Zip-lining!

If asked, I would definitely say my greatest fear is heights. That's why I was extremely hesitant to go zip-lining with my friends. In search of adventure, a couple of them had found Go Ape at Aberfoyle, which had the largest zip course in the UK. Aberfoyle is a town in Stirling and the site is located in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, which stretches across a large portion of Scotland, including Loch Lomond and Loch Katrine.


I went to the website and read this:
"Britain’s two biggest zip wires, each stretching over 400m long, flying customers 150 feet above the ground and over a 90 foot waterfall."
That only made me more scared, but I figured this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.


We woke up before 6am on Saturday, October 29th, and set out towards Stirling. After a bus, a train, and another bus, we finally reached Aberfoyle. It was then that we discovered that the Visitor's Center was a little over a mile up the hill. We couldn't figure out where the path was so we just walked on the winding highway. It didn't seem like the best idea when we saw the remains of a car wreck on a hill by the road.


The safety portion was short and simple: always stay connected to the wires! The first and last zip lines were the longest. Here is a photo Lane took of me on the first zip line: 

There were a few obstacle courses, each ending with another zip line. There was a total of 6 parts, which included bridges, nets, and tarzan swings. 

Here are a few photos Lorrie took of the course:

The final zip was over 400 meters, the longest zip line in the UK! Matt took videos of the view and our landings:

Warning: there is cursing when Matt gets stuck

It was a huge rush and amazing, but once it was over we realized how wet we were. We went inside the park building, put on warm clothes, and bought hot chocolates. It was still raining so we waited until it let up. Once it did, we started to head down the windy highway to the town. A couple minutes after we walked outside, it started pouring. Even though we were under umbrellas and in raincoats, we were soaked in minutes. It took us over four hours to get home, four miserable hours. 

Once we got home, we rushed and changed in to warm clothes and huddled by the heaters. Overall, the day was epic and I think we would all love to do it again.