Go Ape adventure at Coombe Abbey Country Park

AD – Gifted experience

I was invited to a Go Ape adventure in Coventry. Unfortunately, due to long-term health issues and poor physical fitness. I didn’t feel I would be able to complete the Treetop challenge. Following a recent health scare, I doubted my GP would recommend it either. So, I asked if I could gift this experience to another friend and offered to take photos of their adventure. Go Ape kindly agreed.

After a little consideration, I decided to offer this experience to Sam @missb68 by way of thanks for her support and assistance with our community hub, UK pic of the day @UKPOTD.

Although Sam was keen, she was more interested in joining me as a spectator in capturing the fun from the safety of the forest floor. Photographers and their desire to be behind the lens, eh?

What is Go Ape?

Go Ape is a UK based business that runs outdoor adventures involving treetop courses with high crossings, Tarzan swings, rope bridges, cargo nets, and ziplines. Depending on the location, they also offer other activities such as axe throwing.

They created their first course at Thetford Forest in 2002. Over the last 20 years, they have expanded to offer outdoor adventures at 35 locations in the UK and 15 locations across the USA.

Go Ape proudly encourage everyone to live life adventurously through socially and environmentally responsible outdoor adventures.

How do you get to the Go Ape adventure course in Coventry?

Go Ape in Coventry is at Coombe Abbey Country Park on Brinklow road, just outside of Coventry.

You will need to pay for car parking. The car park uses an automatic number plate system with contactless payment machines.
It’s £3.50 for 2-4 hours and £5 for 4-24 hours.

Things you need to consider for your Go Ape adventure?

• The Treetop Challenge is aimed at thrill-seeking adults and fun-seeking children, so you need a reasonable level of physical fitness.
• You must pre-book your session. Consider checking Coombe’s facebook page to avoid clashing with other large scale events.
• You must be 1.4 metres tall for the Treetop Challenge (see height chart below for the other courses).
• Wear suitable clothing and footwear for outdoor activites, ones that you don’t mind getting dirty/muddy.
• Go Ape have a don’t fit can’t go harness policy and you need to weigh less than 20.5 Stone or 130 kg
• You should consider wearing gloves. These can be purchased on-site or you can bring your own.
• It will take 2-3 hours to complete the Treetop Challenge
• One adult is required to supervise two children, aged 10-15 years.
• 16 and 17 year olds do not require adult supervision, but they cannot supervise younger children.

Will your session be cancelled in bad weather?

Our Go Ape adventure was in July, and it was absolutely hammering down with flash puddles across the park. We wondered if it might be rained off, but we arrived to find that the Go Ape sessions were still in full swing.

The day before there had been thunder and lightning. So, I asked the staff what happened in that situation. They told me everyone had to come back down to the ground. Then, they informed customers that they would have to wait for 30 mins after the last lightning strike before they could continue their Go Ape adventure. Apparently, most people waited for the storm to pass.

The staff don’t finish until the last customer completes the course, so they all had to stay and work for a little longer. Fortunately, the Go Ape staff are all extremely friendly, helpful, and seemed to really enjoy working there.

What happens if you get stuck?

One of our fun-seeking children was only slightly over the 1.4m heigh restriction. There were a few sections of the course where they struggled to reach to attach the Carabiner D-ring and trolley to the safety system. However, with a little patience and persistence, they managed to do this without the need for assistance from their adult supervisor.

During their Go Ape adventure, there was a treetop traffic jam. The staff informed us that this had been caused by a ‘dangler’. Unfortunately, someone had failed to gain sufficient momentum on the zipline and found themselves stuck – dangling. So, one of the Go Ape staff ascended the course and went to their rescue.

How did our thrill-seekers find the Treetop Challenge?

Go Ape Coventry has three different courses depending on height. Our thrill-seekers were all over the 1.4m, so they did the Treetop challenge – the longest, highest, most demanding and exhilarating Go Ape adventure of them all.

Some of our fun-seekers were understandably a little apprehensive before they started their Go Ape adventure. However, you will see that they received a comprehensive briefing session. And as they progressed around the Treetop Challenge course their confidence grew with plenty of whoops of excitement and encouragement from the spectators below.

Our Go Ape Adventure

Even though we didn’t actively participate, we thoroughly enjoyed capturing our adventurers complete the Treetop challenge.

We hope you enjoy our Go Ape adventure video and photos. These were captured using a Go pro hero 8 and the Sony Alpha a7iii with the 24mm-105mm G lens (please see our photography gear for more info).

You can take your own camera phone or go pro on the Treetop challenge with you. You just need to tell the staff so they can make sure it is securely attached. Go Ape positively encourage you to share your adventures and tag them using @GoApeTribe or #GoApe

Photos of the Treetop Challenge at Go Ape in Coventry

Final Verdict on our Go Ape adenture?

All of our thrill-seekers said they would love to do the Treetop Challenge again. Maybe you’ll see them swinging through the treetops soon…