My abseil adventure

A 150ft cliff, a set of ropes, a thorn bush, and me....when you put it all together you have the makings of a disaster.

Though I am proud to say that I completed a charity abseil down Uphill Quarry with just a cut elbow, a few scratches and aching muscles.

I had organised an abseil in aid of Sunshine Hospital Radio, and in my role as fundraiser this not only meant me taking part, but also being the first one down the sheer cliff face.

Sensibly (or stupidly?) I had not visited the site to see I would be throwing myself off, so when I arrived I was not prepared for the size of the drop.
I so convinced that the instructor was joking when he pointed to the cliff that it took him a while to convince me he was not.
But before I would be attempting to abseil down the cliff I had another challenge to overcome - correctly putting on the safety harness.
Now anyone who knows me will know that a safety harness is a very good idea. Two safety harnesses would be even better.
First I had to master the strange looking contraption, which once I had struggled into it was as uncomfortable as it looked.
After a short practice session on the ground, where I managed to fall on my bottom, we headed up the steep climb to the top.
Putting on a brave face, with gale force wind battering me, I inched towards the edge of the cliff, preparing to descend.
Above all the hardest part was actually taking the first steps off, and I was shaking so much that I could hardly feel the rope.
However after some coaching from the lovely instructor I was over the top, and on the side of the cliff.
At this stage I had a false sense of confidence, and even managed to wave at the supporters on the ground.
The confidence lasted until I was half way down where the cliff side seemed to slope in and I lost my footing.
This resulted in my spinning round, and ending up facing the other way, which highly amused everyone watching.

After a bit of motion sickness I managed to steady myself and carry on, at a much faster pace as I was so keen to get to the bottom.

Once I reached the bottom I gracefully  landed in a thorny bush, instead of the flat, clear ground that had been marked out for us.

The pain from the thorns was welcome though, as it meant I was on the ground, not suspended 50ft up spinning round and round.

Now that I have safely completed the abseil I feel a sense of pride, though I am in no hurry to ever do it again!

Well done to everyone else from Sunshine radio who completed the abseil, and thank you to all the people who came along to support us.