Published Thursday 20 July 2023 at 11:44
The brand new Go Ape Treetop Adventure in Witton Park is now open!
Our Leader, Deputy Leader, Chief Executive and Deputy Mayor were amongst those invited to the official opening on Saturday (July 15th).
And, the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Sylviia Liddle, was asked to cut the ribbon on the new visitor attraction along with children from Youth Zone Blackburn and the Astley and Buckshaw Football Club.
Go Ape Blackburn is Go Ape’s 36th location in the family tree and the first standalone experience for adventurers under the age of 10 years old – with two new high-ropes activities which are perfect for younger explorers.
It’s part of £550,000 of new investment for the borough’s flagship park with Blackburn with Darwen Council also undertaking significant upgrades to the two main playgrounds too.
Councillor Phil Riley, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said:
It was fantastic to be at the official opening of Go Ape on Saturday and to see so many excited youngsters take on the new adventure courses and our own Deputy Mayor too.
The new set-up at Witton Park is really impressive and as well as being a great visitor attraction for the borough – helping support local businesses – it’s also created 14 new jobs locally.
It was also really good to hear the Go Ape team talk about how much support they’ve had from our teams across the Council – we pride ourselves on making it easy for people to invest here and it’s great to see that in action.
I wish the team there all the best for their first summer in Witton Park.
Witton Park boasts 480 acres of countryside with pretty picnic spots, walks, nature trails, an arena, children’s bike track, cycle centre, café and more.
And, it’s home to some of the borough’s biggest events of the year too, including Restricted Rocks.
The new Go Ape facility boasts a Treetop Adventure course which is the ideal first step up into the forest canopy for ‘little daredevils’ over 1m tall so that they can get a feel for heights.
They can test their skills and balance on a circuit of wobbly crossings and obstacles before speeding back to the ground on a zipline.
Treetop Adventure Plus is an extension of the Treetop Adventure course, with an additional loop filled with even trickier crossings and an extra-long solo zip line for participants over six years and 1.2m tall.
Go Ape Senior Artworker, Leah Smith, was one of the first on the new course, she said:
Myself, daughter and other half went to the Blackburn launch and it was absolutely brilliant!
There was a great atmosphere, despite experiencing every type of weather possible and the staff were super friendly and helpful throughout.
It was our first-time doing Go Ape all together and we felt really comfortable and already can’t wait to go back again!
Find out more about Go Ape Blackburn by clicking this link.
You can also find a full guide to the borough’s parks and open spaces by clicking here.
Using that link, you can also download a map of Witton Park, a history trail. Discovery quiz and orienteering map.
