Headquarters UK Website goape.co.uk Type of business Private | Services ropes courses Founded 2000 | |
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Founders Rebecca Mayhew, Tristram Mayhew Similar Grizedale Forest, Go Ape Aberfoyle, Moors Valley Country P, Forest of Dean, Go Ape Sherwood Profiles | ||
She took me to go ape
Go Ape Ltd. is an outdoor adventure company which runs Tree Top Adventures, Forest Segways, Tree Top Junior Adventures and Zip Trekking Adventures.
Contents
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. The company's motto is "creating adventures, encouraging others to live life more adventurously." In 2003, the company won a Best Tourist Attraction award and has also won a number of other awards. In 2007, it was shortlisted for the Best Norfolk Attraction award at the Tourism In Norfolk Awards. In 2008 the company opened five new courses in Kent, Cumbria, Devon, Buckinghamshire and Staffordshire. On May 8, 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 Junior courses at a number of sites around the country designed for 6 - 12 year olds. There are also Segway scooters and mountain bikes for those who prefer to stay on the ground.
Facilities
There are 30 Tree Top adventure courses in forests in England, Scotland and Wales consisting of rope ladders, zip-lines, rope bridges, trapezes and swings. There are also ten Forest Segway experiences and twelve Tree Top Junior adventures. The course in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, near Aberfoyle in Stirling, has one of the longest zip-lines in Britain.
Controversy
There have been public outcries over their proposals. They chose not to build a course in the Bidjigal Reserve, and met some opposition to their plans to expand in Moel Famau. There was a public response over their proposal in parks of Rivington. Essex County Council declined a proposal after protests. In the United States, a Go Ape ropes course proposal was declined after a large neighborhood outcry in Lincoln Park.