Family Fun at the Zip Wire

On our most recent family camping trip to Cornwall we decided that we’d try to mix things up a bit and find some activities that the entire family could enjoy. Some of the typical options that we considered included hiking, kayaking or fishing – but then we heard about Adrenaline Quarry and its iconic zip wire.

Needless to say the kids were instantly sold and noted that they were old enough. Upon checking up further I found out that they were right and practically anyone could go on the zip wire regardless of age. In fact I realized that both my kids were old enough to also go on the giant swing that was 5 and up, though one was too young for the coasteering experience which was 10 and up.

Considering I had been toying with the idea of taking a day trip to Looe and enjoying the picturesque coastal village it wasn’t really going to be that out of the way either. As such we decided that we’d visit Adrenaline Quarry and maybe find other things to do in Looe as well.

Looking back I don’t think anything could have prepared us for the trip itself. As we started early we went into Looe first and spent some time on the beach before heading to one of the seafood restaurants for a brunch of sorts. After that we made our way to the A38 and had no problems finding Adrenaline Quarry.

Naturally the kids were pumped with excitement by the time we got there, despite me telling them that we’d just ‘check it out’. Honestly I was still a bit concerned about how safe it was, but the staff on site carefully explained all the precautions that were taken and that put my mind at ease.

Seeing as we were most interested in ‘The Zip’, we decided to go on that first. It consisted of parallel zip wires so two could go down at a time and we decided that my son and I would go first, and my daughter and wife would follow. At that point I was starting to feel a bit nervous, and as they strapped me up and fastened me to the zip line I began to be unsure of it all.

Of course my son seemed to be immune to any kind of fear and I knew he’d jump as soon as they let him. That forced me to steel myself to do the same, and as we leapt out and began hurtling down towards the water below with the cliffs zipping by on either side it was truly less terrifying than I assumed it would be.

By the time hit solid ground I was enjoying myself thoroughly, and so when my son asked if we could go again I readily nodded. We waited for my wife and daughter to arrive and no surprise they wanted to go again too – so that’s what we did. After a couple more trips down the line we decided to call it a day as it was getting late, but our kids both made us promise that we’d be back next year to try out the giant swing and coasteering since they’d be old enough then.