A day of ups and downs when you go rock climbing and abseiling! You will quite literally learn how to climb up rocks and then spend time being taught how to abseil down a tower too. As far as gifts for climbers go this discovery day is great for beginners who want their first experience in climbing and abseiling.
Your climbing and abseiling day is in two parts. To begin with you’ll be at the sandstone crags of Harrison’s Rocks in Kent. This is where you’ll hone your skills going up. You’ll be shown how belaying works (the system of securing the climber) essential knots that are needed and touch on climbing etiquette as well as concentrating on basic climbing technique.
What we love about these climbing and abseiling sessions is that you set your own goals. Maybe you want to reach the very top or perhaps you’ll be happy to get your feet off the ground and conquer that fear of heights. The qualified instructors are all really encouraging but they won’t push you out of your comfort zone – this rock climbing and abseiling malarkey is meant to be fun after all!
As for the abseiling bit of the day. Well here’s the thing you can climb the sandstone rocks but you can’t abseil down them as they are too soft. So for this part of the course you’ll head to a purpose-built abseiling tower. Standing tall at 10m high (that’s 33ft if your still do imperial!) this wall is as high as a house. It’s going to be nerve-wracking the first time you stand right at the top. As you lean over be prepared to step off. Get the abseil technique right and you’ll go smoothly and swiftly down down down until your feet touch the ground.
All in all you’ll spend four hours out on the crags and routes of Harrison’s Rocks and a couple of hours practicing your abseiling techniques on the tower. It’s a great day out in Kent and Sussex for anyone interested in learning the techniques and getting a head start in rock climbing and abseiling without having to buy all the gear in advance – harness shoes carabiners and descenders are all lent to you for the duration of the day.
