Living the high life

Available for over a year

Some people enjoy life on the edge and for highliners it’s an edge they cross – quite literally. Highlining involves walking on a line (think slack lining but higher up) anchored at two points high above a gap such as between mountains, buildings or bridges, while harnessed to a back-up safety line. It is both spectacular to see and do, but on the face of it incredibly dangerous. Scottish highliner Owen Hope tells Sportshour’s Katie Smith what life on the line is like and how any risks are minimized by a strict safety routine. Image: Lizzie Wood highlining the Old Man of Hoy, off the north coast of Scotland. (Image: Owen Hope)