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So
what did you get up to this weekend? Watch a bit of television,
read the papers, do some gardening or maybe be really energetic
and go for a walk?
Mind
you, this notion of a relaxing weekend was not something that ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½
Gloucestershire's intrepid flame haired adverturess Anna Pidgeon
had in mind recently. When someone offered her the chance to jump
off a 120 foot cliff in Bristol's Clifton Gorge she said yes, of
course.
Good
cause
The
whole zip slide endeavour was for a good cause - raising money for
Gloucestershire children's charity The Spring Centre.
The
organisation is well known for its interesting fund-raising ideas
and this year they decided that throwing people at high speed down
a zip slide might be fun to raise money!
So
fearless Anna went along to Clifton Gorge to have a go. She also
caught up with Dave Stallworthy, who was organising the event, to
find out how the idea came about. Dave explained:
"It
came about because last year we had a very successful abseil off
the Eagle Tower [in Cheltenham]. It was so successful that we decided
to do something each year - this year it's the zip slide challenge."
Zip
slide challenge
Dave
went on to explain exactly what Anna could expect from her zip slide
experience - she would be taken to the top of Clifton Gorge, some
120 feet above ground level.
There
she would be attached by a harness to a thin wire that ran 300 feet
in length from the top of the gorge to the bottom in a 45° downward
angle.
Finally
she'd push off - or make a running jump at it - and come down at
quite a speed on that very thin wire.
But
first, Anna gathered the opinions of some fearless souls who had
already braved the descent on the line. First up was Lucy Bailey,
and she said:
"Scary!
It was really spooky but once you're going down you just want to
close your eyes and scream your head off. The best bit was in the
middle and the worst bit was landing."
The
next person down was Rhys Dixon, who was still on a high from the
adrenaline rush the ride had given him. He revealed:
"Everybody
should give this a go, I reckon. The best bit was jumping off the
top. The legs were a bit twitchy to start with but once you get
going, it's cracking!"
Time
for Anna to have a go
After
what seemed like a massive climb, Anna found herself standing at
the top, overlooking the gorge below - it seemed a long way away!
Her initial impression was that it was scarier than she thought
it would be, she revealed:
"I'm
shaking now, suddenly much more scared."
Nevertheless,
brave Anna pressed on with the challenge and, aided by a chap called
Cadman, put on the special harness gear required to make descent
on the line. The gear itself looked very impressive, as she noted:
"It
all looks very complicated, which I hope means it's safe. That's
my theory anyway!"
Once
she was ready to go, she stepped on to the ledge overlooking the
gorge and Cadman attached her harness to the zip line.
Anna,
being the fearless character she is, wanted to go 'nice and fast'
so Cadman suggested she take a running start. With a yell, she ran
and threw herself over the edge of the cliff and sped down the zip
line, towards the bottom of the gorge.
The
ride went really quickly and, in practically no time at all, she
found herself dangling in mid-air at the bottom after she'd come
to a stop. There she remained until a nice chap called Tim rescued
her with a rope.
Anna
found the whole zip slide experience really enjoyable and exhilarating,
saying afterwards:
"That
was good fun. I'm shaking less now... I think!"
If
you would like to comment on this story get in touch at gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk
or have your say on our
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What
would you say if someone offered you the chance to jump off a 120
foot cliff? ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Gloucestershire's Anna Pidgeon said yes, of course!
AUDIO
