Lightwater Valley
Encyclopedia
Lightwater Valley is a theme park in Ripon
, North Yorkshire
, England. The park is perhaps best known for being the home of Europe’s longest rollercoaster - The Ultimate.
Lightwater Valley was founded by Robert Staveley and initially evolved from a small farm attraction. The park features around 40 other rides and also features an adjacent shopping village and restaurant.
The complex is operated by Lightwater Valley Attractions Limited, a division of the holding company Heritage Great Britain PLC. The park attracts approximately 330,000 visitors per year.
In 1969 Lightwater Valley started life as a small self-pick fruit farm attraction which was quite popular with the local community. The farm was owned by the Staveley family, who had been in ownership of the land way back until 1516 when Cardinal Wolsey handed the grounds over to John Staveley. The farm was dealt a crippling blow in 1976 as a severe drought was brought to the region, having a huge effect on the strawberry crop which was the main source of the farm's revenue. Later that year a lake was excavated to help reduce the effects of a future drought, the very same lake that is at the park today.
Lightwater Valley Theme Park was born in 1987 after Rat Ride was built. This was an enclosed roller coaster themed on the dwellings of the sewer rat. It accurately gave the illusion of an underground experience.
In 1990 construction began on the world's longest rollercoaster, costing £5.2 million and over 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in length, The Ultimate was opened to the public in 1991. Additional rides and attractions were added throughout the decade.
Queensborough Holdings were also in ownership of Pleasurewood Hills
Theme Park at the time, which resulted in both parks sharing the same mascot Woody the Bear. The parks were somewhat 'sisters' and operated under Leisure Great Britain of which Queensborough Holdings financed. However, the new owners put the park back up for sale within 11 months of buying it as they decided to re-focus their business in the current market. However, no bid was accepted during the following few years. The park was given a new lease of life in February 2001 when Queensborough Holdings handed ownership over to Heritage GB, a company which was formed by Queensborough Holdings Chairman Kevin Leech and his son Allan. Therefore, the park was simply owned by a re-branded company of its previous owners. Allan Leech bought £4.75 million worth of shares in Lightwater Valley Attractions Ltd which was the new holding division for the park, effectively running the park while Heritage GB financed the initial buyout using Allan's money from Ball Investments Ltd.
In 2009 the park opened the Wild River Rapids, a family water ride. The ride is rented from Mellors Amusements. They have also removed the Hornet's nest mid season, after failing to get the ride to operate correctly after two years of operation. For the 2010 season the park drafted in a mondial top scan as a temporary replacement for the hornets nest but it was only leased for one season and its final day of operation was 26 September. For 2011, the park announced that the go karts would be replaced with Skeleton Cove with 5 new rides from Loudon Castle which are The Black Pearl, The Flying Cutlass, Pirate Swings, Skull Rock and Powder Kegs. Also, a new Whirlwind opened in between The Ultimate and the Raptor Attack.
- Magic Marc's Magic Shows
- Gator Park (selection of junior rides)
The ride finally opened on 17 July 1991 by Frank Bruno
. When opened, it was the world’s longest rollercoaster at 1.5 miles (2.4 km), taking over 5 minutes to ride and costing £5.2 million. The Ultimate has 4 trains in all named after park staff. They are called, Tony’s Tornado, Ron’s Rocket, Mick’s Meteor and Jim’s Jet.
However, only the latter 2 trains are used in present day. The trains also used to have over the shoulder restraints until 1992 when they were removed and replaced with lap bar restraints.
, which had opened in May that year. Police decided not to prosecute a maintenance worker, who claimed that he had only received an hour's training on that ride and had not seen its manual. Faulty wiring had also caused a malfunction on the ride. In October 2004 Deputy Coroner John Sleightholme
at Skipton
Magistrates' Court ruled death by misadventure.
Lightwater Valley's owners and electrician Eric Butters admitted breaching health and safety laws at Leeds Crown Court on 14 November 2006. Lightwater Valley Attractions Ltd was charged with failing to ensure the health and safety of riders, Butters was charged with failing to ensure safety through his work. Both pleaded guilty. A French manufacturer, Reverchon Industries SA, was convicted of two charges of failing to ensure the ride's safe design and construction.
Ripon
Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England. The park is perhaps best known for being the home of Europe’s longest rollercoaster - The Ultimate.
