Zip World has amazing adventure experiences on three sites – Zip World at Penrhyn Quarry in Bethesda, Zip World Fforest in Betws y Coed and Zip World at LLechwedd Quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Velocity zip-wire at Penrhyn Quarry in Bethesda is the fastest zip-line in the world and the longest zip-line in Europe. This adventure starts with the training zip wire ‘Little Zipper’ to learn the ropes (or even the wire!) before travelling up the quarry on the red trucks. The views are breathtaking, from the Top of Velocity, out towards Anglesey with views of the Isle of Man on a clear day! The thrilling descent down the ‘Big Zipper’ over the quarry lake with possible speeds well in excess of 100mph.
Zip World Fforest in the Conwy Valley offers an idyllic woodland setting. Travel through the canopy of the trees on Zip Safari, bounce and explore on Treetop Nets or soar over the treetops on the giant five seater swing, Skyride. Zip World’s latest adventures allow you to weave, dart and speed through the trees on Fforest Coaster and tackling the aerial obstacles and zip wires on their Tree Hoppers course will keep young adventurers busy.
ZipWorld in Llechwedd Quarry in Blaenau Ffestiniog has three types of adventure. Titan the first four-person zip line in Europe, the Bounce Below and the Underground Caverns. My guests decided to go to Llechwedd and started off on the Titan Zipwire. There are two courses and they chose the four-person lines. There was a choice to either go down head-first hanging upside down or to sit up – excellent if you decide to double up. The lines got longer and faster – such exhilaration! The first ride really gives you the understanding of how to zip…. bounce to get started then arms behind for best speed then arms outstretched when approaching the end of the line to slow down and stop. There are instructors and workers on hand to supervise and encourage. But nothing can prepare you for the sheer magic of the speed of the zip line, the views and the ‘joy of flying’ – let’s do it again!!
Having finished on the zip lines, they headed inside into the cavern. This was yet another amazing experience. They moved between the layers of trampolines strung across the caverns via shoots, bouncing and experiencing unbelievable sensations. Jumping inside such a vast cavern was a family e
xperience that was so much fun but also very scary!
Zip World Caverns are an exhilarating all-weather adventure underground. After being appropriate kitted out and trained using the specialised lanyard safety system, my guests set off on the main course. They experienced an epic adventure through the underground caverns on zip lines, rope bridges, via ferrata and tunnels.
For the ultimate experience, they could choose the New Caverns Ending by navigating an 8m gap in the rock by either walking the line and scaling the 25m drop using a 12 mm wide rope to stand on or inch their way using the 14-rung monkey bars. Before they were faced by the Stairway to Heaven – the third and highest via ferrata (the Italian word for Iron Road) consisting of 36 steps that took them to the highest point on the Caverns course 30m above ground for their final challenge – the steepest zip wire in the UK. My guests concluded that although it was an expensive day out – they had really enjoyed the unique experience and felt it was worth it. In fact, they wanted to do it all over again tomorrow!
