Challenge Academy
Baggeridge Park in Wolverhampton
This morning we set off on an adventure in the glorious sunshine and boy were we excited. We headed over to Wolverhampton to Baggeridge Park where the Challenge Academy challenged us to check out their brand new Nets Adventure along with their Ropes Adventure courses too. The kids love outdoors activities like these so were very excited.
It’s been raining for weeks here in Birmingham so we were very lucky with the weather today, the sun shone down on us and it was beautiful. We’d never been to Baggeridge Park before but was surprised to see how lovely it was. Parking is just £3 for the whole day and a pretty little cafe and ice cream shop sits right alongside it. There’s nature trails and a play area filled with all the usual swings, slides and a huge sandpit. The kids loved it, and that part was free so if you’re over that way, it’s definitely worth finding and paying a visit.
We were booked in for 10am but arrived 15 minutes before our allocated time slot to sign in, check out the rules and sign the consent forms. We then got told all about the courses and got kited out in our safety equipment, harnesses and helmets. It was all straight forward.
The standard public package is the Ropes Adventure which costs £17.50 per person and lets you choose 3 activities out of 5 when you get there: You can choose from: Climbing Wall, 3m Aerial Traverse, 9m Aerial Traverse, Powerfan Descender, and the Totem Pole. We were a little torn so we ended up splitting into two groups as Daddy and Ryan choose the Climbing Wall, the 9m Ariel Traverse and the Powerfan Descender whilst Lily and I choose the 3m Aerial Traverse, the 9m Ariel Traverse and the Powerfan Descender.
Both Ryan and Lily zoomed around all the courses and absolutely loved it. They were in their elements up there in the trees, climbing and making their way through the courses. Daddy too had fun taking part, he too found it quite easy. Me on the other hand, I completed the 3m Aerial Traverse course and found it quite mentally tough and decided not to do the higher one afterwards. I’m not a huge fan of heights but I gave it a go, but yes, I wimped out!
I was so proud of my kiddies today, they were so brave up there, they really put me to shame. The Challenge Academy is such a fun place, my two loved it and want to go again.
We got to go round each course several times, it wasn’t just once which is great as you really feel that you get your monies worth then. Lily found the lower course quite easy so she was allowed to do it blindfolded the next time which was great fun, challenging them isn’t always easy but today I really do feel like they got to test themselves a little bit.
The two pictures above were on the lower 3m Aerial Traverse.
Minimum age for this level is 5 years and over.
The two pictures above here were on the lower 9m Aerial Traverse.
Minimum age for this level is 7 years and over.
All 3 of them loved the high ropes courses today but when asked what their favourite parts were, they all agreed that the Powerfan Descender was the highlight. They got to have 2 goes each and all made it look so easy. I know it wouldn’t have been but they all loved it.
After all the excitement of the Ropes Adventure we were then allowed to have a go on their newest attraction, the Nets Adventure. Here you get 60 minutes of supervised fun in their brand new Nets Adventure Park where you can bounce, slide and tackle the obstacles along the course and explore the different treehouses. It’s aimed at children aged 4 years and over and will cost you £10 each for the hour. It’s much easier than the other courses.
After doing the bigger challenges, Lily and Ryan found this one a little too easy but they still had lots of fun doing all the challenges. The obstacles are quite similar to the Ropes Adventure ones but here you have netting all around you and underneath you so you do feel much safer and much more secure. For children who are too nervous or scared of doing the bigger one, this one’s probable a good option for them. I think if we’d started with this adventure first, we could have then built up to the bigger ones, we did it backwards I guess.
Overall we were busy doing activities for over an hour and all had a good time. It was nice to get outside and do something different. It’s a nice, high energy, challenging but fun activity.
We all had a good time, it’s definitely something we’d choose to do and our kind of day out.
We would happily recommend the Challenge Academy – Baggeridge Park if you’re in the area or even if you’re not. It was well worth the half hour drive it took us from Birmingham.
Disclosure: We were gifted our visit today in return for an honest review.
