Do I need to be able to swim?

Yes. There are pools and sections to swim, so you need to be comfortable in water. A wetsuit and buoyancy aid help.

How fit do I need to be?

A reasonable level of fitness for the scrambling and wading. Guides set a sensible pace and pick a suitable route.

With a qualified guide reading the water levels and a route matched to the group, yes. Guides manage the flow and the hazards.

Swimwear under a wetsuit, which is provided with a helmet and buoyancy aid. Old trainers with grip are ideal.

Are the jumps and slides compulsory?

No. The bigger jumps and chutes are optional, with a way round, so you choose your own level.

How is it different from canyoning?

They overlap a lot. Gorge walking usually heads up a river on foot, while canyoning often descends with abseils and bigger drops.

Gorge Walking in Cumbria

Cumbria and the Lake District are England's adventure heartland — fell hiking, white-water rafting, canoeing and paddleboarding among the country's highest peaks and largest lakes. Trek the high fells with a mountain guide, raft and canoe the rivers, paddleboard across Windermere, Coniston and Derwentwater, and add ghyll scrambling or climbing to the mix. Whether you want a gentle family day on the water or a serious multi-day mountain trip, North West England's national park is hard to beat.

Gorge walking, or gorge scrambling, means travelling up a river the hard and fun way: clambering over rocks, wading through pools, swimming the deep bits and sliding down natural water chutes. It is the closest thing to an outdoor assault course that nature built itself.

No experience is needed, just reasonable fitness and a willingness to get soaked. Guides pick a route to match the group and the water levels, and the trickier moves and jumps are usually optional, so everyone finds their own level.

The guides on adventuro run gorge walking sessions with wetsuits, helmets and buoyancy aids provided. You will be cold, grinning and plotting the next one before you are even dry.