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Bungee jumping has come a long way since the British Dangerous Sports Club first jumped from the 75 metre high Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol back in 1979. Since then New Zealander A J Hackett got hold of the sport, kitted it out with elastic ropes and bungee jumping as we know it was born.
With bungee jumping venues in every corner of the globe, the bid for the title as the highest, most extreme bungee jump has always been much disputed. Most bungee jumping venues in the UK are between 45 and 95 metres high and whilst offering high thrills, they fall short of the record holders.
The Macau Sky Tower in Macau, China has a bungee jump at an eye-wateringly high 233m. The legendary AJ Hackett opened the venue, taking the very first bungee back in 2005, before the jump opened to the public in 2006 using a guide cable system. The operators claim this has no effect on the speed of descent and thus qualifies for the jump for the highest jump title in the Guinness Book of Records.
Bungee jumping purists argue that any guide cable or rope system means it’s not a proper, free-falling bungee jumping experience and therefore the record should go to a rather discreet, but supremely thrilling 220m jump in Switzerland.
The Verzasca dam bungee jump famously features in the opening scenes of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. Bond, clad entirely in black, escapes from Russia by bungee jumping from the top of the dam. It can’t really be called a stunt as the jump was taken and filmed for real, except it wasn’t Pierce Brosnan who threw himself off into the abyss.
There is now a commercial bungee set up on the site offering jumps for 195chf, which is around £145. The site is truly spectacular, as adrenaline seekers line themselves up on the edge of the huge concrete damn ready to jump 220m towards the forested valley floor.
The dam, which was built to create the Lago di Vogorno dam offers views to the Swiss end of Lake Lugano in the Ticino area. No guide system is used and the freefall is as extreme as the rebounds after.
Both bungee jumps vying for the record are very different. One is a sleek tower overlooking the metropolis of modern Macau, whilst the other is an impressive dam built in 1965 in amongst nature.
No doubt the argument will continue into who can boast the highest elastic rope jump in the world, but for those wanting a taste of bungee jumping in the UK that’s easier to get to and less of a strain on your purse, you can buy vouchers valid for 12 months for a bungee jump online from websites such as https://www.intotheblue.co.uk/, one of the UKs leading suppliers of activity gifts.
For more information contact Caroline Face at caroline@intotheblue.co.uk
About Into The Blue:
Into the Blue offers bungee jumping at both outdoor and indoor locations throughout the UK from £49 per person per jump. Most centres operate all year round and some offer tandem jumps as well, at £109 for each pair jumping. Bungee jumping locations offered include Berkshire, London, Middlesborough, Birmingham, Cambridge, Manchester, Sheffield, Yorkshire, Bristol and Glasgow.
About Into the Blue:
Into the Blue is a specialist experience activity gift voucher company that started life in 1996 as an off-shoot of Air Displays International Ltd (operator of the world-renowned Biggin Hill Air Fair), offering flying activities and lessons.
Since then, the company has added a whole range of different activities to the portfolio of activity gift voucher experiences, which now totals in excess of 800. All experiences are available to buy directly from intotheblue.co.uk or by calling 01959 578100.
The company continues to evolve the range and believes that there is a perfect experience suitable for every individual and for every occasion.
