate park.

"Today, because you're a beginner, we're just going to do some simple bike control, keeping the brake covered, using banks. So no big ramps today!"

Although Chris is still relatively new to what he describes as a "dream job", there's no doubt he has the skills to be an excellent coach.

Right from the start of our lesson he gave clear, concise advice on how to tackle the terrain of the street floor, which is the most novice-friendly of F51's three skating areas.

Just as he had explained in our briefing, he allowed me to start by tackling some simple transitions between different levels of the floor and then gave feedback which allowed me to be a bit braver in my riding.

By gradually adding extra parts of the course to my route around the room he built up my confidence to the point where I could pedal hard and really try to fly round in one fluid motion.

The final element of the route he had developed for me was a quite tricky spot where I had to ride off a step and hit a banked surface, which required making a turn almost instantly to get down the slope and onto the floor itself.

Before I tried it, I asked Chris for advice on where to enter the move and what line I should try to take coming out of it.

I felt I pretty much nailed it first time, even if I was going as slowly as I could to make sure I didn't come a cropper.

Chris seemed pleased with my effort, and by the point he was encouraging me to join together all the elements he'd taught me so far.

Well they say pride comes before a fall, and it's fair to say that perhaps I was starting to get a bit too cocky for my own good.

Thinking ahead of myself towards the rest of the course, I got my line all wrong and before I knew it the bike had gone from under me and I was pounding my feet frantically beneath me to ensure I stayed more or less upright.

Thankfully my 'dismount' had been relatively successful and I was back up and ready to go again, agreeing with Chris that it was probably a good thing to have had a minor spill before I started taking even greater risks - or allowing my mind to wander at moments when concentration was required.

Chastened by my tumble, I spent the rest of the lesson trying to knit everything together.

By this point Chris' pointers were starting to make more and more sense, and it was an incredible sensation to begin to really feel in control of the bike and how I could push it in certain parts of the course.

With our hour almost up, I was drenched in sweat, breathing hard, and happier than I have been on a bike for quite some time.

It's fantastic to have this incredible facility on our doorstep, and I am definitely going to return for more. Now I just need to figure out the best way to tell my wife that I am thinking of buying a second bike.

F51 runs BMX-only sessions on Monday between 8-10pm and entry is £7. One-to-one lessons cost £35 for an hour's coaching, with full hire of bike and pads included.