Who’d have thought that just opposite Bluewater, 30 minutes from south east London, you can find Europe’s largest swing and England’s longest zipwire.
I’ve always been a bit of a thrill seeker and when I discovered that not far from south east London you can go on Europe’s largest swing I was keen to get the adrenaline pumping.
Hangloose Bluewater offers visitors a range of outdoor activities like outdoor skydiving, wild swimming, zipwiring and the famous outdoor swim.
I tried two of Hangloose’s most popular activities, with my less keen friend first beginning with the outdoor swing.
The swing lifts you above the cliffs in Greenhithe, where you’re let loose, falling 22 storeys at speeds of 50 miles an hour.
We first began by getting fitted with a harness before preparing to get on the swing.
The swing is only small and can fit up to five people, so be mindful if you’re looking for groups of over that number.
The swing itself was a bit of a workout for your body, where you have to lean yourself as far back as you can to make sure you can stay seated during the fall.
But don’t worry, you're connected securely to the swing so you can’t fall off.
The only thing you’ll need to do is decide amongst yourselves if you want to be given a countdown to the drop or a surprise.
The swing itself was totally thrilling as we fell the 50 metres, swinging atop the lake below, despite my hair getting very messy in the process.
It was definitely a bucket list experience that I think everyone should do at least once in their lifetime, even my friend ended up enjoying herself despite her ear-splitting screams of terror.
We then finished by trying out the Hangloose zipwire, which is famously known as being England's ‘longest zipwire’, measuring at over 700 metres from start to finish.
During this experience we got a lift to the tower, and after a short but calorie-burning climb we made it to the top, where we were connected via our harnesses to the zipwire and given a briefing on how to position ourselves.
Even if you see your companion try a different position to you, it's very important to note that you must keep the positions you are told to by your instructor during your experience.
After posing for some pictures, in which I tried my best to look remotely photo-worthy in my hard helmet and GoPro, we were then sent out onto the wire and sailing through the air.
Now, as I am not a bird, I can't attest to what real flying feels like, but I’m pretty sure this feels as close to the real thing as you’ll get.
It was a really fun experience sailing across the landscape with the scenery zipping by.
Up until that day I’d never zipwired before, but its definitely something I’d do again in the future.
After a slightly bumpy landing we then returned back to reception to look through the photos, and I can say that it was definitely a fun and rather unusual way to spend a Saturday morning.
Hangloose also has a viewing area for anyone not taking part but still waiting to watch family members, along with free lockers and the option to have photos and video taken by purchasing additional media packs with a scannable QR code.
It’s also within a short walk of Bluewater, which offers parking as well as a whole host of shops, restaurants, activities and a cinema if you fancy making a full day of it.
Ticket prices at Hangloose Bluewater begin at £34 for the Giant Swing and £46.75 for the Zipwire, with packages available if you are looking to do more than one activity.
Time slots are bookable from 10:00am to 7:45pm for the Zipwire, and 10:00am to 5:40pm for the Giant Swing.
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