The Sunday Times April 3, 2022 5Travel UK
Above left, Susie
Mesure on the
Cutty Sark, main.
Below, rigging
climbs launch
this weekendTRAVELLINGLIGHT/ALAMY; SUSIE MESURE; NATHAN TURNERABOVE
A
CUT
Y
ou might think there’s nothing
difficult about scaling a ladder
when you’re clipped snugly
into a harness, safe in the
knowledge that an orderly
cat’s cradle of ropes would break any fall —
even if it is 65ft up. But when the rungs are
called ratlines, are made of rope and sway
with every gust of wind blasting along the
Thames, well, that’s a different matter
— as I was to find out, halfway up the
rigging of the Cutty Sark, my hands
gripping the shrouds (the bits of rigging
that hold the mast in place).
I was the first journalist to get a sneak
preview of the tea clipper’s new rig-climb
experience, which opens officially this
weekend. Royal Museums Greenwich,
which runs the ship as a visitor attraction,
has enlisted the help of the urban
adventure company Wire & Sky to allow
members of the public to ascend the ship’s3 MORE DAYS OUT FOR ADVENTUROUS TEENS
QUARRY KARTING IN SNOWDONIA
Yes, they’ve been go-karting, but
have they been quarry karting?
Adrenaline junkies will get a thrill
from the only mountain kart track
in the UK, in a former quarry in
north Wales (it’s also the site of the
longest zip line in Europe). The
slate course — which has chicanes,
banked corners and tunnels —
starts at 1,500ft above sea level
and takes between three and five
minutes to complete on a gravity-
fuelled three-wheeler. And when
you make it to the bottom you getto go up again (on a military
truck) for another descent.
Details From £40 for two runs
(from age 15); zip line from £89
(from age 10); zipworld.co.ukSEA KAYAKING IN ARISAIG
A day’s guided paddling along the
Arisaig coast of western Scotland
will really whet your teenager’s
appetite for adventure, with
hidden beaches to explore, seals
and basking sharks to spot, and
tidal islands to picnic on. No
kayaking experience is needed,just the right frame of mind to
embrace the elements — if
necessary. Half and full-day trips
are available along the coast or at
an inland loch, such as Loch Leven.
Details From £60 for three
hours (£45 for under-16s);
rockhopperscotland.co.ukAXE-THROWING IN YORKSHIRE
If your teenager thinks archery is
a little tame, how about taking it
up a notch with axe-throwing? Like
darts but with extra adrenaline, the
aim is the same — to get the axe tostick in the wooden target, as
close to the bullseye as possible.
This sport, quietly gaining
followers in the UK, began in
America, where it first appeared
in lumberjack competitions in the
1940s. Try the double-handed
overhead chuck or the more
casual single-handed throw on
this farm near Sheffield — just
make sure there’s no one nearby
when you do.
Details From £70 for an
hour for two (from age 13);
ringinglow-archery.co.ukas a result of the cold rather than shaking
from fear.
The rigging is set up for two people
to climb side by side, although groups
of up to 12 can book, provided that
everyone is prepared for an activity that
the small print warns is “psychologically
and physically challenging”. Luckily it’s
also great fun, with incredible views of the
Old Royal Naval College and beyond, as
long as you remember to look out over
London as well as down at your toes.
Despite starting second, my son quickly
overtook me as I quaked midway up,
each new ratline feeling like a victory.
Climbers can stick with the tops
platform, which at 65ft above street level
is positioned just above the first yard (the
spar on the mast from which the sails
would have billowed out). Or they canscale an extra 20ft of ratlines and
shimmy out along what’s known as the
lower topsail. This was the only bit that
my son, who loved the whole thing,
admitted to finding “slightly scary”,
despite all the harnesses and karabiners.
“There was a massive gust of wind and
it felt like I was going to fall off,” he said.
I liked this part best; the ratlines felt
firmer and I could grip the yard while
taking in the sights, which stretched to
the Emirates Air Line cable car one way
and St Paul’s Cathedral the other, peeking
out like a child’s toy behind a skyscraper.
The very best bit comes after about
20 minutes: the descent down a zip line
to solid ground. My only regret, looking
up at the yardarm, was that it was too
early for a proper drink to celebrate my
mini adventure. Yes, it was hard, much
harder than I’d anticipated, but it was a
real buzz. And I’ll be back — my ten-year-
old just has to wait a couple of years.Susie Mesure was a guest of the Cutty Sark,
where it costs £41 for the climb to the tops
platform or £51 for the Plus challenge;
£26 or £36 for under-16s (rmg.co.uk)explore the hull as a child, long before
the 2007 fire that damaged three of the
decks, cruelly during some planned
restoration work.
It’s now the world’s only surviving
extreme clipper: most of the hull is
original, although the masts date from
the 1950s, when the ship was first moved
to Greenwich, and the ratlines are
(thankfully) replaced regularly.
We began under the copper-clad hull,
which is raised off the ground by a
structure that shows off the vessel’s full
majesty. After getting kitted out in our
harnesses, helmets, gilets and safety clips,
we were led through the cargo deck and
out onto the aptly named weather deck,
just in time for some spring snow flurries.
On the plus side the brisk conditions
meant that I could claim I was shiveringIt’s London’s latest
attraction — with ace
views. Susie Mesure
is first up the rigging
of the Cutty Sark
rigging for the first time since it was
moved to its dry dock in south London
in 1954.
“Have you done any climbing before?”
I was asked, as I gazed up at the tops
platform, where two members of the
Wire & Sky team were waiting to help
me go even higher. “No,” was the short
answer, the longer one involving an
admission that I avoid ridge walks and can
find ski slopes unbearable — because they
give me precisely the wobbly feeling that
kicks in with several ratlines still to go.
I even feel queasy watching children
scramble up to reach those peaks I’ve
chosen to pass on. And yet I’ve brought
my 13-year-old son along with me
(climbers must be 12 or older), intrigued
by the prospect of an experience we can
do together now that our interests are
beginning to diverge.
I’ve always loved the Cutty Sark.
All that history: built in Dumbarton in
1869, it was one of the fastest ships of
its time, racing back from China
crammed with tea and hoping to win
the first-home bonus of an extra ten
shillings per tonne for its prized cargo.
I remember summer-holiday visits toI said it was the cold, not
fear, making me shiver