Accrobranche

Last June - Simon and John came over to visit. Since Simon is a pretty energetic character I decided that we would have to think of something active to do to keep him busy.

A popular pastime in France is 'AccroBranche'. The name is taken from a shortened form of the word 'Accrocher' which means 'hang on to', and 'Branche' which is where we get our word 'branch' from. Thankfully, while Accrobranche does involve climbing trees you have more than Branches to hang on to.

When you arrive at FranceAventures they provide you with an abseiling harness with two climbing clips, and a zip-line pulley. You grab your pair of gloves, head for the forest

After safety briefing, you follow a short training course where you are observed by a member of staff to make sure you have understood and will comply with the training.

There are a series of courses with increasing levels of difficulty. The hardest for me was climbing the nets. It looks simple, but it's extremely taxing.

A view of the Saône from the canopy near Fourvière