Gripped London — Attraction in London

My niece and I did the high ropes experience yesterday and although she enjoyed it and had fun (which is what I ultimately wanted for the experience), I do have some feedback and improvement ideas -

Feedback: although it was a very varied course and reasonably priced for the amount of activities, there are some real safety concerns - the site was very short staffed and there was a lack of instructors around the course (although they were all very good and calmed me down/helped me with understanding, encouragement and patience when I was panicking/nervous during the course) but initially there were no instructors around when I called for help numerous times and when we pressed the emergency button a few times. Also there were no instructors to help remove harnesses at the end. Even the instructors who helped me during the course said they were short staffed but I did notice they were standing around chatting at points rather than doing rounds of the course or checking participants were okay. We had to wait at least 15 mins at one point for help and were stuck at a platform for some time. Luckily neither of us were seriously injured.

Spectator tickets were £3 each but you're basically only paying for a picnic table, the rest of the course is not visible and after a few hours our family were starting to worry. The duration of the "easier" (it was not very easy!) course took a lot longer with many zip lines, more than we expected. The safety and initial demonstration/practice course took around 40 mins at the start which I'm not sure is accounted for in the overall course duration stated on the website, but I understand these timings can vary. I also think the website needs to be clearer that upper body strength is a must and how physically challenging this course is!

Improvement ideas: more staff are needed for safety purposes. Written instructions/prompts (especially for operating the junctions in particular) would be beneficial at each platform, and emergency buttons should be at every platform too, maybe a phone too. Emergency whistles should be given to people participating or a similar aid just to ensure better safety and communication.

Suggestion: could an instructor lead a course for very beginners or less confident participants (like me) - perhaps there could be a more 'beginner friendly' course option?

All in all it was fun at parts and my niece really enjoyed it, but there was a lot of waiting time, often due to waiting on staff to assist. There was also no way to communicate that we were okay or how much longer we would be to our family. Spectator tickets should not be charged either, as there are hardly any viewpoints or accessible areas to...

★☆☆☆☆ If zero stars were possible, that’s what this place would get.

My daughter went to Gripped today and the entire experience was a mess from start to finish. It was disorganised, understaffed, and completely lacking in care for the children involved.

She’s been climbing forever and has done similar activities with no problem — but today, she wasn’t allowed to do any of the tree or even more basic courses. After one minor mistake during the safety briefing of a test the kids were unaware they needed to do, she was pulled out and not even given a second chance. When I asked if she could redo it, I was told they were “understaffed.” An unacceptable excuse for what’s supposed to be a professional operation.

On another note, the queues were huge, and the safety instructions dragged on for so long that many of the girls didn’t even get a chance to participate. So even if she was allowed up, she wouldn’t be able to do it. Even worse, other groups were allowed to jump ahead in line, leaving the school children waiting around for hours with nothing to do. These kids spent nearly the entire day sitting on the grass in the heat, visibly upset - simply because of the very poor planning and terrible management.

When I drove over 90 minutes to speak to the manager in person, she refused to speak to me. That tells you everything you need to know about how little they care. Isn’t the whole purpose of being a manager to hear people out and try to solve their problems? A total disgrace - and shame on the manager, who couldn’t even be bothered to hear the school’s or my concerns.

No refund. No apology. Just a wasted day and a very upset child. Never have I given a one star to anything so I think this pretty much sums up this horrendous day!

This place should not be hosting kids, families or school groups. It’s unprofessional, unprepared, and lacks basic respect for children of all afé and parents. There are far better activity centres in and around London — don’t waste your time...

A Disgraceful Experience from Start to Finish!

If zero stars were an option, that's what this place deserved. My daughter's visit to Gripped was a complete disaster, marked by disorganization, severe understaffing, and a shocking lack of care.

My daughter, a fit climber, was unfairly excluded from all courses after a minor mistake during a safety test she didn't know she had to take. When requested a retest, the staff threatened to kick her out of the park and cited being "understaffed" as an excuse—a completely unacceptable reason for a supposedly professional establishment.

Beyond the safety issues, the park was a chaotic mess. Enormous queues and drawn-out safety briefings meant many kids, including my daughter's group, lost hours of their day. Despite this, other groups were allowed to cut the line, leaving the school children to wait for hours in the heat with nothing to do. The poor planning and terrible management left these kids visibly upset.

To make matters worse, when I travelled over 90 minutes to speak with the manager, she refused to meet with me. This tells you all you need to know about their lack of concern. A manager's job is to address customer problems, not ignore them. The total lack of a refund or even an apology for a wasted day and a very upset child is a disgrace.

I have never given a one-star review before, which speaks volumes about how bad this experience was. This venue is unprepared and unprofessional, showing a complete lack of respect for children and families. Save your time and money - there are far better activity centres in and...