Sky Carver flies in to city park

IT may not have the same wow factor as watching a skateboarder perform on a half-pipe, but a new invention due to be unveiled at an Edinburgh park is set to become a spectacle in its own right.

The four-meter-high Sky Carver has been especially designed to give adrenaline junkies everything they need to mimic the sensation of flying through the air on a board.

The first of its kind in Scotland, the specially-adapted swing allows young people to safely enjoy the sensation of adrenaline-fuelled sports such as skateboarding, wake boarding and kite surfing, while being attached to a four metre high aerial rope.

The invention, created by Edinburgh-based company Russell Play, will become a permanent fixture in Riverside Park, Newbridge, from the start of next week.

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The new attraction, which costs just under 60,000, has been funded by the city council in a campaign to make the park more accessible to youths.

Roy Auld, sales director of Newbridge-based Russell Play, said Edinburgh was the first council to adopt it in Scotland.

He said: "The idea came from the fact that teenagers are so into skateboarding at the moment, but it's such an expensive thing to build a skate park. Because councils are wanting to encourage kids to be physical, we decided to develop a product that would allow people to test their skills without costing hundreds thousands of pounds.

"The Sky Carver simulates the activity of skateboarding and swinging through trees and is really quite physical. It's great fun and it's really safe."

The city council has been funding projects similar to the one at Riverside park since 2007 through the parks and gardens capital programme, spending 5.6 million.

Councillor Robert Aldridge, the city's environment leader, said: " We have invested a lot of funding in green spaces and it is good to see this type of project come to fruition."

The Sky Carver is suitable for young people aged ten and over, but younger children will also be catered for at Riverside park with the launch of a toddler swing and a climbing unit.