Gorge walking or canyoning involves working your way up or down a narrow gorge by swimming across shallow pools, scrambling up waterfalls, squeezing between boulders and making short, frog-like leaps into plunge pools.Best during the winter months when river levels are highest, you’d think this challenging activity would be as cold as it is fun. But with a good wetsuit, you barely feel the cold. ‘It’s definitely a wet activity but doesn’t have to be cold,’ says Sal Jefford of ProAdventure. ‘We provide participants with 6.5mm hooded wetsuits, which do a great job of keeping you warm.’ ProAdventure runs a half-day taster course, and full-day and two-day courses. ‘If you’ve not done it, you don’t know what you’re missing,’ says Mark Handford, co-director of Snowdonia Adventures, which uses Afon Ddu gorge near Betws- y-Coed. ‘It’s not an adventure just for kids – it will have all adults laughing and smiling, with their hearts racing.’
Requirements: Equipment and wetsuit supplied. Bring sensible shoes and swimwear. Minimum age is 18, or 14 if accompanied by parent or legal guardian.
Prices: From £44 for a half-day
Contacts: www.proadventure.co.uk Tel: 01978 861912 www.snowdonia-adventures.co.uk Tel: 01286 879044
