If you don’t fear heights, and love the outdoors, there’s some good news in store. It comes in the form of a new zipline trail in Dublin mountains, and just in time for summer (judging by the recent weather, not far away at all!).
Travel2ireland attended the launch of the new Zip Trail – a brand new zipline course based at Coillte’s Tibradden Wood, in the Dublin Mountains. It’s the newest development by Zipit Forest Adventures in an investment of just over €200,000.
So what was it like? You can watch our TikTok below, and decide for yourself, but here are all the details you should know.
18 treetop elements and 12 ziplines
The new course at Zipit Forest Adventures in Tibradden Wood consists of 18 treetop elements including 12 ziplines totalling over 500 metres in length. It will give visitors a different type of wild and wonderful experience.
Suitable for anyone aged 12 or older, this immersive activity promises one thing – fun in the forest with family and friends! Zip Trail can also be booked as an add-on for just €10 per person when purchasing a session on the high ropes course.
The concept of Ziplining was a mode of transport in alpine and jungle regions. Yet it was only in the 1970’s that the experience caught on with adventurer Donald Perry’s inventive way of exploring the Costa Rican Jungle. The first commercial zipline opened in Costa Rica in 1995, and now Ziplining has become part of experiential tourism worldwide.
Launch day talks and quotes
Minister for Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, TD, officiated at the opening of Zip Trail.
She said, “There is increased demand for outdoor activities among visitors and communities alike, and improving our outdoor experiences will directly enhance the quality of all that Ireland has to offer. Covid 19 has accelerated this by increasing everyone’s appreciation of the outdoors and changing the way we socialise. The Zipit Trail will contribute by allowing people to experience the outdoors and our forests in particular in a fun and engaging way.“
The launch was also attended by Sakinah Brennan Environmental, Social Governance Director at Coillte who said, “Coillte is the largest provider of outdoor recreation in Ireland, with 12 forest parks, 260 recreational forests and over 3,000km of marked walking trails. The Dublin mountains forests are among our busiest and most loved recreational forests in Ireland, and we are delighted to be part of the Dublin Mountains Partnership to encourage responsible use of this important resource. Coillte has an ambition to double the number of its recreation areas across Ireland. Working together with communities and trusted partners like Zipit, we hope to continue to improve our forest recreational areas for the benefit of local communities.”
Zipit Forest Adventures, with courses in Tibradden Wood, as well as in Coillte forests in Cork and Roscommon, is owned and managed by Cool Running Events Ltd. – an Irish company specialising in recreational experiences, based in Cork, and run by Bill Cremin.
Bill Cremin said, “Recreation trends all over the world indicate that people of all ages are looking for immersive experiences and experiences that offer great value. Being able to offer both to our visitors is extremely important to us. Ziplining is a growing tourist attraction worldwide and is a relatively non-intrusive way to allow us to enjoy our incredible mountains and forests here in Ireland. We expect that our new Zip Trail, which is a faster course with less challenges and just as much enjoyment, perfectly complements our high ropes course experience and at a lower cost.”
He continued, “I should also say here that we have built up excellent competencies in our staff skill sets, both here and at our other Zipit sites in Cork and Roscommon. It is great to see so many skilled staff, working in outdoor tourism now. We are looking forward to a great year in tourism again, with our new Zip Trial addition to Zipit Forest Adventures.”
Everyone present at the launch was pretty excited and the general mood was one of great fun and excitement. We chatted with the guests who all seemed to think that this was a great opportunity to explore the outdoors with friends and family.
Let us know if you are thinking of heading out to the Dublin mountains to try this new adventure too. If you do, tag us in your pictures please!