From Trails to Treetops

I recently decided to try out a new adventure at GoApe! My adventure began at Go Ape Bracknell where myself and my partner Danielle had a session on the Forest Segways. Naturally, I headed to the extreme route after a thorough safety briefing and a run in the training area. Honestly, I had so much fun! There are three route options, A, B, and C. Each have different difficulty levels and you are free to choose which ones you’d like to go on with an optional extreme route on course C.

The extreme route featured a very challenging collection of steep incline and declines, tight turns, bumps and the odd tree root that took some manoeuvring. I had plenty of time to go around all three routes more than once, each time trying to go faster than the last to make it more challenging! The staff were very friendly and helpful and, when we arrived, we got given helmets and staff checked in with each person in the session to ensure they were confident enough to continue to a beautiful tour of the grounds. I’d definitely recommend giving Segway a go if you’ve never tried it, or if you’ve done it before but not on a challenging forest trail.

Go Ape Bracknell is situated in the stunning Swinley Forest; which is also home to a variety of different fun places including: The Look Out discovery centre, a hands-on science and nature exhibit perfect for children. Swinley Bike Hub, where you can hire bikes for all the family to ride around the miles of woodlands and bike trails, a lovely café, a large playground, plenty of parking, picnic areas and acres of woodlands to explore!

Also found at Go Ape Bracknell is a range of other activities in addition to the Forest Segways, including: The Treetop Challenge, Treetop Adventure, and the Treetop Adventure Plus extension. The activities are suited for most ages, with different difficulty ratings, with the Treetop Adventure being the easiest of the three, designed with younger families in mind. The Treetop Adventure Plus is an extension of this course, suited for older kids over 1.2m. The Treetop Challenge is the hardest course at this site and is suited for older kids and adults.

After my adventure at Bracknell, I had a further challenge to face at Go Ape Wendover where I took on the Treetop Challenge and optional extreme course route! I had never done anything like this before and was so excited to be going on a new adventure and to push my limits beyond my comfort zone to achieve something new! The climbing wall on the extreme course was my favourite part of the adventure, the Tarzan Swings were awesome too, the rush of wind in your face as you take the leap off of the platform is breath-taking. It was such an adrenaline rush to jump from such a high platform!

The extreme route is not for the faint hearted! It had much higher platforms, the obstacles were much more intricate and unsteady which made it so much harder to keep balanced, the zip wire was a lot longer and faster too! I really enjoyed pushing my limits and doing something completely new, it was such an awesome adventure which I will be sure to do again in the future.

This site is based in Wendover Woods, which is an absolutely beautiful place with plenty more to offer! It has recently had a multi-million pound redevelopment, and there is now a fantastic large café, playground, family friendly bike trails, a fitness trail, a Gruffalo walk, toilet facilities, and plenty of parking too.

Overall, my experience at both of the Go Ape locations was fantastic, I felt safe at all times, was well informed of rules and directions, was greeted with friendly staff, and most importantly, I had so much fun! I’m looking forward to challenging myself at the other Go Ape adventures in the near future and seeing if I can smash those courses too!

You can see even more of my Go Ape adventures in my latest YouTube video.