Crowdfunder for zip wire park launched
Appeal hopes to raise £22k
Adventure tourism in Highland Perthshire is set to take a big step forward as the area’s first zip park is planned for Pitlochry.
From its existing base at Killiecrankie, Highland Fling Bungee Ltd (HFB) has announced a crowdfunding appeal - launching at 7pm today - which it hopes will bring in £22,000 of the £80,000 total needed to construct a nine-wire zip course, crisscrossing twice over the River Garry.
Plans for the Killiecrankie Zip Park were approved by Perth and Kinross Council recently and the attraction is due to be built in March, with an opening pencilled in May.
This will be the first high level wire ride for North Perthshire. Currently thrill seekers have to travel to Aviemore or Crieff to do anything similar.
Highland Fling Bungee has been a successful adventure pioneer bringing many thousands of poundsworth of tourism income to the area already, with great demand for its bungee and swing packages.
Laurie McCandlessThomas,
who is a partner in the wire project with HFB director Murray Trail, told the PA: “We have been planning the zip park for about two years.
“Today, Friday, February 5, our crowdfunder goes live and all being well, we hope the first zip explorers can check it out in May.
“Our location by the Garry Bridge is familiar to anyone who has come to try out Highland Fling and the Highland Swing. It’s a cracking spot to have a zip park and we will have the wires crossing twice over the widest bit of the river.
“The wire ride will offer spectacular views while zipping through the trees and across the River Garry. A visit to the forest has never been this much fun.
“What is a real breakthrough is this will be something we can offer to younger customers. The lower age limit is going to be aged six.
“We were aware that there was not much for younger kids, not many things around here that they could do, or that whole families could do together.
“For safety reasons we have to set the lower age for the bungee at 14 and the swing at aged 10. But we are happy to think the zip park will change that.”
Laurie revealed that one of the plus sides of being closed for long periods because of the pandemic was that he had been free to deal with the planning and administration side of the project in a way he would not have if he had been out arranging jump activities.
“I feel quite lucky to have been able to dedicate time to planning this. You have to look to the plus side.”
The crowdfunder target of £22,000 is intended to cover the cost of the initial build.
People who contribute will get incentives like early bird passes and discounts from other activities at the site.
A donation of £36 or more gets access to early zip tickets plus a T-shirt, while for £85 or more the reward would be a zip trip for a family of four.
To get involved with launching the tensioned wire project, go to https:// www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ killiecrankie-zip-park
It’s a cracking spot to have a zip park