Are you a fan of Steampunk? If you’re not sure what that is, it’s a word that describes a genre and aesthetic that mixes the technology of the industrial revolution with futuristic and fantasy themes. Think flying machines powered by steam engines, fashion that incorporates goggles, gears and gizmos into everyday wear, and adventures that take place against a backdrop of factories, mechanical artefacts and railways. If you like the sound of the last one, we’ve got just the thing for you: the modern adrenaline rush of bungee jumping in the old industrial heartland of South Yorkshire.

The premise of this sport is very simple. You find an elevated platform, secure yourself to the structure with an elastic cord, and jump! It’s a high intensity sport, often described as the most extreme of extreme sports, that triggers your fight or flight response as you prepare to jump and hurtle through the air. When your fall is broken by the cord, the endorphin hit is unlike anything else, and means that - for a lot of people - a first jump won’t be the last. If you’ve done it before, or if you want a unique experience, you should seek out a unique location to complete a jump, and here you’ll find two that are set amongst relics of the area’s industrial past.

Where are the best places to go bungee jumping in South Yorkshire?

• The more traditional to this activity locations in South Yorkshire is the Conisbrough Viaduct, a railway bridge that crosses the River Don outside Doncaster. It’s a huge structure which was built to link the coal mines and factories of the interior with the ports on the Humber Estuary. At almost half a kilometre long, and standing as high as a 12 storey building - 35 metres above the ground - it dominates the landscape and makes a dramatic place to complete the aerial stunt.

• The other option takes into the core of the industrial revolution. Sheffield became known as Steel City in the Victorian Era for its production of the metal, and the most significant installations to be constructed at this time was the Templeborough Steelworks. This is a true megastructure - over a mile long, with over 10,000 workers at its peak of operations and an output of 2 million tonnes of steel per annum. While that peak is long gone, the building remains, and it’s been transformed into a steampunk fantasy world known as Magna. The facility houses several gravity-defying adventure installations, the headline of which is a huge, indoor bungee jump complete with dry ice, flashing lights, and booming echoes.

Kinds of jumps can you do

• Single Viaduct Jump: The classic experience starts when you get on the Conisbrough Viaduct and start walking towards the centre, where the jump zone is located, 150 feet above the river. This walk is enough to put people with a fear of heights off before they’ve even got started. If you can keep a cool head and make it to the jump zone, you’ll be strapped into the safety equipment, connected to the viaduct by a bungee, and then it’s up to you to make the jump. The second you’re in the air, you start accelerating downwards towards the River Don - this is freefall, and it lasts a full few seconds, until the cord kicks in and slows your descent.

- FAB Viaduct Jump: As itf one wasn’t enough, there’s an opportunity to go double or quits on the Conisbrough Viaduct. FAB stands for front and back. That’s right, you’ll complete a standard, forward facing jump, then return to the viaduct and be connected to the bungee cord backwards. As you stand on the edge of the platform with your heels at the edge, you can admire the green, wooded surroundings and the river below, before everything becomes a blur. Both jumps take place from 150 feet and leave you swinging between the arches.

- Indoor Bungee Jump: The facility in the Magna centre in the Rotherham area is a completely one of a kind experience. It’s been installed in a tall central tower of the old steelworks, which you have to ascend on a series of ladders. Dimmed lighting with spotlight effects, smoke machines and a speaker system create an immersive atmosphere that’s enough to have your heart racing before you reach the platform. There are several height options here, from 120 feet to 150 feet, but even the lower ones are enough to prove that you’ve got nerves of steel.

- Additional Indoor Activities: The Magna centre hosts 3 more hairraising rides that you can take instead of this one, or in combination with it. There’s a 250 foot zip line that takes you across the factory floor, an abseil which allows you to descend from the platform but with abseiling gear that lets you control the speed, and a freefall experience. This is a lower drop than the bungee jump, and doesn’t involve the bouncing and swinging associated with it. Instead, you are connected to a specially designed rope which breaks your fall in a smooth controlled way after falling 30 feet, and you just step onto the ground at the end of it.

Requirements to do this activity

Despite triggering your survival instincts like almost no other activity, it is a low risk sport. This is because of the systems and practices in place around the country that operators must employ. The first thing that they do is check that you know what’s involved and ask for your consent, which you are able to give from the age of 16 years old, or 14 years old if you have the permission of your parents.

The other key factor in keeping it safe is the equipment. The activity provider teams in Sheffield and Doncaster use high quality kit, and if it’s the right size for you, you can jump. You need to have a waist that measures between 40 and 125 cm, that’s or 15.7 and 49.2 inches, and if you weigh less than 120 kilograms, or 18.9 stone.

As long as you meet those requirements, and you’re brave enough to complete one of these wild jumps, you’re ready to go! Reserve with us today.