Julia Dean, 31 August 2010

I'm a single parent on a limited budget and I'd wanted to bring my 11-year old son to Go Ape for ages. We waited until he was tall enough (we're both shorthouses!) and finally the time came. As soon as we arrived we were both made to feel very welcome, the instructor was brilliant; clear, helpful, full of positive energy and a good laugh. He set the perfect mood for us first-time Apers. Of we went to a brilliant start until we began to experience thunder, and an almost tropical downpour. Boooo! We couldn't continue to the course due to the poor weather and on my limited budget, was concerned about how I was going to afford to bring my son back soon for another go. So imagine my surprise when we got a phone call from Go Ape inviting us back for another go - free of charge - so we of course leapt at the chance! The weather the second time round was perfect; not to hot, not too cold. We might have been lucky but second time round we didn't have to wait for anyone to making their crossings nor delay anyone - we were only aware of other people nearby from the Whoop-Whoops we could hear travelling along the zip wires! On both occasions I have been really impressed with everything from the booking process onwards. Customer service is excellent, on arrival the team are friendly and not in the least bit intimidating - on the contrary they've a contagious enthusiasm. My single complaint is the instructor on the second visit was a big disappointment. Unfortunately at the first level I became worried by a child immediately behind me who I thought had hurt himself as I was clipping on/off and I was so distracted by his whining that I lost concentration. It turned out he was just a very excitable little brat. The instructor asked me if I knew what I'd done wrong and when I replied 'yes, I allowed myself to be distracted by that little boy' he very smugly replied 'you're going to have to do this part of the training again'. Then he asked my name which I gave him, and then he asked for my surname. Ordinarily I don't complain about things, but this guy had such a rude demeanour it deserves mention. Fair enough, he has be sure people are trained properly, but I was there to be belittled by his arrogance. To add insult to injury, when I was up in the trees, he was talking to a colleague about me and very apparently amused that he'd had to ask me to redo the first stage. I will go to Go Ape! again, but if that tosser shows up I'll gladly give him a miss and wait for someone nicer. Thinking about it, his attitude has put me off going to Leeds Castle again. 10/10 overall but a disappointing score for the instructor.

Menna Lloyd, 31 August 2010

would have been fantastic to go round a second time or at least choosen 2/3 courses again

Karrina Lewendon, 31 August 2010

Zip wires and the Tarzan jump! :)

Pat Mackay, 31 August 2010

Staff were welcoming and helpful on arrival, especially as we had brought an extra person. They were respectful and encouraging to my 80 year old father and I felt that they kept a careful eye on us all without being intrusive. Some of us were nervous to begin with, but the safety talk helped. The member of staff was very pleasant and helped us to relax, although he had quite quiet and quick speech, which some of the group found difficult to follow. We did feel that we held up the group behind us a bit, as they were were quite quick and one person in particular was a bit 'lively', swinging/rocking the rope walks as he went along, which at times rocked the walk we were on (which was unforunate as my daughter was trying to conquer her own nerves), and also squashed my father's finger in the rope which is tied around the tree (not a serious injury!!). It is probably not viable, but it would have improved our experience if the next group had been delayed a little, or if they could have moved ahead of us. We all really enjoyed our Go Ape experience and felt it was worth the money. We were all glad that we had done it and felt exhilerated at the end (ages of the group were 11, 13, 14, 49, 50 and 80!). I particularly enjoyed the zip wires! Thank you for a great morning which was a wonderful and different family experience to celebrate my father's 80th birthday.

Elizabeth Scanlan, 31 August 2010

Great experience.

Anne Ristow, 30 August 2010

As an old timer - I found the experience good fun. My daughter's first Go Ape experience saw a lot of tree hugging; however, she soon got into her stride and there was no stopping her - yellin' and a whoopin' on the zip whires - in all seriousness she was shaking like a tree when she first started but along with her son and nephew encouraging her - the team spirit was high. The zip whires have to be our favourites the longer and higher the better. We will return!

Milos Biberovic, 30 August 2010

this is the second time i have been and on both ocassions taken my 11 year old daughter who was terrified the first time,yet surmounted her fears and gained tremendous confidence as a result .Consequently her second trip into the trees was for me a joy to behold,i cannot describe how proud i felt to see her negotiating all the obstacles and without my encouragement,thankyou

Jan Brewer, 30 August 2010

excellent shame the weather could,t have been better but at least its something that you can do in the rain!

Kelly Riggs, 30 August 2010

Went to Go Ape at Leeds Castle for my birthday with my boyfriend and two friends...I knew we would have fun as I've been to Go Ape twice before. The staff are all very friendly and clear in their safety brief at the start. I always reccommend Go Ape as a fun experience to friends and family. Thank you!

David Bukovenczki, 30 August 2010

it was fun with a bite of being scared