Ees just like Tarzan
New zip park gives mum and daughters a thrilling day out
Sarah zips to the next stage
The zip park is the first tourist attraction of its kind in north Perthshire and follows Highland Fling Bungee adding Highland Swing, an upright bungee seat in 2017 to the range of adventures on offer just a short drive from Pitlochry.
The zip park has been designed and built by Jon Sanders from Adventure Course Construction and consists of seven treetop wooden platforms connected by high tension wires.
Following a crowdfunder appeal in January, £7241 was raised to kickstart the project, with the company offering incentives for the contributions.
Perthshire’s first zip park has great appeal to families as younger children will be able to participate.
A minimum height of 140cm is the requirement to be able to attempt the course, so that enables youngsters as young as eight to take on the course.
“You can get a feel for how the zip trolley and the clips work just here,” explained Debbie who has worked with HFB since 2015.
On a wooden mock-up of the zip course constructed in the car park outside Killiecrankie Visitor Centre, she demonstrated how at least one of the two metal clasps are locked in contact to the wire at all times – so it is 100 per cent safe, impossible to click off and fall.
I was nervous the first couple of times trying the procedure and fumbled with the order of the ‘clip, unclip, move and reclip’ routine.
But I soon discovered it did indeed work and I felt my confidence to move around growing.
No need to say my kids had mastered it almost instantly and were keen to get on to the real deal.
We transferred to the Garry Bridge car park and began walking down the steps below the bungee platform.
The bright green of the magnificent mature beech trees created a spectacular setting. A fresh-cut timber ladder leading straight up the trunk of a mighty Douglas fir.
We clipped on and in groups of two at a time per platform, began the first of several slides.
Fear mixed with exhilaration, shortly followed by relief and wide-eyed laughter, sums up how riding the zip park felt.
The first time I put my trust in the harness my heart skipped as a dark winding river bed far below flashed by. I put all my focus in not landing in a heap at the next tree along, so for the first couple of ‘flights’ I missed the fun because I was trying too hard.
But once I saw it all worked fine and the landing wasn’t a sudden impact but more like a natural connection through space, I was loving it.
I’d been so self-focused I’d not been watching out for the kids. Their big smiles told me I was free to enjoy my own experience. They were beyond happy, having a grand time independent of me.
Each of the wire crossings will soon have names as voted for by the public and that seems perfect as each section had a character of its own.
We played Tarzan for around 40 minutes with a variety of testing situations modulated by the angle of the wires.
There was long and smooth, steep and fast, steady and accelerating, culminating with a long dramatic crossing of the rocky riverbed, landing back where we started in a soft bed of bark chippings.
The ride got a big thumbs-up from the three of us.
The course was pitched at your own pace and gave plenty of time to take in the exceptional Perthshire surroundings.
It was great to stand 20 foot up in the treetops and feel the rush of being so high up while knowing you were safe.
Participants need to be reasonably nimble to hook themselves in and out of the wire around 100 times in a variety of situations, so it is not advisable if you are stiff in the back or shoulders.
All round, we’d rate it as great fun and a lot more value for money timewise than doing a head-bending bungee jump which has you airborne for under two minutes.
Harnesses off, we were back in Pitlochry getting something to eat within 10 minutes, walking on air with the pleasurable sensation that follows a great adventure shared as a family.
A zip park booking at www. bungeejumpscotland.co.uk costs £35 per person with a maximum group of 10 per session.