Europe's Largest Swing Is A Thrilling Sky-High Experience Over Vibrant Blue Lakes And Chalk Cliffs

If you're someone who thrives on an adrenaline rush, skip the London Eye on your next vacation to the United Kingdom and head to Hangloose Adventure in Bluewater, Kent, instead. The town is home to Europe's largest swing, an attraction dedicated to delivering a hair-raising experience while providing iconic views. Testing your nerves as you swing at speeds of up to 50 mph and reach heights of over 160,000 feet, the heart-pounding ride offers a thrill that is not for the faint of heart. Travelers drive an hour east of London to visit Bluewater, where they trade in tasteful conversations over tea for loud screams in the open air. After all, it is the largest swing the continent has to offer, with a peak height equaling the top of a 22-story building!

You're treated to the best of both worlds from that dizzying height on a swing nestled amongst chalk cliffs as you soar above the Bluewater shopping center and the bodies of water it's named after. While Hangloose is an adventure park with other unique rides, the giant swing sets it apart from any other amusement park, including Legoland Windsor Resort, which reviewers rated as one of the 12 highest-rated theme parks in Europe. Perhaps the only thing comparable to this palm-sweat feeling are the rides at Glenwood Caverns, America's only mountaintop amusement park in Colorado. But even then, the swing in Bluewater is more than 100,000 feet higher than those Colorado thrills.

There are five seats, so you and your entire group chat can experience the stomach-dropping sensation of free-falling thousands of feet in the air. It sounds pretty daring, and according to TripAdvisor reviews, it can be terrifying! Some visitors said they needed the staff to keep them calm once they were all strapped in. However, once you're up, there's only one way down!

"The swing ... Christ! Thought we were going to die, but [in] the best way! Incredible," one reviewer commented on the travel site. In an Instagram post, you can hear one rider utter, "I'm nervous," just before the swing is unclipped and released and he's overcome with fear. Viewers even replied to that video that they don't even have what it takes to get on the swing.

On the ride, you're lifted high and released above Bluewater, which means you feel the rush as you plunge back toward the ground before being catapulted up again to experience a second rush — backwards. It's clear not everyone will be running back in line to go again. And though it probably is the most intense ride at Hangloose, wait until you see what else the park has in store for those looking for a different challenge!

Being home to Europe's largest swing is an impressive boast, but Hangloose Adventure Bluewater offers other experiences that will have you defying gravity — or testing out how important it is. You can do the skydive simulator (pictured above), where you'll jump over a giant fan and experience the sensation of flying, as though you were leaping out of an airplane. If you're trained, you can even fly solo! Hangloose also has a 2,360-foot-long skywire that allows you to zip through the air face-first, like Superman, reaching up to 50 mph. While this hidden gem didn't make the 2024 travelers' list for the most thrilling ziplines across the world, it certainly deserves consideration for a spot in 2025.

If a pulse-pounding free-fall isn't what you look forward to, you can get competitive with friends on the park's SkyTrek ropes course. The challenging obstacles will test your balance while giving a similar escalated adventure. And for those with a fear of heights, there are many less daring alternatives as well. You can swim in the lake's inflatable water park or unwind in the park's sauna to relax your nerves. After a day of swinging through the air and falling off cliffs, this spa-like experience may be just what you need. But whether you're conquering your fears or enjoying the view, a day at Hangloose Adventure Bluewater is one you'll never forget.