I received a gift voucher for the Velocity zip (does any one do the smaller Titan zip?!) at Zip World, Bethesda as a Christmas present and booked it for my birthday as part of a long weekend which included a trip up Snowdon.
Despite being June, it was drizzly, not particularly warm and a bit windy. I was a bit worried that the booking would have to be rescheduled, lucky, however, it went ahead.

After pulling up in the large car park, the first stop was the cabin selling coffee and bacon batches!
Registration/signing in takes place in the main building. You can also leave any keys here so they don’t get lost on the way down or cause discomfort under the safety harness.
Speaking of the safety harness….safety is emphasised through out the experience and this begins when getting kitted out. You’re allocated a time slot, at which point  you are weighed and given your jump suit, harness, helmet and goggles.
I had brought my own Go-Pro esque camera as ZipWorld provide helmets with attachments for various camera types. Just ask when getting the kit. The helmets are number, enter this in to one of the computers there and you will be emailed a personalised video of your ride.
Once in our outfit, everything is checked and cross checked by two members of staff then you head off to the first of the zip wires, the ‘Little Zipper’. Even this small zip wire was longer and faster than any I had done previously, reaching speeds of around 45mph. This acts as a confidence builder and is a good introduction to  being hooked up to the wire and the braking technique (putting your arms out at a specified point) The Little Zipper itself is great, exhilierating fun.
On reaching the bottom it was on to what resembled an old army truck for the fairly long and very bumpy drive through the quarry. Some cracking views on the way, even through the cloudy gloom. The driver provides commentary on the history of the area and points out interesting features on the way up…..it slowly starts to sink in how high the Velocity is going to be!
At the top, riders go down in pairs and a television screen allows you to watch the previous pair coming in to land.
Needless to say, when your turn comes, all your equipment is checked, cross checked and the staff make sure you know exactly when to commence braking (when you see a particular feature on the landscape)

The ride itself is awesome! Even on a damp, cloudy day the views were fantastic as they zip (excuse the pun) at around 120mph. It’s only when you feel like you’ve stopped when actually you’re doing about 50mph do you really appreciate the speed!

Definitely back on the to-do list again!!