Highland Fling Bungee

Scottish history states that in July 1689, at the conclusion of the Battle of Killiecrankie, a Redcoat called Donald McBane leapt five-and-a-half metres across the River Garry to flee the Jacobites in what is now known as ‘the Soldier’s Leap.’

Over 300 years later, in the same picturesque Highland Perthshire village, you can roll back the years and do your own jump over the River Garry – with a modern twist.

The Highland Fling Bungee opened in 2011 as the UK’s first permanent bungee site and since then it has welcomed over 30,000 thrill-seeking jumpers. The attraction came to be when a New Zealand-born bungee enthusiast first crossed the Garry Bridge and dreamt that it could one day be a hotspot for adrenalin junkies. Murray or Muz – got the wheels in motion in 2006, and five years later he was open for business.

The fixed platform lies just beneath the bridge, where a 40ft drop awaits those brave enough to dive off the edge.

Now, I know a lot of people will read this article and think that a bungee jump sounds completely bonkers, and that it must take a certain kind of person to be able to do it – a stunt man, ski-jumper or some kind of Evil Knievel daredevil. The truth is Muz and his team have welcomed all kinds of jumpers from a variety of very different and extremely interesting backgrounds.

“We’ve had limbless ex-servicemen and women, blind people and others with pretty severe physical disabilities. Our oldest jumper was a man called Bob Steele – he came to us on his 90^th birthday!

We’ve even had two weddings up here and we now offer a wedding package which is generating a lot of interest. The ceremony is conducted at the bungee, and then the wedding party all get a jump!”

The team at Highland Fling will also be embarking on a World Record attempt this September for the most jumps in a 24 hour period. The current record is 151 and a special friend of the team will be helping them by completing the jumps.

“We had a French guy called Francois who came to see us one day. He paid to do five jumps – then kept adding more! He did 30 jumps in one day!

So rather than one of the staff attempting the world record, we thought it would be better to invite Francois back to help us. We don’t just want to get a new world record – we want to smash the old one!”

Well, it wouldn’t be right for me to write this article without taking the leap of faith with Muz and his Highland Fling Bungee team. So, if this is something you want to tick off your bucket list then take it from me – go for it! The feeling on the way down is exhilarating and you simply can’t imagine the feeling of relief when the bungee springs you back to reality!

Read Gary’s full review of the bungee experience and watch his jump on the Small City website!

Full details for Highland Fling Bungee can be found on their website>>>