Birthdays are usually a great day, especially when you’re a kid, and it’s a privilege to be asked to help make it a memorable day. Today was Giles’ big day and he took the opportunity to bring some of his friends to the Adventure Rope Course near Shrewsbury. In total, there were 9 in the group which worked very well for the activities they tried.

We started off on the Climbing Wall, giving everyone the chance to start on the ground and push themselves as far as they felt comfortable. The Climbing Wall often proves to be a nice way to start as it builds confidence in the ropes and equipment rather than having to put all your faith in something new at height. To look at, the Climbing Wall doesn’t seem to be too taxing, but appearances can be deceptive. While some made very impressive ascents of the wall, others struggled to move freely on the wall which restricted their progress.

The High All Aboard involves getting groups of 3 or 4 to stand on a small platform at the top of a pole. Although it doesn’t actually wobble very much, it certainly feels like it does when you’re standing 30 foot off the ground. A couple of the groups managed to succeed in getting everyone on the platform before giving us a display of their gymnastic abilities. Others managed to push themselves to the top of the pole, but couldn’t bring themselves to try standing up on the platform. However, the group was really encouraging each other and everyone gave it a good go.

We then moved on to the Giant Swing, which is hard work to operate but great fun for those that like a bit of a scare! After winching a pair of thrill seekers up on a pulley system, the group get the entertainment of watching their faces as they ‘pull the pin’ and drop into a big swing. Shocked screams are common, but soon give way to laughter and an urge to go again! Everyone gave this a go and, if I’d given them the chance, we could probably have spent the rest of the session going over and over again.

At the start of the session, everyone had expressed particular interest in the Adventure Tunnels, so it seemed a nice way to lure them away from the Giant Swing to finish things off. With it’s dark tunnels, trap doors, dead ends and various fun obstacles, the Adventure Tunnels are often a favourite and it certainly went down well today.

I certainly enjoyed the session, and got the impression that everyone else did as well by the smiles at the end. Or maybe that was just the site of party food!