Last Updated on 11 June 2024 by Colette
This post features a gifted experience & affiliate links
Ever since our visit to TreeTop Nets, Heaton Park about 18 months ago, the kids have been asking to try out the TreeTop Trek. TreeTop Trek is a great alternative to Go Ape, and certainly more local for us – in fact Heaton Park is only about a 15 minute drive from home.
Whilst I would normally dive in and join in with things like this, my back has been a bit dodgy of late so dangling from zipwires didn’t seem like the smartest move – instead, I kept my feet firmly on the ground, camera in hand. You would think that spectating might be a bit boring but actually, because I was able to follow the first half of the trail, I still felt quite involved in what was going on. (I was jolly glad of my super cosy coat and a flask though)!
Let’s get started with the answers to some frequently asked questions about TreeTop Trek, Heaton Park and then I’ll let you know what we thought of it!
What is TreeTop Trek?
TreeTop Trek in Heaton Park is part of TreeTop Manchester which opened back in May 2016 and has recently become part of the Zip World family Zip World Manchester offers both TreeTop Nets and TreeTop Trek – these are situated in the same place but are completely different activities.
TreeTop Trek offers two experiences – the first is the “Mini Trek” which is set at a lower level and features eight aerial obstacles and five zip lines. The Mini Trek is recommended for adults and children age 5+. The Full Trek takes in the Mini Trek and then continues on to include “next level” obstacles and zip lines (twenty obstacles and fourteen ziplines in total) which are much higher / longer / harder and this is for adults and children age 7+.
Where is TreeTop Trek, Manchester?
TreeTop Trek is situated in Heaton Park itself, near the Northern Play Area (which is the one with the massive slide) – use postcode M25 2GT for your satnav or just search “TreeTop Manchester” or “Zipworld Manchester” on Google Maps which will get you to the right bit of Heaton Park. (Heaton Park is vast and there’s a number of car parks so if you end up in the wrong one you could be faced with a bit of a walk!) Once you’ve turned into Heaton Park from the main road, you will see TreeTop Manchester signs directing you down to the car park as well.
Parking for TreeTop Trek in Heaton Park
The St Margaret’s Road car park is right next to the entrance for TreeTop Manchester and perfectly placed for exploring Heaton Park too. Parking is £2 for 1-3 hours / £3 for 3 or more hours and you can pay for this by cash or card or by using the PayByPhone app. The car park can be busy on a nice day so do make sure you give yourself extra time to find a spot (or just book a nice early TreeTop session!)
How much does TreeTop Trek cost?
Tickets for TreeTop Trek are priced at £22 per person for the Mini Trek and £30 for children or £37 for adults if you’re doing the Full Trek. There is no charge for spectators.
How long does the TreeTop Trek experience take?
You can expect the Mini Trek to last for around and hour and the Full Trek to take about two hours.
What should you wear for TreeTop Trek?
When it comes to deciding what to wear for your TreeTop Trek adventure, think “outdoors” – be prepared to get dirty and dress for the weather. You will quite likely end up dragging yourself on the floor at some point if you don’t nail your zipwire landing so don’t wear anything you’d be worried about getting dirty. You also don’t want anything loose that could become caught.
Make sure long hair is tied up out of the way and remove all jewellery – it is best to do this at home so you haven’t got valuables lying around but the team at TreeTop Manchester will provide you with tape for newly pierced ears etc.
Make sure you don’t have any loose items in your pockets or you might well find your car keys / mobile phone / wallet are lost in the woodland, never to be seen again!
What age is TreeTop Trek suitable for?
The Mini TreeTop Trek is suitable is for children aged 5 and up, the Main TreeTop Trek is suitable for children aged 7 and up. For children aged 5 – 6 yrs there must be one participating adult per two children, for children age 7 – 11 years there must be one participating adult for every three children and for children age 12 and up, an adult must remain on site at all times but doesn’t have to complete the course with them.
Is there a weight limit for TreeTop Trek?
There is a maximum weight for TreeTop Trek participants of 120kg (just shy of 19 stone). The website clearly states that you may be asked to step on the scales – and at our safety briefing, everyone was asked to hop on the scales before they were given their harness. (They were unnumbered scales, but there was a clear mark to show where the weight limit was).
How accessible is TreeTop Trek?
The ground in and around TreeTop Manchester is uneven woodland.
It can get busy with lots of excited people but there’s no additional music or flashing lights. There are no staff in costumes as standard though I’ve definitely seen costumes on their social media so if this is something that could be an issue for you I would definitely call ahead to check.
The nearest accessible toilet is near the farm and The Stables Cafe.
From what I have read and experienced, I think the Trek is more adaptable for disabled visitors than the nets.
If you have more information to add to this based on your own experience of attending TreeTop Trek, Manchester please do let me know and I’ll add it in!
What we thought about our TreeTop Trek experience at Heaton Park:
Our TreeTop Trek session was booked for mid-afternoon on a Saturday in February – meaning it was nicely timed for us to have already had our lunch before heading to Heaton Park. I had been a little bit worried about how busy the car park would be but it turns out it was cold and grey enough that the park wasn’t that busy and there was plenty of space in the car park.
