REVIEW: Treetop Challenge Go Ape at Matfen, Northumberland

I think that is how it is spelt.

Standing on the platform of the Tarzan swing, my friend, Tim, and I demonstrated the famous tree-swinging jungle call from the television series of our youth to his ten-year-old son.

Alexander looked bemused as we told him about the loincloth-clad man whose best friend was a chimpanzee, not to be confused with Michael Jackson, as we waited our turn to attempt the most popular obstacle at Go Ape in Northumberland.

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One of the obstacles at Go Ape (Image: Contributor)

We were securely clipped on with two safety ropes and carabiners but there was something about this swing that seems a little less tame than the previous aspects of the treetop challenge at Matfen Hall.

The course starts gently enough, allowing you to get used to the system they use to reduce the risk of accidents by getting you to practice a few feet off the ground so you can get the hang of the golden rule – always stay attached.

Before long you are climbing ladders attached to trees, standing 25-30 feet in the air waiting for your turn to walk across a cable, or to navigate a bridge considerably less sturdy than the one at the end of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

But the biggest tests, and ones you absolutely must get right in terms of being clipped on, are the zipwires and there are four big ones to do.

That's one way to do it! (Image: Contributor)

It is a bit of a leap of faith as you stand on the edge of the platform, staring down at the pile of woodchips you hope will give you a soft landing.

There is something unnatural about jumping off, even when you have checked your clips three times and you know they are right, when there is not an instructor up there telling you it is ‘ok’.

Even worse when you have to ‘ok’ your kids so it is your fault if something goes wrong.

But you get used to it and nerves subside as soon as you start flying through the air as trees rush past you, think the Speeder bikes scene from Return of the Jedi.

The best way to land is running, but that is easier said than done, especially when you spin in your harness halfway down.

As I discovered.

Every time.

Then the only way to stop is with a graceless drag of the heels through woodchip, which if you’re lucky won’t go up your back and in your pants.

I speak from experience.

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It's hard not to smile while making your way around the course (Image: Contributor)

The course takes two to three hours to complete and is a great day out for friends or with the family but be warned kids must be over 1m 40cm tall.

The zip wires are amazing fun and the obstacles between the trees are a great challenge.

But the part you will not forget is the Tarzan swing, which involves leaping from a platform attached to a cable that then swings you at speed into a cargo net, which you then have to climb up to get to the next stage.

You will not find anything like this in any of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ books.

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Recalling the ‘Tarzy’ rope swings I did across denes in my childhood I was fully intending to do ‘the call’ while swinging coolly through the woodland.

It was not to be.

The noise that came from my mouth was one that can only be described as ‘abject terror’ as I plummeted down before the cable caught me and I hurtled into the net.

It is that feeling of falling that gets you before the safety gear kicks in.

But despite this, it was impossible not to clamber onto the platform with a smile on my face.

It was mainly relief but also to see, with a degree of schadenfreude, to see how my mate fared.

The Tarzan swing is daunting - but great fun (Image: Northern Echo)

Entry is £35 and it makes for a cracking day out. I can’t recommend it enough.

You won’t get tired of monkeying around.