I’M LYING on my belly, strapped into a hammock-like harness, with twinkling lights ahead and carols drifting in the frosty air.
It would be relaxing if I wasn’t about to be launched face-first along England’s fastest zipline.
This is the Hangloose Adventure Night Flight – the UK’s only in-air Christmas light trail – at the Eden Project in Bodelva, Cornwall.
Most of us experience festive light shows on foot, but Hangloose Adventure has been raising the game – quite literally – since 2023.
Between November and January, thrill-seekers and families (children must be over eight) can soar above the illuminated biomes of the Eden Project at speeds of up to 60mph.
With a route 660 metres long and 96 metres high – roughly the height of London’s Big Ben – it’s not for the faint-hearted.
Keen to check out this combination of adrenaline, festive magic and bird’s-eye-views of the eco-attraction, I check in at the Hangloose Adventure Centre.
I’m joined by my husband, while our four-year-old twins are keen to watch mummy “fly through the sky”.
Family and friends have a viewing area, complete with a TV showing the launch, and free hot chocolate.
My kids run off to see how many marshmallows they can cram into their cups, and I get kitted up.
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First, I’m weighed. My instructor writes something down on a sticker and tells me to attach it to my coat.
It doesn’t show my actual weight but a code (“A19” for me) for staff on the launch tower to decipher.
He explains that everyone gets their own instructions for what to do with their arms during the flight.
I place my trust in the team as they pull the harness over my head and arms, wrap straps round my legs and fix on my helmet.
After a safety briefing, I’m good to go.
The wind hits my face and my heart lurches as I coast through the sky, picking up speed and whooping wildly
I jump into a van for the two-minute journey to the tower. I meet Zara who will be clipped in beside me – the double line set-up means you can take a friend, or meet someone new.
With her fear of heights, Zara has signed up as a personal challenge, and her hands tremble as proof.
Out of the van, we climb some stairs – dramatic music playing as we approach the launch deck.
I try to take my mind off what’s about to happen by focusing on the view – a transformed china clay pit now home to two massive biomes housing rainforest and Mediterranean plants.
They look like two huge igloos glowing red and blue under the night sky.
Lying prone, I’m given my arm instructions: “Arms out wide like a bird, all the way.”
Beside me, Zara is taking deep breaths. I take a giant gulp of oxygen, hear the countdown “3-2-1” and the click as we’re released.
The wind hits my face and my heart lurches as I coast through the sky, picking up speed and whooping wildly.
The hexagonal tiles of the biomes are beneath me, changing from green to pink with supersized snowflakes spinning through them.
I feel like an eagle, spotting lit-up Christmas trees and gleams of gold.
Soon I’m past the lights, gliding over a dark forest then finally come to a stop.
It’s over too soon – but I’ll be riding on this festive high for days to come.
GO: Eden Project
THE Light Trail Night Flights will run from 5pm to 7.30pm on December 12, 13, 19-23, 27-30 and January 2-4.