Straight Over The Waterfall

Activity: Canyoning

Experience required: None. Training provided.

Equipment required: Old trainings with a decent grip. All other equipment provided.

Fitness required: Moderate - it can be physicaly strenuous scrambling and walking down the river.

It started with a facebook trawl. We've all been there. The endless scrolling, the Insta time warp, the need for a desperate mental break or procrastination from whatever we had planned to do that day.

Well when I entered the rabbit hole, amidst all the cat videos and tik tok dances I see a post made by a facebook friend which caught my eye.

'We are looking for people to be taken out canyoning by trainees. A fully qualified guide will be attending'.

Well of course the only response to that is "absolutely, count me in!"

Next thing I know I'm road tripping to North Yorkshire with a location and time of arrival and no clue of what to expect or even if i've brought the right items for canyoning. After all ... I've never been!

I was super excited and i'm not going to lie, a little aprehensive. Going alone to a new location and meeting a whole bunch of new people never seems to get easier despite how regularly I put myself in these new situations.

I arrived at the base and the first thing I noticed was how much it reminded me of a scuba diving centre. It had the same welcoming front area, chairs and tables and a big screen showing all the exciting things that the company do. I immediately felt like I was in good hands just from the professional environment and the vast array of equipment hanging up ready to be adventured in.

We were introduced to the instructors and team and kitted up with various items. The equipment consisted of a thick wetsuit and over-layer westuit, booties, gloves, harness and helmet.

We were taken to the start point where we were given a full safety brief and a chance to practise abseil techniques using the equipment attached to out harnesses. We were also encouraged to have a little swim around to get a feel for the temperature. It was chilly, not going to lie, but not as cold as expected. We then wandered up to meet the rest of the instructors who had gone ahead to set up the ropes - by the time we reached the top of the first waterfall we were warmed up and ready to go.

Then comes the good bit. Our first abseil. I'm fairly used to heights but I was a little aprehensive, the instructors were so good in their explanations that even if I didn't have prior abseil experience I'm sure I would have been put right at ease.

I wish I could say I looked like a film star glading smoothly over the rocks as I abseiled down but that would be so far from the truth. The slippy algae on the rocks made it almost impossible to get any good footing so I was slipping and sliding all over the place and at the end of the rope you get dunked into the waterfall pool at the bottom. This somehow made it more fun however, as once you stopped trying to style it out you just accepted your fate.

The rest of the experience involve falling clumsily over rocks as we followed the river down, abseiling over large boulders and at one point jumping into a plunge pool which arguably I would say was my most nerve wrecking point.

The 3 hours we spent playing in the world's natural playground were thrilling and exhilarating and the cold blast of the water to the face as we plunged into the pools was better than any morning coffee. Sadly we were walking back up the waterfalls tourist path before we knew it. Changing back into our fluffy warm clothes was heavily satisfying however as we felt very accomplished. We were all very ready for that afternoon pint. It was such a great feeling to have shared this moment with fellow outdoor enthusiasts and without a doubt I would be back here again happily taking anybody with me who was looking for a fun and thrilling canyoning experience.

I would like to say a very welldone to the trainees who performed to a standard where it seemed they had done it for years. I'm grateful that the company offered this free experience and I would gladly return as a paying client as the experience was simply wonderful.