Zip World Penrhyn Quarry

Penrhyn Quarry was the largest slate quarry in the world in the nineteenth century, cut into the mountainside above Bethesda in terraces over three hundred metres deep, and it still works on a reduced scale. Zip World opened Velocity here in 2013, a line running a kilometre and a half across the quarry with riders flying face down in a harness; it reaches speeds above a hundred miles per hour, which makes it the fastest zip line in the world and the longest in Europe. Four lines run side by side so groups fly together. A smaller line, Velocity 1, serves as an introduction before the main flight. The quarry floor holds a lake of striking blue-green water, and the terraces and spoil runs are visible for the whole descent. Weight and height limits apply.

What you actually see

• The Velocity line - a kilometre and a half at over a hundred miles per hour.
• The quarry terraces - three hundred metres of worked slate below the flight.
• The blue lake - flooded workings on the quarry floor.
• The four parallel lines - groups flying side by side.

When to go

April to October gives the most reliable operation; the line runs year-round but closes in high wind and lightning, which is common in Snowdonia. Booking ahead is required and slots go early in school holidays.

Honest expectations

Cancellations for weather are frequent and happen at short notice. Strict weight and height limits exclude some people, and these are enforced on arrival. It is expensive for a flight lasting under a minute, and the site is a working quarry with industrial surroundings.

Nearby

Bethesda is below the quarry; Snowdonia and the Ogwen valley lie south.