Now high wire centres have their own ape

Go Ape High Wire Forest Adventure has commissioned Exning chainsaw artist Tim Atkins to create a unique series of primate sculptures for 13 of its 17 UK courses - including Thetford.

Tristram Mayhew, Chief Gorilla at Go Ape, met Tim on a chainsaw course, where Tristram instantly appreciated his extraordinary art and asked him to turn his talents to a series of ape sculptures.

It took Tim four days to complete each of the new creations for the award winning Go Ape group. The chimps, gorillas and orang-utans reach between 5-7ft in height, are 2ft wide and each one weighs in at around 300-500kg.

Sourcing the wood locally from sustainable forests in Norfolk and Suffolk, Tim used only wind-fallen or storm-damaged trees for his work. He said: “This has been an amazing project. You uncover all the fantastic knots and gnarled features when working with wood - each sculpture unveils surprising results so you never know what you are going to get until you cut into them - which is why each piece for Go Ape is totally unique.”

Tim discovered this style of sculpting on a six-month cycling tour of New Zealand where he saw bone-carving by hand and became fascinated by this naturally compelling skill. However, it was only when he returned to England, unemployed but very inspired, that he decided to create chainsaw carvings in wood. Tim has now been successfully sculpting professionally for five years.