It always seems that someone you know has either just had, or is about to have, a birthday. Today is the turn of my daughter, Emily, as she turns 14. Having enjoyed a nights camping with some friends last night, during which they cooked potatoes on a fire, we headed down to the Adventure Rope Course this morning for a couple of hours fun. As you might imagine, the bunch of young teenage girls hadn’t got that much sleep in the tent, so arrived at the Adventure Rope Course looking a little bleary eyed. However, the activities are enough to wake anyone up!

To get the girls working together straight away, we started on the Jacob’s Ladder which really depends on teamwork for group success. It was interesting to watch how they each approached the challenge of ascending the giant ladder under their own individual efforts. Having realised that helping each other would be an important factor, they still tended to want to work independently until it finally dawned on them that there was no other way. A very interesting lesson for us all, although I think the girls were too busy laughing at each other – but that’s what parties are for.

Having scaled the Jacob’s Ladder, the girls set about finding their way through the Adventure Tunnels before descending on the Parachute Simulator. This is probably the easiest activity at the Adventure Rope Course (from a physical prospective) as all you need to do is take one forward step. The fact that you’re stepping out into thin air makes the psychological side of things a little more difficult!

We finished off with a session on the Giant Swing which is always a popular option. However, it’s an activity in which the participants have a say in how high they want to be winched back before releasing into a huge swing. Consequently, participants can decide that they don’t want to go very high but regret the decision later when they feel a bit braver. That was the case for a couple of pairs today but, with time racing on, there wasn’t opportunity for everyone to have another go. So, if you’re thinking of giving the Giant Swing a go, bear this in mind.

Emily had a great time with her friends – the best way to enjoy a special day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!!