Go Ape facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder |
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| Headquarters |
UK
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| Services | Ropes courses, zip wires |
Go Ape! is an outdoor adventure company which runs tree top ropes courses under the names Tree Top Challenge, Tree Top Adventure and Zip Trekking, as well as ground-based Forest Segway Safaris, at locations across the UK and the US.
History
The company was founded in 2001 by Rebecca and Tristram Mayhew, after they were inspired by a tree-top adventure course in France, and has a contract with the Forestry Commission for courses on multiple sites. The first course opened in March 2002 in Thetford Forest, on the borders of Norfolk and Suffolk; it was the first self-belay tree top ropes course in Britain. In 2003, the company won a Best Tourist Attraction award and has also won other awards. In 2007, it was shortlisted for the Best Norfolk Attraction award at the Tourism In Norfolk Awards. In 2008 the company opened new courses in Kent, Cumbria, Devon, Buckinghamshire and Staffordshire. On 8 May 2010 Go Ape opened their first course in the United States at Rock Creek Regional Park in Rockville, Maryland. In March 2015, a "Treetop adventure course" was opened in Wake County.
The courses are made up of zip wires, rope swings, ladders, walkways, bridges and tunnels made of wood. There are "Adventure" courses at a number of sites around the country designed for 6 - 12 year olds. There are also Segway scooters and mountain bikes.
In 2014 Go Ape! opened trampoline parks in East Kilbride, Wolverhampton and Stevenage under the name Air Space. This part of the business was sold in 2017 to Oxygen Freejumping.
On 29 September 2019 Verity Bailes, from Peterborough, became the first person to complete Go Ape’s Treetop Challenge at all 34 locations across the UK.
Facilities
There are 34 Tree Top Challenge courses in forests in England, Scotland and Wales consisting of rope ladders, zip-lines, rope bridges, trapezes and swings. There are also 11 Forest Segway experiences and 23 Tree Top Adventure courses, aimed at children. The course in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, near Aberfoyle in Stirling, has one of the longest zip-lines in Britain.
Go Ape locations
United Kingdom
- Alexandra Palace, North London
- Aberfoyle, Stirling
- Alice Holt Forest, Surrey
- Battersea Park, Central London
- Bedgebury Forest, Kent
- Black Park, Buckinghamshire
- Bracknell, Swinley Forest
- Buxton, Derbyshire
- The Chase, Rugeley, Staffordshire
- Chessington World of Adventures
- Coombe Abbey, Coventry, Warwickshire
- Crathes Castle, Aberdeenshire
- Crawley, Tilgate Park, Sussex
- Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire
- Delamere Forest, Cheshire
- Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
- Glentress Forest, Peebles
- Grizedale Forest, Cumbria
- Haldon Forest, Devon
- Leeds Castle, Kent
- Margam Country Park, Port Talbot, Wales
- Newcastle, Matfen Hall, Northumberland
- Moors Valley, Dorset
- Rivington, Lancashire
- Sherwood Pines, Nottinghamshire
- Southampton, Itchen Valley Country Park, Hampshire
- Temple Newsam, Leeds
- Thetford Forest, Suffolk
- Trent Park, North London
- Wendover Woods, Buckinghamshire
- Whinlatter, Cumbria
- Woburn Safari Park, Bedfordshire
- Wyre Forest, Worcestershire
United States
- Lums Pond State Park, Bear, DE
- Bemis Woods, Chicago, IL
- Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis, IN
- Jefferson Memorial Forest, Louisville, KY (closed)
- Rock Creek Regional Park, Rockville, MD
- Stony Creek Metropark, Rochester, MI
- Creve Coeur Park, St. Louis, MO
- Swope Park, Kansas City, MO
- Blue Jay Point County Park, Raleigh, NC
- Mill Stream Run Reservation, Cleveland, OH
- North Park, Pittsburgh, PA
- North Myrtle Beach Park & Sports Complex, North Myrtle Beach, SC
- Shelby Farms Park, Memphis, TN
- Oak Point Park and Nature Preserve, Plano, TX
- South Run Park, Springfield, VA
- Freedom Park, Williamsburg, VA