You are advised to arrive between 15 and 30 minutes before your booking to allow for time to check in – due to some sort of admin error / confusion on my part, we rocked up a full hour before we needed to so once we were checked in we popped over the the Northern Play Area where the kids were happily entertained for about 45 minutes.
Before you begin your TreeTop Trek experience, there is a safety briefing – this incudes everyone being weighed to make sure they are under the maximum weight limit, harness fitting (this is demonstrated and then you are asked to help each other put your harnesses on before they are checked by a member of staff) and then a demonstration of how the equipment works as well as clear instructions about how to complete the obstacles safely (eg no more than three people should be on a platform at a time, if someone is stood in front of the green safety pads then don’t set off).
Demi, our leader, asked that the most confident adventurers went at the front and those completing the Mini Trek stayed at the back. Once everyone was clipped on, they were allowed to set off through the various obstacles, with Demi asking the people at the front to stop at specific obstacles to allow others to catch up and for her to support the group as necessary.
Because you are moving around the Trek in a fairly large group, there’s quite a bit of waiting around – waiting for space on the platform ahead of you or waiting for people behind to catch up – but actually I don’t think this is such a bad thing as it means the experience lasts longer and also that you get time to build up a little anticipation ahead of each obstacle. If there was nobody else in your group I think you could whiz round fairly quickly and might feel a little cheated when your Trek was over really quickly (even though you’d have done exactly the same number of obstacles!).
The first half of the Trek is set at a lower level and features eight aerial obstacles and five zip lines – as a spectator, you are able to follow this trek at ground level. Although the Mini Trek is lower in the trees, I don’t think it really feels like that when you’re up there – in fact when we walked back past that section of the Trek afterwards, both Ben and Chlo expressed surprise at how low it actually was. It’s a great taster and a way to build up your confidence ahead of the higher section later on!
Once you’ve completed the first half of the Trek, any Mini Trekkers in the group are directed towards the exit and everyone else heads back to the start point to be clipped back onto the cables and you set off on a different route towards higher, more adrenaline fueled obstacles. At this point, spectating is done from a distance – there are plenty of picnic tables to sit and rest your legs, but I preferred to stand at the fence and watch the Trek as best I could.
Within the second half of the Trek, the obstacles are higher and the zip wires longer – including several that crossed over a small valley which added to the fear factor (or the fun factor if you’re that way inclined!). The second half of the trek definitely pushed Amy’s limits – she needed quite a bit of encouragement and some guidance from Demi to tackle some of the trickier obstacles. What surprised me was that she wasn’t at all bothered by the zipwires, but found the obstacles a real challenge – we kept reminding her that her harness would just hold her and it didn’t matter if she slipped or couldn’t reach – but she had a real mental block on it.
Throughout the trek, we had Ben positioned ahead of Amy with Dave behind her – having Ben there in front of her meant that if she couldn’t quite reach to get her pulley into position once safely on the platform, he could sort that for her. When he’s in the mood he really is the best big brother with all the patience and encouragement she needed to get her through her adventure.
And of course, despite all the wobbles (both mental and physical), the shrieks and the tears, there were also plenty of happy screams and lots of laughing – combined with a real sense of achievement that, even though she was scared, she did it anyway. In that sense TreeTop Trek is more than just fun or physical activity – pushing through even when things are hard or scary, helps to develop key skills like resilience and perseverance.
One of the things that really surprised me during the afternoon, was just how much Chloe’s confidence has grown. Through a combination of her PGL experience, her Y6 residential and I think just generally being more mature, she was like a different child on the ropes yesterday. Previously when we’ve done climbing or zipwires, there’s been a healthy dose of fear from my child who never liked heights but yesterday she was flinging herself off platforms and down the zipwires without hesitation! She was also the first of the three to request a return TreeTop Trek visit!
TreeTop Trek – our tips and tricks for making the most of your day
- Make sure you complete the online waiver for everyone in your group ahead of time or your booking is not confirmed. It doesn’t take long to do but you don’t want to be faffing about doing that when you arrive.
- Wear trainers (but not your best ones!) – this isn’t an adventure for flip flops or wellies.
- Dress for a day outdoors – you don’t want to spend the day worrying about getting dirty. Covered legs and long sleeves are preferable too to prevent rope burns.
- Take a change of clothes with you on a damp or wet day.
- Take your jewellery off beforehand – no rings, earrings or watches are allowed. The team on reception will provide you with tape if necessary so if you’re freshly pierced then you can cover them.
- Leave everything in the car – there is nowhere to store your stuff at TreeTop (unless you’ve got a parent who is simply spectating from below who can be on bag watch) and you don’t want anything loose in your pockets
- You are not allowed to eat within TreeTop Manchester so if you take a picnic, you’ll need to eat this outside of the TreeTop area. There’s plenty of space in Heaton Park itself for picnics. Take something to sit on as the picnic tables in the park are in high demand.
- The nearest toilets are down near The Stables cafe and farm which is about a five minute walk so make sure you go before you start your TreeTop Trek experience and don’t wait until you’re bursting!
- Dose up on antihistamine if tree pollen is your nemesis!
- Consider a quick spritz of insect repellent too!
If you fancy trying TreeTop Nets instead, you can read all about that here.
Read these posts next:
10 reasons you should visit Heaton Park
What’s on in Manchester this February half term?
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