Regular visitors to Flo's: The Place in the Park are bound to have noticed a new arrival in
I turned up for an afternoon beginners' session, where we started off practicing hooking our knees over a ground-level bar (don't worry, you don't need to be able to do a pull-up - as the website states, all you need is to be strong enough to support your weight on a bar for ten seconds). After working through the basics - "Legs up! Arms down! Stretch out, arch your back! Arms up! Legs down!" - it was time to try the trapeze for real.
A small caveat; as it turns out, I'm not the best person to give an accurate account of what it's like to do a beginners' session at High Fly Trapeze School, because, as I only discovered when I was climbing up the ladder to the platform, I am completely terrified of heights, and the idea of swinging through the air on a bar sent me into a panic that lasted for an hour. However, I seem to be the exception, not the rule - the rest of the class, including three other total beginners, all took the leap and seemed, from my place on the ground, to have an amazing session. (I can also assure any nervous people that the High Fly team are a lovely bunch who did a great job of reassuring me and helping me to calm down, and were very clearly dedicated to creating a safe and supportive environment for learners - my complete failure to do any of the session was all on me).
The other beginners went through several rounds of swinging on the high bar, hanging from their hands and then their knees, before doing a neat somersault as they dropped to the safety net. You're secured by ropes the whole time, so it's completely safe - and, according to one of the people in my group, much easier than it looked. You're talked through every step of the process by the team, so you don't have to worry about remembering instructions as you're flying through the air.
While the session was disappointing for me, this was solely because of my inability to get past my fear - I wish I could have got myself to the point where I was able to try the trapeze, because it looked great fun (especially when you get to try more advanced tricks, like the Frequent Flyer class running concurrently to ours). If you're not sure whether you'd be able to handle it, I'd recommend taking a trip to Flo's and watching a class - seeing how it's done may give you an idea in advance of whether the trapeze is for you. If you have no trouble with heights, however, I'd strongly recommend giving it a go - it's an unforgettable way to spend an afternoon.