€500,000 Skywalk Challenge officially opens at Castlecomer Discovery Park
Castlecomer Discovery Park’s €500,000 Skywalk Challenge has now officially opened and the world-class, high ropes adventure course is already making a significant contribution to rural tourism, revenue and employment in Kilkenny and the Ireland’s Ancient East region.
The Skywalk Challenge is the latest adventure offering at Castlecomer Discovery Park. It extends from 3 to a jaw-dropping 11 metres above ground and offers visitors an opportunity to navigate over 40 games and zips on three levels of ariel fun and adventure.
The Skywalk Challenge is tailored for thrill-seekers and adventurers from 7 years of age upwards and the exhilarating course typically takes up to two hours to complete. The high ropes adventure also now includes a new Free Fall activity for the braver than brave – a mini bungee jump from 11 meters! The popular Climbing Wall has also been upgraded and now provides visitors with over three hours of activity and fun.
The incredible adventure offerings are the latest in a series of investments made by the not-for-profit Castlecomer Discovery Park social enterprise. Their mission is to create jobs, develop rural tourism and regenerate the local economy. It’s working and Castlecomer Discovery Park is proud to report that last year alone, it attracted over 170,000 visitors. The Park has created 28 full-time equivalent jobs and in 2022 it also contributed almost €700,000 in wages for the local economy.
Castlecomer Discovery Park is supported by Kilkenny LEADER Partnership (KLP) and the LEADER Rural Development Programme and to mark their support for the thriving social enterprise, Denis Drennan, Chairman of KLP officially opened the Skywalk Challenge on Tuesday 11th of July.
Declan Rice, KLP Chief Executive, commended the dedicated and hard-working Discovery Park team on their continuous efforts. “Kilkenny LEADER Partnership is proud to have supported Castlecomer Discovery Park from the very beginning. It has been a phenomenal success from the outset and is a shining example of the benefits of investing in rural tourism for not just Castlecomer itself but for the entire region. We are delighted to support this latest development. It secures the Park’s position as a leading local, national and international tourism destination and attraction well into the future.”
Sustainable rural development is at the heart of the Discovery Park project. Local businesses are benefiting from the spin-off and the volume of visitors coming to the centre is creating revenue and further jobs in local supermarkets and garages and generating additional bed nights and dining revenue at the nearby Avalon House Hotel, Denis Drennan, Kilkenny LEADER Partnership Chairman said as he officially opened the attraction.
“This social enterprise is a shining example of how a community can come together to regenerate the local economy. Kilkenny LEADER Partnership is delighted to support projects that create change. We were involved in the funding of the very first adventure offerings at the park.
“We are thrilled to see it flourish and grow and adapt its offering to the evolving needs of the tourism, leisure, corporate and hospitality sectors. The hard work has paid off with over 170,000 visitors per year. As well as being a great tourist attraction, Castlecomer Discovery Park continues to be a great recreational resource for the locals, for team-building exercises and so much more,” Denis Drennan concluded.
- For more information on The Skywalk and for bookings, visit discoverypark.ie/booking
