adventure activity


The sky’s the limit


A HIGH energy, interactive and family- orientated activity, high ropes course are found in sport and leisure centres, holiday parks and visitor attractions to name but a few. Innovative Leisure, which has supplied high ropes courses in the UK for almost 10 years, has completed more than 300 installations and demand continues to grow. There are several reasons for this, says managing director of Innovative Leisure, Phil Pickersgill. “Increasingly, parents are looking for shared,


memorable experiences they can do with their kids and high ropes courses give more ticket value to parents who can enjoy them too. More and more people are putting a value on experiences and high ropes courses suit this trend because they offer a fun, physical, challenging experience for almost all age groups. “Some of the projects we have completed


have been funded by local authorities under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, where authorities are seeking to engage local communities in outdoor activities,” he says. The high ropes course at The Tees Barrage


International White Water venue in Stockton on Tees is one example. Stockton Borough Council and the operator of the centre wanted to enhance their offering of adventure activities and introduce an exciting high ropes facility for


the whole family. The result is one of the largest ever high ropes courses completed by Innovative Leisure. Standing 17m high, the four level, eight pole adventure course is built on a peninsular in the middle of the River Tees. It offers more than 40 activity elements between 4m and 15m off the ground and can cater for up to 70 participants per session, with 60 participants able to enjoy the main Sky Trail experience at one time (minimum height for users being 1m accompanied by an adult or 1.22m unaccompanied). The ‘zip experience’ installation also features


the UK’s first Sky Rail, the latest in zipping technology. The patented, fully automated zipping experience runs parallel to the course and features two Sky Rails on levels one and two which allow for users to zip from one launch pad to the next without disconnecting from the system at any time. There is also a six pole, nine element Sky


Tykes course - a scaled down Sky Trail – for families with children aged two years old and under 1.22m.


getting hooked High ropes courses give operators an opportunity to increase visitor dwell time and secondary spend, says Pickersgill. “I often talk in design meetings about how


Bear Grylls Adventure will be the tallest free-roam high rope course in Europe


Providing a fun and physical experience for all ages and an opportunity to increase secondary spend, high ropes courses are increasingly popular among leisure operators.


much hourly and repeat business the course is required to achieve and the progressive challenges an operator might want to design into it. Course elements get harder on each level the higher you go. On the junior courses the hardest element is always the furthest away from the start so youngsters build up to it. On large courses the activities get harder as you progress up the levels.


high ropes courses give more ticket value to parents who can enjoy them too


“The ‘hook’ to return to challenge yourself


even further is very powerful. Some kids get back on the ground and 30 minutes later want to have another go to try and go to the next level. It’s human nature.” The Sky Trail courses are free roaming


allowing for a different experience each visit, which helps to encourage repeat visits. From an operational point of view, the courses


can be used as an additional pay attraction or as part of the entry price to a venue. Consisting of a steel frame and with active


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