Aiming High at ALTITUDE High Ropes Adventure - Bournemouth - Review

Last week we were invited down to Altitude High Ropes Adventure which is located in Littledown Park, Bournemouth. Although we don't live too far away (around a 25-minute drive), I haven't visited the Littledown area in years and I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived! 

Parking in the leisure centre (free parking for up to 3 hours), we immediately spotted a great looking adventure play area and paddling pool - had no idea this was here so this is definitely somewhere to add to our "places to visit" list!

Altitude can be found towards the back of the park and it's a pleasant stroll past the lake to get there. Look out for the zip line too which you will be whizzing down at some point! 

Once we arrived Elliot and my husband Paul got kitted out with harnesses and helmets. The high ropes adventure is divided into 5 sections: Low Ropes, High Ropes, Zip Wire, Climbing Wall and Power Fan Descender. 

The boys began their adventure on the climbing wall and my husband admitted that he found this bit tricky - Elliot, on the other hand, was up the wall like a mountain goat! The climbing wall features lots of challenging climbs to test you to the limit and was a great starting point for their high ropes adventure. 

Next came the Low Ropes adventure which is 5 metres above ground - this is suitable for 5+. The course features 9 exciting elements including crawl tunnel, cargo net, log bridge and swinging lots. 

I was really surprised by how easy Elliot made this look and he didn't falter at any point! They had the chance to complete the course twice, and the second time they could do it blindfolded if they wished. 

Next came the high ropes - and these are 10 metres off the ground so definitely not for the faint-hearted. Under 8's are allowed on the level but must be accompanied by an adult - Elliot was well up for it so Paul had no option but to clip on and follow! 

The high ropes course combines 12 testing elements which include Burma Bridge, Islands in the Sky, Stepping Stones and Swinging Tyres. It made me feel dizzy just looking up at them. 

The only part that Elliot struggled a bit on was the mini zip line - he wasn't quite heavy enough for it to go all the way so he had to kind of shuffle until it reached the end! 

When the boys had recovered from the high ropes, it was onto the Power Fan Descender - a terrifying leap of faith off a high platform. You plummet to the ground before being gently stopped just before you land - eek! 

They finished off the course by whizzing over the Littledown Lake on the 70-metre zip wire - what a way to end the day! 

We spent around 2.5 hours at Altitude and Elliot and Paul really enjoyed themselves. It was great to be able to do something a little different and we'd definitely recommend it. 

Need to Know...

- You MUST wear sensible shoes if planning on doing the course and will not be allowed on if wearing sandals/flip flops

- The minimum age is 5 years old

- There are picnic tables next to the course for spectators 

- Prices are cheaper if you book in advance and you can pay for the courses separately or together as a package - see here for info

If you would like to try Altitude High Ropes Adventure out for yourselves then BH Live have very kindly given me a 20% code to pass on to my readers - the code is ELLIOT20 

*Disclaimer - We were offered a family ticket in return for an honest review - all words are my own however I was too much of a wuss to actually try out the course so had to rely on the experiences of my son and husband ;) Thank you BH LIVE! 

Mighty Claws Adventure Golf - Bournemouth

Last weekend saw the grand opening of Mighty Claws Adventure Golf in Bournemouth and we were lucky enough to be one of the first families to try it out.

Elliot loves crazy golf and he's also dinosaur obsessed so it was a match made in heaven really - from the minute we pulled into the car park and he spotted the volcano, he was a bouncing excitable ball of energy!

Mighty Claws Adventure Golf is the brainchild of Allan Saud who owns the Playgolf course in Bournemouth. The 18-hole adventure golf course features large scale animatronic dinosaurs, an erupting volcano and a 5 metre high waterfall....if you look closely you might even notice that the water is an unusual colour!

Is it water?! Is it Ribena?!

The course is based around the "Invasion of the Iron Jaws" story which features a whole host of lovable dinosaur characters who have to undertake a series of fearsome adventures in order to free their valley from the evil Iron Jaws.

We couldn't wait to get started! We picked up our clubs and balls from the front desk and made our way to the entrance and through the impressive double doors and under the Sweet Claw Valley archway. We actually bumped into some friends (Emma who writes at Families Online) so we did the course with them which made it even more fun!

The 18 hole course is suitable from 4 year and up and obviously the holes vary in trickiness. To be honest, I think the kids cheated but everyone was having so much fun that it didn't really matter! The favourite amongst the children was the hole that involved hitting the ball over a stream...needless to say the balls dropped in but luckily nets are supplied to fish the balls out!!

As we finished the course we spotted Toby the T-Rex so we nipped over to say hello - he was quite an enthusiastic dancer!!

We headed over to The Kitchen Club for some well earned lunch where it was pizzas all round. Elliot didn't want pizza originally but even he couldn't resist a slice when he saw how good they looked.

We had a fab morning at Mighty Claws and would definitely recommend it as a family friendly activity. Kids are well catered for with smaller clubs and the course itself is well laid out and completely accessible for buggies and wheelchairs.

For more information, check out the Might Claws website here