I'll be honest with you, I'm not the biggest fan of heights so I was a bit worried I might have a 'moment' at the top of the bridge where I feel like backing down. Luckily, this didn't happen and if anything I forced myself off the edge quicker than I could think about it!
The time slot I was given was 11:15-11:30am, not too early to mean I'd have to get up at a silly hour, but also not too late in the day so I could get myself all panicky about it - good thinking Sunderland Live, whether it was intentional or not.
The event itself was really well organised, I didn't have to wait more than a couple minutes to get harnessed up and a hat on my head before walking back up the bank to the bridge to the top of the zip wire where I met Andrew who attached the Go Pro to my head (and my hair, thanks Andy!) and I was ready to go.
I only had to wait a few minutes behind one team of people before it was my turn to take to the platform.
When the guy then told me to stand on the green fence (the very edge of the bridge, ooh dear) I knew that was the moment when I couldn't turn round from it. Not that I wanted to - I wanted to prove to myself, and others who doubted me, that I could do it and face my issue with heights head on.
credit- Lee DobsonAs soon as I stepped off the bridge and flew off down the wire, I realised 'hang on, this is actually pretty fun and the wire hasn't collapsed like I thought it would!'. A few spins later and I was heading for the end where a woman reached out to grab me and that was it. I climbed down that ladder feeling pretty shaky but realy proud. To some it might not seem like much of an achievement, but for me to zip wire off that bridge, is quite something!
I want to say a massive thank you to Sunderland Live for giving me the opportunity to take part in the Zip Wire Challenge! I'd really recommend it to you if it's something you've been considering, or even if it isn't. I think you should challenge yourself. Do something every day that scares you, or maybe not every day but every once in a while at least. I know I'm now considering what I could do next. Do let me know if you've got any suggestions - although I'm not keen on bungee jumping so that's a no-go!
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