Kids of the Wild’s very first organised event was a day’s recreational tree climbing with ropes in 2016 in Northumberland. Thirteen children and adults aged 6 to 45 joined us for two sessions in the woodlands of The Alnwick Garden. Read on to find out how to go tree climbing and what it’s really like!
[For UK-wide tree climbing near you see links at bottom of page]
It was a gloriously sunny Saturday and surprisingly warm for the first day of October.
Tree Climbing Nerves
Caroline had spent the previous week in nervous excitement. Me too actually! Other than a few occasions of basic rock climbing with my sister I haven’t done anything out of my climbing comfort zone since 1999 when we camped with friends on the Isle of Skye for a little Munro bagging. We climbed up and abseiled down the In Pinn (Inaccessible Pinnacle) and did a Tyrolean traverse from cliffs to a sea stack.
Cue gratuitous inclusion of poorly scanned old photo of Wild Mummy on Tyrolean traverse, Isle of Skye…
I had no idea what to expect from tree climbing having purposely not watched Flaming Monkey’s excellent promo videos until after the event.
Great Instructors
Husband and wife team Kevin and Ancha (who then ran the tree climbing company Flaming Monkey, since closed) and their daughter Freya couldn’t be more friendly, calming and helpful. The children immediately relaxed in their presence despite their pre-climb nerves. Wild Mummy however bounced around in excited anticipation, feeling 16 again.
The tree was a statuesque 120 year old beech; massive, beautiful and no doubt terrifying in the eyes of our intrepid Kids of the Wild.
Briefing and Demo
Before the simple and concise safety briefing we were kitted out with helmets, gloves, knotted ropes with foot loops one end and special harnesses with thigh pads attached (for ‘hanging about’ in the air).
Kevin gave a short demonstration and then picked a deeply nervous Caroline as his first climber. She stepped up to the task admirably, despite daunted glances towards us, and immediately picked up the technique.
There were 15 minutes of chaos as we were individually clipped onto ropes using special safety carabiners that the children couldn’t unscrew when high off the ground. We all climbed on the same tree which was comforting and added to the camaraderie.
Each person took their own time to work out the process and soon all seven of us were scaling the tree at different heights and speeds.
How to Climb a Tree with Ropes (kind of..)
Essentially, the rope with foot loops is attached to the climbing rope with a moveable knot tied beneath a knot which attaches the safety harness to the climb rope. You place one foot in each loop before loosening the knot, pushing it up the climb rope to just below the safety harness knot. This causes your legs to bend in an ungainly hanging crouch. You then put your full weight in the foot loops, pushing your body into a standing position. The safety harness knot is then pushed up the climb rope before repeating the first step again.
Slowly But Surely
You climb a couple of feet up the rope each time; a slow, tiring process but with great views and a profound sense of achievement – until Kevin shinned up the rope like a spider monkey and put us all to shame!
Looking Down
Confidence and Achievement
The thrill of achieving something dangerous in a secure environment is a true testament to the power of pushing one’s physical and emotional boundaries in the arms of Mother Nature – Kids of the Wild
All the children set their own pace, returning to the ground (under supervision) when they chose or just swinging in the harness and chatting. Every centimetre they climbed was entirely by their own action. It was an incredible confidence booster for them.
Caroline initially climbed about 15 feet then went down before climbing a further three times, reaching higher each time.
Ancha and Kevin were always on the ground for assistance, giving each child a strong sense of personal satisfaction as they weren’t being physically guided, pushed nor forced by the adults; they were in complete control and all the achievement was their own, though obviously they were safe at all times as Kevin could leap up a rope at a moment’s notice if anyone panicked – which nobody did. And there were certificates for everyone too.
Awesome Kids of The Wild
I can’t recommend this adventure activity enough.
Flaming Monkey is a brilliant company and you should definitely contact them if you visit the north-east (2018 update, Flaming Monkey are no longer in business due to family commitments).
Tree climbing in this way is a great test of strength, endurance and courage mixed with a little brainpower to master the technique.
Scary Branch Balancing
I climbed to the top of my 50 foot rope and stayed up for a while enjoying the view, the clear air and the satisfaction of watching the children have so much fun below me.
Twice I stepped onto the tree itself which was an odd experience. I immediately felt nervous and decidedly unsafe, a weird shift in consciousness because when climbing trees without a safety rope I’m fine. The swap from harness security to trusting my body for security (even though the harness was still there) was an odd one at such a height.
But that’s why I love the wild; it shows and teaches us something different every time we experience it!
HUGE thanks to Kevin and Ancha for an unforgettable experience.
For more outdoor family activities check out the Kids of the Wild get outdoors section.
If you need confidence or inspirational tips on being an awesome outdoor parent try the parenting hacks in 5 things to make you the best outdoor parent in the world! You won’t look back.
Find Tree Climbing Near You
There are a few companies around the UK offering recreational tree climbing with ropes. Click the links to find one near you.
Scotland – Wild Tree Adventures
Isle of wight – Goodleaf
Cornwall – Mighty Oak
Gloucestershire – Far Peak
Wiltshire/Somerset –WOLT
Norfolk – ExTreeme Adventure
UK wide – Great Big Tree Climbing Company (Wiltshire based, takes it to you)
Wowzers! That sounds very brave of you all. Great achievement guys X
It was brilliant, totally recommend it. Flaming Monkey were great xx
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I’ve done abseiling and rock climbing before but not this one. Great to see everyone having a go. #OutdoorBloggers
It’s well worth it if you can find someone locally. A little daunting at first but great once you get the technique.
This looks like a great way to get outside and enjoy a new activity with kids. Thank you for sharing! #adventurecalling
None of the kids had done it before so it was nervous excitement for all of them. And they were so proud of their achievements. Lovely to witness! Thanks for teady
Wow! What a great thing to do with the kids (not sure all of mine would go up, my other half and eldest both hate heights) #AdventureCalling
I reckon you’d be surprised. A few of the children were nervous. What was so great was once they’d got the technique they went up and down as high as they liked, most going higher each time as their confidence improved. Brilliant! Thanks for reading
This looks like a brilliant activity for the whole family. There was something very similar at an outdoorsy festival we went to last year but unfortunately the queues were huge so we never got around to it. I’m now off to google somewhere nearby that offers it. Thanks for joining us on #adventurecalling
It’s a really great confidence booster for all ages since you’re under your own steam as soon as you’re harnessed in, therefore everything the kids achieve they’ve done on their own. A real shame this one near us has closed. I think there are a few around the country. Must add the links here to some others.
Highly recommended, and such a great confidence booster for kids and adults alike because once you’re in the harness it’s all down to you! Thanks for reading
Just added links to the post for UK-wide tree climbing companies. Thanks for the idea. Not done before as we were showcasing one company but now they’re out of business.
Great stuff. I’ll take a look.
What a great way to spend some time outdoors. I bet everyone had such a great sense of achievement after climbing so high. It’s a brilliant feeling when you get the chance to push yourself, but in a safe environment. Thanks so much for sharing #AdventureCalling
It was an amazing experience and a huge confidence builder for lots of the children. Thanks again for hosting your fab linky!
We’ve wanted to try this so many times at festivals/events but the sessions have always been fully booked. Thanks for sharing the links at the end of the post – off to see what I can book up now! Love the photos especially the looking down ones 🙂
Great to help. It’s really good fun, nerve-wracking at first for non-climbers but they soon pick it up and the sense of achievement is huge! Love to hear how you get on.