Normal people go out for lunch on Mother’s Day… what do I do? I take my kids to ZipWorld Fforest, Betws Y Coed! I had vouchers that needed to be used before 31st March 2023 so why not have a day out! We did three of the six adventures available on site. So let me run through each one.
Fforest Coaster
This adventure is a toboggan styled cart on coaster tracks which sees you dash down through the trees of the Betws forest.
The run is approximately 1 kilometre long down the alpine hillside. It takes around 4 minutes to ascend to the top (don’t worry it’s an automatic ascend – you don’t need to push your cart to the top!) The descent takes about 1.5 minutes because after all, you reach speeds of up to 25 mph!
For info you control the speed of the cart by using a manual braking system. However don’t worry about it because there is also an automatic braking system to ensure you travel at safe enough speeds.
Prices are £25 single cart or £36 sharing cart for 3 runs. When we were there there was also a deal that you could do the fourth run for £6 each. Anyone aged under 9 has to be in a sharing cart. Over 9s can go on their own but they must have a participating adult in the group as well.
After each run you exit your cart and rejoin the queue for your next go. I think this is to make sure there’s a constant flow of people. The day we were there it wasn’t terribly busy so the queue was quite short. I think it took us around 10mins to do each run. This was most certainly our favourite… check out the video here!
Fforest Coaster summary:
- Run length: approx 1 km
- Activity time: approx 30-60 mins depending on queue length
- Price: £25 single cart / £36 sharing cart
- Location: Zipworld Fforest, A470, Betws Y Coed
Treehoppers
This was a fun activity! It’s a course of zipwires and other challenging activities such as ropebridges and balance beams. There are in fact two courses – a low one for smaller children (or fearful adults) and a higher one for the braver children (and braver adults).
In each course you traverse the trees strapped into a harness which is attached to safety wires. As you travel around the course you’re constantly attached and have to transition between each activity by pulling your contraption over the joints. Its actually really simple.
The price was £20 each which covers both courses. The activity was approx 1 hour for us as we had a little one in who was a bit apprehensive in places. My eldest (9 year old) flew through the course so she was done in about 45mins.
It was good fun I must admit. Kids loved it and I enjoyed it even if I did end up with a shining bruise to my leg due to the harness. I think I was unlucky with mine as no one else had bruises.
Treehoppers summary
- Course details: one turn on the lower ropes course and a high ropes course
- Activity time: approx 45-60 mins depending on how quickly you go about it
- Price: £20 per person
- Location: Zipworld Fforest, A470, Betws Y Coed
Treetopnets
We hadn’t intended on going on this adventure as we’d already done the Fforest Coaster and due to a deal we did this for £5 each. It’s a series of bouncy nets and walkways around the trees. It’s very similar to Bounce Below in Llechwedd except this time it’s in trees rather than in slate caverns. For an unfit almost 40 year old woman with minor hip problems, it was a bit of a workout! I ended up sitting some of it out and let the kids run off on their own. You can watch them from a sitting area at the entrance.
In addition to the bouncy nets you also have access to a small tubing slide. That was fun!
Treetopnets summary:
- Course details: 250 meters of walkways and bounce areas
- Activity time: approx 60 mins
- Price: £20 each (but we did it for £5 each due to a deal)
- Location: Zipworld Fforest, A470, Betws Y Coed
Other Adventures
There’s also another three adventures available at the site which we didn’t try out the day we visited:
- Plummet – a freefall from a trapdoor! Not sure if I’d be up for this one but it’s a must for the thrill seekers.
- Skyride – Now this is a swing where you are strapped in and then dropped from a great height. I’m sure there’s a great view of the Conwy Valley from up there.
- Zip Safari – this is very similar to Treehoppers but it’s in higher trees and aimed for adults. It does look cool I must admit.
