Go Ape

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Go Ape is an award-winning [1] outdoor pursuits company which runs sixteen high wire adventure courses in forests in England and Scotland consisting of rope ladders, zip-lines, rope bridges, trapezes and swings. The course in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, near Aberfoyle in Stirling, has a 426-metre zip line, the longest in Britain.[2]

[edit] History

The company was founded in 2001 by Rebecca and Tristram Mayhew, after they completed a tree-top adventure course in France, and has a contract with the Forestry Commission for courses on multiple sites.[2] The first course opened in 2002 in Thetford Forest, on the borders of Norfolk and Suffolk; it was the first high-ropes course in Britain.[3] In November 2007, a proposal for a combined mountain biking facility and Go Ape course in Whinlatter Forest Park, near Keswick in the Lake District, was turned down when local people and two parish councils objected over concerns about an increase in traffic.[4] Similar concerns have also been raised about a proposed course at Wendover Woods in the Chiltern Hills.[5] In 2003, the company won a Best Tourist Attraction award[3] and has also won a number of other awards.[6] In 2007, it was shortlisted for the Best Norfolk Attraction award at the Tourism In Norfolk Awards.[7] In 2008 The company is scheduled to open 4 new sites in Kent, Cumbria, Devon and Buckinghamshire[8]

[edit] Go Ape locations

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b The Forestry Commission (2007-05-23). "Swing Through the Trees and Go Ape!". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  2. ^ a b Air Activities: Go Ape (HTML). Scotland Outdoors. BBC (2007-09-10). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  3. ^ a b Growing Futures: The England Forestry Strategy in Action (PDF). The Forestry Commission (June 2006). Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  4. ^ Brewster, Ross. "Plans Refused", News & Star, Cumbrian Newspapers Ltd, 2007-11-08. Retrieved on 2007-11-20. (English) 
  5. ^ Sampson, Karen. "Letters to the Editor: Shocked at plans for Go Ape facility", The Bucks Herald, Johnson Press Digital Publishing, 2007-10-11. Retrieved on 2007-11-20. (English) 
  6. ^ Awards we've been lucky enough to win (HTML). Go Ape. Retrieved on 2007-11-20.
  7. ^ Neate, Rupert. "And our tourism finalists are ...", Eastern Daily Press, Archant Regional Limited, 2007-10-26. Retrieved on 2007-11-20. (English) 
  8. ^ 4 New Sites (HTML). Go Ape. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
  9. ^ Leeds Castle gets ready to Go Ape (HTML). Kent Messenger Group (15/01/08). Retrieved on 2008-04-01.

[edit] External links