Go Ape Woburn Review

11/07/2012

889 5 minutes read

Go Ape
Woburn

www.goape.co.uk

Reviewed by Shelly Harper

On Saturday 7^th July my 10 year old daughter and I went to Go Ape which is situated within the grounds of Woburn Safari Park, near Milton Keynes. Stats for Go Ape in Woburn are:

Number of Sections:            6
Longest Zip Wire:                156 metres
Longest Crossing:              15.5 metres
Total Length:                         804 metres
Number of Crossing :         37
Highest Point:                       8 metres

Upon entering the safari park, we were directed by signs to the Go Ape Cabin where we were greeted by several very helpful, welcoming staff that booked us in immediately. The booking in process involved reading the safety rules and regulations which we were randomly tested on once inside Go Ape and completing a form stating all our personal details and signing to say we understood the rules and regulations previously provided. It was all very straightforward and after a quick trip to the ladies just across the way from Go Ape we were led into the starting area to be fitted with harnesses and literally shown the ropes.

The harness was very easy to slip into and once we had them on, the instructor went round each person individually to double check it was on correctly and adequately fitted so there were no accidents on our way round the course. Once the instructor had finished checking we were all wearing our harnesses correctly, he went through all the bits that are attached to the harness. These included a red rope, a blue rope, a pulley, a karabiner and a whistle. Each component is fully explained so you know exactly how to use it and it is very important to pay attention to the instructor at this point because it’s not until you are at the top of a tree you realise how dangerous Go Ape could be if not done responsibly.

Next we were shown how to attach our red and blue ropes to the red cables round the trees and attach the same ropes to the pulley, the high wires and the zip wires. We soon learnt that as long as you follow the instructions given by the instructor and followed the instructions given on each tree, we would be safe which greatly put my mind at ease. At this point I was still a little bit nervous about taking on the course as I was putting all my trust into a harness and two ropes but my daughter couldn’t wait to get started and appeared to show no fear whatsoever.

After our safety briefing, the instructor took us to our first tree in which there was a rope ladder, a platform and a high wire leading to another platform which then had a zip wire going from it. The instructor asked which one of us wanted to go first so whilst I and the other two adults in our group took a step back, my daughter stepped up without any hesitation. The instructor made it very clear that he would show us how to take on this tree using my daughter as an example but after this one, we were on our own. So off my daughter went, attaching herself to the rope ladder, then attaching herself to the tree then attaching herself to the hire wires to walk across to the next platform before attaching herself back onto the tree then onto the zip wire. I was very happy to see that she had taken on board everything the instructor had said in the safety briefing in order to take responsibility for her own safety.

Then it was my turn…..

Even though the first tree was one of the smallest obstacles on site, I was still nervous and particularly worried about what would happen if I wasn’t attached properly to the rope ladder, the tree or one of the high wires or zip wires but I took a deep breath and off I went. Before I knew it I was climbing up the tree and across the high wire then attaching myself to the zip wire to bring myself back down to earth….. with a bump!!!

I say with a bump because when the instructor advised us about how to land from going down the zip wire, he said to hit the ground running and you should stay on your feet but unfortunately for me, on every single one of the six zip wires I turned round half way down and skidded along the ground at the bottom on my butt. By the time we had completed all six sections on the Go Ape site, I was filthy and digging bark chippings out my trousers, socks and shoes but I didn’t mind as it soon became an on-going joke with my daughter as she managed to land on her feet every time.

On the instructions boards attached to each section we could see how hard the obstacle we were about to attempt would be and I think these were as follows:

Green – Easy

Blue – Moderate

Red – Hard

Black – Extreme

On some of the extreme sections there are a couple of routes to get down from the tree which have a lower difficulty level but at every section where this was the case, both my daughter and I completed the extreme routes. There were two sections that worried me greatly. The first one is where I had to crawl through barrels to get from one tree to another but between the two barrels is a gap, not that I could fall as I was attached by the pulley and ropes and the gap isn’t that big but it’s still daunting looking down. The second one was the tarzan jump with the cargo net at the other side. I stood at the top of the tree with all my ropes attached but I still checked them several times before I moved from the platform and even then it took me a few attempts and a bit of taunting from my daughter before I actually made the jump. I’m not ashamed to admit I screamed loudly which amused my daughter no end but I was scared flying through the air at speed. Looking back it at now I’m very glad I did it and would definitely do it again without any hesitation.

In all it took us approximately 2.5 hours to get round Go Ape and I have to say I was tired both physically and mentally and wet and dirty but it was definitely worth it whereas my daughter thought the course was so great she wanted to do it again.

Overall I would recommend Go Ape at Woburn to anyone and everyone as it was fantastic fun, if not a little challenging but it definitely helped me and my daughter to come together for the couple of hours we were there. The staffs were extremely helpful and friendly and I can confirm that both my daughter and I will definitely be visiting Go Ape again. Although it will probably be at another site, this is no reflection of Go Ape at Woburn; we are just interested to see what else Go Ape has to offer.

Rating: 5/5