Last summer, you may remember, I wrote a post about our visit to GoApe at Dalby Forest in North Yorkshire. That trip, as I said at the time, was gifted by GoApe and we’re very grateful for that. This time, however, we paid for it ourselves and guess what? Spoiler alter! We had just as great a time as before.
Last year, when we visited, it might have been late August but it was raining constantly throughout the day. If you’re going to choose a day to climb trees that would not have been the day. This time, however, was different as we had not visited Dalby Forest with the intention of going on GoApe at all.
Unintended visit
As we have a Forestry Commission discovery pass we visit Dalby Forest a lot. This time we took out Austrian exchange student guest with us for a bit of chill out time on a warm weekend. But to be honest the teenagers looked a bit bored so I didn’t some rough maths and thought that the bank manager wouldn’t mind me treating the kids to some fun.
I had a wander up to check they had spaces and they did. I was quite surprised as it was really busy around the visitor’s centre and it was a warm day. So I checked with the girls and of course, they wanted to go on. Because Lydia and Grace were both under 16 I had to go on with them. Thankfully our Guest, M, was 16 so the ratios were fine.
Of course, I couldn’t take the big girls on without the younger two having a go. Delilah, being 10, could have gone on the big course with me, but she couldn’t as it’s a 2-to-1 ration and I already had 2. So, she settled for the Treetops Junior course instead.
Different second time around?
Nothing has changed, as far as I could tell, since the last time we were on. Okay, this time it wasn’t raining. maybe that’s why it seemed so different. This time I definitely didn’t feel so high up in the trees, but clearly, we were.
Also, I wasn’t at all hesitant about the zip lines either, and nor were the girls. I had Grace at the front, then Lydia, then me. M was following behind me. Grace and Lydia were confident and competent and did really well.
We all noticed that M was nailing every obstacle and landed each zip line on her feet! We suspect she has experience.
The safety brief says you can take your camera on with you provided it’s secure. So, I asked if my camera would be okay and was told it was at my risk. So I took my Canon M50 plus the big 17-55mm Sigma lens. Getting back into photography means I am taking it everywhere with me. After we did the second section a staff member asked if I’d take it off as they felt it was a bit too big. I made no complaints, but maybe they need to be a bit more specific in their safety brief.
Value for money?
Okay, GoApe is not a low-cost activity. For all 6 of us, it was over £100. But, the equipment is top notch, the staff are excellent and, in our case, we had two and a half hours or fun.
With the Forestry Commission visitors pass, I also got 10% off. Well, actually I forgot about it when I paid. But, I mentioned it when we went back to sign in and they refunded the saving for me. How nice was that?
It might sound flashy that on the spur of the moment we spent that about of money on an activity. But, we’re eating beans on toast for the next month to pay for it!
If you get the chance, try out a GoApe. But, I can’t say they are all as good as Dalby. We spoke to a couple from Telford who said the one near them was tiny compared to this one.
Thanks for reading
