I visited the UK's biggest underground ‘theme park' in caves – it's twice the size of St Paul's
DEEP DOWN I visited the UK's biggest underground 'theme park' in caves – it's twice the size of St Paul's
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MY KIDS weren't impressed when I told them they would be starting their summer holidays in a damp, gloomy cave in the Welsh mountains.
But imagine their faces when they discovered that this former slate mine has been transformed into a haven for thrill-seekers, filled with nets, slides, music and neon lights.
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Bounce Below at Llechwedd is the world's first and largest underground trampoline park
Credit: Catherine Lofhouse
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I took my three sons for a day out there - and they loved it
Credit: Catherine Lofhouse
Zip World Llechwedd in North Wales is a bit different from your average theme park - and not just because of its location.
This vast cavern is twice the size of St Paul's Cathedral and although there are no rollercoasters, it's still crammed with exciting activities from an 18-hole underground crazy golf course and an adventure course that relies on wires, rope bridges and tightropes to a mega zipline above the quarry.
There's even a deep mining tour that uncovers an underground lake at 500ft below which relies on a cable railway to get back to the surface.
My boys were most excited for Bounce Below, though - a sprawling and cavernous trampoline park which features nets set at different levels for adventurers young and old to explore.
You need to arrive about half an hour before your time slot to get checked in, but that gives you plenty of time to discover the site on the surface before you venture inside the mountain.
We found a lovely little playground to limber up little legs after our long drive.
And it's good to see the old mining buildings in use alongside new structures that have turned this slice of industrial heritage into a tourist attraction.
Before you can get anywhere near the nets underground, you need to don a helmet so you're not bashing your bonce on low ceilings and jagged rocks on your way through the tunnels into the mine.
There are lockers to leave your valuables in, so your car keys aren't at risk of dropping out of your pocket and ending up at the bottom of the abyss while you bounce.
The boys had an absolute blast underground, exploring all the different levels of nets and the twisty slides that connect them.
Obviously the caves are a bit cold and damp, so you need to wear warm clothes and sensible shoes, preferably not your Sunday best.
My top tip would be to let everyone else get on the nets first and wait until the entrance way is clear so you can find your feet if your balance isn't great.
Inside the 'world-first' Wallce & Gromit theme park ride
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The 'theme park' also has zip lines and crazy golf
Credit: Alamy
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The trampoline park is deep inside a cavern in North Wales
Credit: zipworld
My littlest lad and I were full of enthusiasm and first down the gangway, only to be bounced over by the adults getting on behind us.
As he jumped up and away, I needed a bit of time sitting down before I found my sea legs.
It was fun watching the boys play a game of British bulldog across one of the massive nets stretched across the cavern.
The lights and music all added to the atmosphere and before we knew it, our hour was up and we were heading back along the tunnels to the mine entrance.
As the temperature inside the cavern remains somewhere between six and eight degrees, it was slightly bizarre to step out into warm drizzle - not something you expect to experience in Wales.
If you prefer to stay above ground, other Zip World sites in Wales, Cumbria , Manchester and London offer attractions like a toboggan ride downhill through the forest, high ropes courses and even a turn on the world's longest and tallest tunnel slide overlooking the 2012 Olympic Park.
If you love adrenaline and adventure, you can't go far wrong with heading to Bounce Below to make a memorable mine visit with your family.
It's the perfect first step towards some of the more extreme attractions that Zip World has to offer.
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