Go Ape Sherwood — Local services in Newark and Sherwood

31/5/25

We are a young couple and were gifted a Segway voucher- just want to say it was absolutely amazing and 1000% recommend Nathan as an instructor. He was so easy to get along with and so kind, I was very nervous about the activity but he was so encouraging and made me feel at ease immediately. We all had a good laugh and chat whilst on the route- it was nicer as it was just us 3 so we were able to do the trails at our own pace. My partner wanted to go a little quicker as he was confident straight away without previous experience, so after each trail they would go their speed and wait for me but still in eye sight so at no point did I feel nervous or helpless. He was absolutely amazing and a credit to go ape as a whole. If you do employee of the month he should be it lol!

We also did the treetop challenge which was really good, we were cautious at first with there being no helpers doing the course with you but we soon understood that it was better overall to do it independently, there was some people that did have to stop and they responded to the whistles straight away and were very helpful and sensitive to those that decided they couldn’t do any more. A man with a beard I didn’t catch the name of was guiding a young boy down the ladder as too scared and he was speaking very sensitively and motivating that he has done such a good job. Every team member we spoke to were very kind. I think we had billie as a go ape helper and she was very good at the demonstration, very thourough and we felt safe in our harnesses because of her. She made sure everyone kept safe and we enjoyed the quiz at the end of her demonstration as a refresh.

The 2 men at the go ape check in point were very helpful and we had a nice chat with them too whilst checking in, thank you to those.

Do have to pay for parking but that is understandable as the location is worth it on its own with bike, walking and running trails… so on. We were there 9-3 and paid £12 so not terrible considering everything we did there.

Food was good, prices were okay- we did bring our own lunch but did buy a sweet treat before going on the treetop challenge for a bit of a sugar boost😂.

Overall 5⭐️ service, activity and...

I was extremely disappointed by the level of challenge presented by the course. The entire course could easily be completed in under 40 minutes. There was nothing which posed any difficulty. The briefing process took close to an hour which is a huge waste of time. There should be a statement on the website saying that this course is unsuitable for confident climbers as it is too easy and will be boring.

We were also falsely and very rudely accused of trying to redo one of the sections. Having completed section 4 but not 5, our young companion didn't want to do any more, so we went to the end to try and find our friends who had already completed the course so he could sit with them. At this point a member of staff attempted to direct us towards the cabin to remove our equipment, but we explained we were looking for our friends. After looking around for a couple minutes, we couldn't find them, so we headed back to do section 5 leaving our companion to stand below and watch.

We were immediately accused of trying to redo the section since we had walked from the end. We explained what had occurred but the member of staff argued with us for ages before saying "okay, I believe you" and leaving. 2 minutes later, after we had already ascended the ladder and finished the first bit, she returned and said she had radioed her colleague who confirms that he saw us coming down the zip line for section 5. This is a complete lie as we had not done section 5. The staff member insisted that we come back down the ladder because we were "holding up the rest of the line". At this point there were 8 or so people behind us so attempting to come back down would have done far more to hold up the line than just continuing onwards. Those people also confirmed that we had been in front of them on the last course so we couldn't possibly be trying to redo anything. The member of staff insisted we were lying and eventually we had to ignore her and continue onwards. The whole event was very embarrassing and ruined any...

Great activity. My wife and I did the Segway with our 2 teenage boys (15/17) and I did the 'Treetop Challenge' with them too (as the 15 year old still had to have an adult with him). Segway was great, a bit unnatural and weird to begin with, but picked up fairly quickly - there were 6 in our group (I think slightly smaller than usual), and Fraiser our instructor was lovely - experienced and confident and got us all up to speed in the practice area before completing our training on the (public) paths before taking us out of the Segway's training mode - which makes them doubly fast (12mph rather than 6mph) and more responsive to the steering. Great fun. If you are less good at balance type things then try to get trained first as the first people to be trained get longer to practice in the practice area before moving out. Helmets provided. They seem to suggest long sleeves and trousers but it doesn't seem to matter too much (although one guy did fall off when attempting to jump a pot hole on one of the new off road paths - did not need to be jumped, just rolled through - he was absolutely fine - just slightly over confident towards the end). 60mins including training. Treetop challenge was great, fun and slightly scary. 2-3hours. 5 zones I think. These seem to get progressively higher and harder and longer, but all fine. Very safe as long as you follow all the rules. Short sleeved shirts and shorts fine. Landing from zip wires can get the backs of your shoes, socks, trousers and tops very dirty / muddy, so bring a change of clothes to protect your car - especially if it's been rainy. Well organised. 'Sherwood Pines Forest' was lovely with good toilet facilities and cafe and car parking (pay on exit £8 for us - 5hrs) creditcard, cash etc, no receipt. Final barrier will only let you out if you've paid (number plate...