Tag Archives: Wales

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Zip World Fforest Coaster

Fforest Coaster

Date

24 March 2019

Location

Betwys-y-coed
SH 80520 57404; 53.10040°N, 3.78598°W

Information

In March 2016 Zip World Fforest opened on the site formerly known as Tree Tops Adventure set in 120 acres of the Gwydyr Forest in Betws-y-coed. The attractions on offer included zip line and rope courses through the tree canopy, a Powerfan freefall simulator (“basejumping without a parachute”), and a giant swing. The adventure experiences on offer were augmented in May 2017 with the opening of Fforest Coaster – the UK’s only Alpine Coaster. On the first 500 metres of the track, sledges are hauled uphill, from where they then make their gravity-driven descent at speeds of up to 25 mph down the remaining 710 metres of the course.

Further Reading

Fforest Coaster (Zip World Fforest);
All posts in the Zip world series

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Harrison’s Garden – Penrhyn Castle

Harrison’s Garden, Penrhyn Castle

Date

4 August 2018

Location

Penrhyn Castle, Llandegai, Bangor
SH 60219 71962; 53.22624°N, 4.09534°W

Information

Harrison’s Garden by Bristol-based installation artist Luke Jerram (b 1974) is an “imagined landscape and garden of clocks”. The ensemble of over 2,000 clocks, many of which were donated by the public, is currently (16 June – 4 November 2018) on display on the derelict third floor of Penrhyn Castle‘s keep as part of its tour of National Trust properties.

The inspiration for the installation was the clockmaker John Harrison (1693 – 1776) who spent much of his life developing a series of marine chronometers in the pursuit of the Longitude Prize. Although the prize was ultimately never awarded, Harrison’s contributions led to major improvements in safety at sea. His timepieces provided a reliable means of keeping a reference time to which the local time, as determined by astronomical observations, could be compared in order to establish a vessel’s position east or west of the Greenwich meridian.

Further Reading

Penrhyn Castle;
More posts in the Penrhyn Castle Series

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