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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Travel
Jeremy Armstrong

"Launching yourself on a zip line off a bridge 100ft in the air makes you feel alive"

There is nothing quite like launching yourself off a bridge 100 ft above the water to make you feel alive.

For a Geordie, it has to be the Tyne Bridge, that towering symbol of Tyneside.

The Mirror was invited to reach new heights at speeds of up to 30mph on a 250 m-long zip wire above the River Tyne.

Part of a drive to attract visitors to the party city of Newcastle, it will have you screaming 'wire aye' before you can say 'Zipadeedoodah'.

Not for the faint hearted, the zip wire crosses the river from the Gateshead side of the bridge.

Jeremy whizzing down the line (Supplied)

My departure was delayed just a tad, which meant waiting as the chap before me had missed his 'landing' and needed a hand.

The seconds ticked away as I contemplated the waters beneath my dangling feet. Then there is a quickening of the pulse before you launch yourself off the bridge's edge for the 30-second pleasure ride.

The bird's eye views of the Sage, Gateshead, the Baltic Art Gallery and Newcastle's Quayside are well worth the leap of faith.

You come in to land at top speed on the Newcastle side of the river, close to another iconic Bridge, the Millennium.

Business development district NE1 is teaming up with zipwire operator Jellylegs to offer this exhilirating experience to hundreds of visitors, tourists, charity fundraisers and Geordie thrill seekers.

The once-in-a-lifetime experience is £35 per person.

It is part of a programme of 110 classes, and activities (all of the others are free) laid on throughout the six week summer holidays in the "Summer in the City' event.

Zipwire and sky dive veteran Ben Whitfield, NE1 Director of Communications, says the action-packed programme is the perfect way to welcome visitors back to the city post-Covid

"The restaurants, bars, clubs, pavement cafes are all buzzing again," he said. "We have had a packed programme to welcome people back and zip-wiring off the Tyne Bridge is the icing on the cake

"It is the first time people have been able to do it here in three years."

You can book an adrenaline-fuelled spot on 27/28 August. Up to 27th August, there are also Twilight zips (between 7pm and 11pm).

Find out more at jellylegs.org.uk.

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