In a nutshell
Throw your family off a cliff into the abyss of an abandoned, water-filled quarry in one of two ways: fly through the air on a 490-metre zipwire at up to 40mph, or be slowly winched 50 metres above the lake on a giant swing and then plunged downwards. Personally, I’d rather have six fillings done with no anaesthetic, but the zip was the perfect treat for my danger-maniac of a 15-year-old son. “Can I do it too?” piped up my usually timid eight-year-old daughter. [Gulp] “Sure!” I said, in my best devil-may-care voice. You can also do axe-throwing (erm, hurling axes at tree-stumps) and coasteering, which includes a go on The Blob, a sort of giant inflatable catapault for humans.
Fun fact
There is no age restriction for the zipwire (as long as you weigh over 25kg); the youngest rider so far was 19 months, the oldest 94.
Best thing about it
The adrenaline rush. Obvs. My grunty teenager was chatty and cheerful for almost an hour afterwards.
What about lunch
You can book and cook a barbecue down by the lake with all the gear and food (a sausage plus a burger with a bun and slice of cheese; adult £7.50, child £4.50) provided, right down to the matches and the mayo. Proper Cornish pasties and cakes from the local bakery are also sold on site, along with hot and cold drinks.
Exit through the gift shop?
No merchandise on sale. The most they’ll hit you for is an ice-cream.
Value for money
£12.50 for a ride on the zip, £15 for the giant swing (£7.50/£10 for a second go). It’s all over in a few minutes, of course, but picnicking on the lawn and wild swimming in the lake are free, so you could make a day of it.
Opening times
Daily 10am-6pm (5pm from October to Easter). No need to pre-book for the zip or the swing. Just turn up and jump.
Getting there
Easiest by car. Menheniot train station is just a 10-minute (uphill) walk away but trains are infrequent. A limited bus service from Liskeard (Monday to Saturday) drops you 20 minutes away.
The verdict
9/10 from both kids. Their only complaint was that it was all over too quickly.
• adrenalinquarry.co.uk
