I was about to book Go Ape for 8th birthday, need a new idea

[Midlifemission]

Help ! It's my DS 8th birthday next month and I am under pressure to book a party for him now that we can ..
We had made the decision last night to go to our nearest go ape which he was very excited about. I went online to book this morning and see treetop adventures have been closed due to an accident at the Bracknell site.

I am thinking I may need to start again as I don't want everyone feeling uncomfortable with my choice of activity.

Anyone got any inspiration for me as I am all out of ideas??

We already have invited to other parties which are bowling, laser tag and watersports.
He was keen on a climbing wall but for us this is city centre indoors and again I think some parents may not be keen.

I am in Gloucestershire if that helps.

My DSis suggested Cattle Country but I have never been so not sure how that would work out.

Thanks if you can help me

We have done Go Ape before and loved it. I have been really impressed with their response to this incident. My son is going next week however I can understand you being worried when it's a party. I think I would sound the parents out and go from there.

@Newgirls I have been reading about this as you can imagine! It was an adult who fell from a 'treetop adventure plus' course. The treetop adventure is the lowest (4 metres) and easiest and suitable for children over 1 metre or 6 years unaccompanied. Treetop adventure plus is the next one up. They suggested this for 9yo and I believe it goes up to 8 metres high. When we went we had a 'continuous belay' so you don't have to clip and unclip like you do on the adults one, and now sounds like you will have two of these, one on each side.

Seems a bit mad to me to cancel Go Ape in favour of trampolining, paintball or water sports if it's potential injury you're worried about.

Stick to Go Ape

Definitely stick to Go Ape - they will be triple checking everything!

Out of interest has anyone done Go Ape and would overlook the accident and stick with it ??

If they have re-opened stick with your plan.
There is absolutely NO way they would have been allowed to resume activities if the problem was still a concern to H&S.

@SirSamuelVimes

Definitely stick to Go Ape - they will be triple checking everything!

Exactly this! Now is the time to go! They will be focussed on H&S like never before!

Bugsboarding or grass sledging here in Gloucestershire letsgowiththechildren.co.uk/places-to-go/bugsboarding-mountain-board-centre/

Stick with GO Ape.
Don't even bother asking the other 'nervous' mum!

You must live pretty close by.

What about perrygrove, or puzzle wood?
I couldn’t do go ape the last time I went for a hen party as I was pregnant but I’d overlook an accident at another site. All seems very safe to me.

Beechenhurst have a climbing wall and the junior go ape bit at the top where you start the sculpture trail?

I am acquainted with the family who started GoApe (and I believe still run it) and I know they are hyper-focused on safety, not just to comply with the law or safeguard their reputation but because they know it’s the right thing to do. I cannot imagine they will cut any corners in ensuring the safety of their customers.

If stick to go ape tbh OP. Its one accident, they've increased their safety measures. Realistically its probably one of the safest activities, most other more adventure style acitivies have more accidents in the long run. I've done it a couple of times and never felt my safety was in anyway compromised

@Oblomov21

Stick with GO Ape. Don't even bother asking the other 'nervous' mum!

I agree re. ‘Asking the nervous mum’ Don’t do it. Just stick to the plan.

Ok I think the latest posts have talked some sense into me that we should stick to the decision we made . I agree that they will be extra careful and that other activities also carry risks !

I have to say I would be concerned now. Admittedly I don't like heights, but I might have been persuaded to go because I didn't actually think it was possible to fall off/you were well and truly harnessed up and nothing bad could happen.

Clearly it can.

If you've not booked I'd do something else.

Just to update I ended up booking Go Ape having been reassured by the extra safety measures - none of the parents batted an eyelid and several were planning to go this summer anyway so all's well that ended well and I have one very excited DS !
Thanks for all the ideas and input .

@Midlifemission I've just had a phone call to say they're still closed and waiting for sign off from environmental health Might be different in different areas. We got a full refund and a voucher for same value but DS is going to be gutted

Mid Go Ape are very safe in my experience. I've done adult once and the kids course twice. They really didn't muck about when it came to the safety briefing.

The kids course keeps them hooked on all the way round. The adults course has two carabiners you swop as you go, but I assume they're not doing adults anyway.

Oh no @Bananasareyellow sorry to hear that ! Is it the Bracknell site you are booked at ?
We are booked for end of June so I am hoping everything will be long dealt with by then.
Their customer service isn't great though!!
Maybe you can find something else for your DS and get a discounted trip to go Ape further down the line so he gets two trips out ? My DC would usually be mollified with a deal like that !

Thanks @Midlifemission Yes Bracknell. Yeah we've got a voucher so can rebook later on. Just trying to work out a plan for Sunday! May take a look at some of the suggestions here! Agree about customer service - they told us it was open earlier in the week!

I'd still go to Go Ape. We've done Go Ape and Treetop Adventures several times over the years and it is great.

Glad you decided to continue. Go Ape is ace :o

With any of these things it's not totally foolproof. You can fall off if you're not following the safety instructions. But that's why they go for extra supervision plus lower height guidance for the children's courses. The kids' one is also more foolproof than the adults' one.

I do think one of the issues with these places is that during lockdowns they won't have had the regular checks and maintenance being done. I wonder if this is also what happened with the cable car in Italy.

But since the incident I bet they will have double and triple checked everything.

Cattle Country is really good.
Cotswold Country Park and Beach.
Ninja Warrior.

I visited Go Ape this morning with DD (7) for the first time. I went round with her the first time and hated it as I'm not great with heights. She absolutely loved it and did the next level up (Treetop Adventure Plus I think) on her own.

The safety checks all seemed quite thorough to me with a moving clip and another thing to slide through the rope.The instructors came over quickly when she got a bit wobbly doing one tricky bit on her own. She was convinced she couldn't do it but the instructor talked her through it from the ground.

Have to say, I am glad I didn't find this thread before going though - I didn't think it would be possible to fall!

I am.guessing that Forest of Dean is too far away then. There are 2 Go Apes of varying sizes here.