Enjoy Bristol Zoo's new attraction

Bristol Zoo has announced plans to open an aerial adventure course this summer.

The course will give visitors the chance to swing alongside the zoo's gibbons, gorillas and lemurs.

The five metre-high course will take people, wearing harnesses, on a route around the centre of the zoo grounds.

It will be made up of 17 sections set around tree-dwelling animals.

People will start in the zoo's play area, make their way along the lake, along the outside of the gorilla enclosure, and then down a zip wire on to the main lawn.

The course will include a net ramp, a plank bridge, hanging tyres, looped vines, hanging logs and a balance beam.

Although the course will not take people any closer to the enclosures than the footpaths, it will give them a slightly different perspective of the animals.

Planning permission has now been granted for the new adventure activity, which will be called ZooRopia.

It will cost £250,000 to build, and this cost will be shared between the zoo and Head 4 Heights, the company operating it. It will be the first such course in Europe that is accessible to children as young as five and set within a zoo.

Jo Gipps, director of Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: "This is sure to be an exciting new activity, offering fantastic views over the zoo, too. We are very much looking forward to opening ZooRopia to our visitors this summer."

Participants will use an innovative, continuous system so that, once fastened into a harness by an instructor, the adventurer remains secured to a rope and completely safe at all times. It also gives participants the ability to move freely and at their own speed.

Rod Baber, managing director of Head 4 Heights, said: "ZooRopia at Bristol Zoo is the first ropes course of its kind to date. It will offer a fantastic opportunity for young and old alike to experience moving around like primates."

ZooRopia is suitable for visitors aged five and over, but there is no maximum age limit. Participants must be over 1.1 meters tall.

ZooRopia is designed so that adults and childrencan take part (charges and restrictions will apply). The course will be staffed by trained instructors at all times.

Work constructing ZooRopia is now under way, with an expected opening in late June.

Head 4 Heights is now looking for a number of instructors to staff the ropes course. The role includes preparing customers for the activity, safety briefing, fitting harnesses and personal protective equipment to the participants, and providing support during the activity.

Applicants must be over 18 years old. For further information about working on ZooRopia contact Rod Baber by email on info@head4heights.net or call 01285 770007