So what did you get up to this weekend? Watch a bit of television, read the papers, do some gardening or maybe be really energetic and go for a walk? Mind you, this notion of a relaxing weekend was not something that BBC Gloucestershire's intrepid flame haired adverturess Anna Pidgeon had in mind recently. When someone offered her the chance to jump off a 120 foot cliff in Bristol's Clifton Gorge she said yes, of course. Good cause The whole zip slide endeavour was for a good cause - raising money for Gloucestershire children's charity The Spring Centre. The organisation is well known for its interesting fund-raising ideas and this year they decided that throwing people at high speed down a zip slide might be fun to raise money! So fearless Anna went along to Clifton Gorge to have a go. She also caught up with Dave Stallworthy, who was organising the event, to find out how the idea came about. Dave explained: "It came about because last year we had a very successful abseil off the Eagle Tower [in Cheltenham]. It was so successful that we decided to do something each year - this year it's the zip slide challenge." Zip slide challenge Dave went on to explain exactly what Anna could expect from her zip slide experience - she would be taken to the top of Clifton Gorge, some 120 feet above ground level. There she would be attached by a harness to a thin wire that ran 300 feet in length from the top of the gorge to the bottom in a 45° downward angle. Finally she'd push off - or make a running jump at it - and come down at quite a speed on that very thin wire. But first, Anna gathered the opinions of some fearless souls who had already braved the descent on the line. First up was Lucy Bailey, and she said: "Scary! It was really spooky but once you're going down you just want to close your eyes and scream your head off. The best bit was in the middle and the worst bit was landing." The next person down was Rhys Dixon, who was still on a high from the adrenaline rush the ride had given him. He revealed: "Everybody should give this a go, I reckon. The best bit was jumping off the top. The legs were a bit twitchy to start with but once you get going, it's cracking!" Time for Anna to have a go After what seemed like a massive climb, Anna found herself standing at the top, overlooking the gorge below - it seemed a long way away! Her initial impression was that it was scarier than she thought it would be, she revealed: "I'm shaking now, suddenly much more scared." Nevertheless, brave Anna pressed on with the challenge and, aided by a chap called Cadman, put on the special harness gear required to make descent on the line. The gear itself looked very impressive, as she noted: "It all looks very complicated, which I hope means it's safe. That's my theory anyway!" Once she was ready to go, she stepped on to the ledge overlooking the gorge and Cadman attached her harness to the zip line. Anna, being the fearless character she is, wanted to go 'nice and fast' so Cadman suggested she take a running start. With a yell, she ran and threw herself over the edge of the cliff and sped down the zip line, towards the bottom of the gorge. The ride went really quickly and, in practically no time at all, she found herself dangling in mid-air at the bottom after she'd come to a stop. There she remained until a nice chap called Tim rescued her with a rope. Anna found the whole zip slide experience really enjoyable and exhilarating, saying afterwards: "That was good fun. I'm shaking less now... I think!"
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What would you say if someone offered you the chance to jump off a 120 foot cliff? BBC Gloucestershire's Anna Pidgeon said yes, of course!
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