Lightwater Valley was founded by Robert Staveley and initially evolved from a small farm attraction. The park features around 40 other rides and also features an adjacent shopping village and restaurant.
The complex is operated by Lightwater Valley Attractions Limited, a division of the holding company Heritage Great Britain PLC. The park attracts approximately 330,000 visitors per year.
History
Lightwater Valley Theme Park was born in 1987 after Rat Ride was built. This was an enclosed roller coaster themed on the dwellings of the sewer rat. It accurately gave the illusion of an underground experience.
In 1990 construction began on the world's longest rollercoaster, costing £5.2 million and over 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in length, The Ultimate was opened to the public in 1991. Additional rides and attractions were added throughout the decade.
Moving on from family ownership
Robert Staveley handed the park over to his children, Amanda and James in the mid 1990s, but there was a change of ownership from a private family firm to Queensborough Holdings, who bought the park for £5.2 million in 1997.Queensborough Holdings were also in ownership of Pleasurewood Hills
Pleasurewood Hills
Pleasurewood Hills is a theme park on a site between Corton and Gunton, near Lowestoft, Suffolk. The park contains attractions including three rollercoasters. Its mascot is called Woody Bear, who was given a "sailor" look in 2007...
Theme Park at the time, which resulted in both parks sharing the same mascot Woody the Bear. The parks were somewhat 'sisters' and operated under Leisure Great Britain of which Queensborough Holdings financed. However, the new owners put the park back up for sale within 11 months of buying it as they decided to re-focus their business in the current market. However, no bid was accepted during the following few years. The park was given a new lease of life in February 2001 when Queensborough Holdings handed ownership over to Heritage GB, a company which was formed by Queensborough Holdings Chairman Kevin Leech and his son Allan. Therefore, the park was simply owned by a re-branded company of its previous owners. Allan Leech bought £4.75 million worth of shares in Lightwater Valley Attractions Ltd which was the new holding division for the park, effectively running the park while Heritage GB financed the initial buyout using Allan's money from Ball Investments Ltd.
Attractions
Lightwater Valley has over 40 rides and attractions, ranging from thrill rides such as The Ultimate, Falls of Terror for the more modest thrillseekers and small rides such as Dragon Boats for the park's young visitors. Lightwater Valley categorise their attractions into three groups - Jaw Droppers, Whipper Snappers and Nippers. This helps establish what rides are suitable for visitors and the expected height restriction for each. The theme park has a total of five rollercoasters, two water rides and various flat rides.In 2009 the park opened the Wild River Rapids, a family water ride. The ride is rented from Mellors Amusements. They have also removed the Hornet's nest mid season, after failing to get the ride to operate correctly after two years of operation. For the 2010 season the park drafted in a mondial top scan as a temporary replacement for the hornets nest but it was only leased for one season and its final day of operation was 26 September. For 2011, the park announced that the go karts would be replaced with Skeleton Cove with 5 new rides from Loudon Castle which are The Black Pearl, The Flying Cutlass, Pirate Swings, Skull Rock and Powder Kegs. Also, a new Whirlwind opened in between The Ultimate and the Raptor Attack.
2012 Season
The park closed 30 October 2011 to begin on getting ready for 2012. A new logo has been confirmed but it has also been confirmed that there will be no new rides because of the park not being able to sell The Wave for the land where the ride would have been.Ride Key
| Colour | Target Audience |
|---|---|
Roller Coasters
| # | Name | Opened | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raptor Attack Raptor Attack Raptor Attack is an enclosed steel roller coaster at the Lightwater Valley theme park in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom.-History:In 1987 Lightwater Valley constructed an Anton Schwarzkopf Wildcat roller coaster. The ride was constructed inside a warehouse-type building which is hidden by trees and... |
Indoor dark themed rollercoaster. Originally operated as the Rat Ride from 1987 - 2009. | ||
| Caterpillar | A small gentle rollercoaster that traverses a variation of a figure of eight track. | ||
| Ladybird | A family coaster. | ||
| Twister | A spinning wild mouse rollercoaster. | ||
| The Ultimate Ultimate (roller coaster) The Ultimate is a steel roller coaster at Lightwater Valley amusement park, near the small Cathedral city of Ripon, in North Yorkshire England. In 1991 it took the record of longest roller coaster in the world from The Beast at Kings Island... |
A steel coaster that holds the record as Europe's longest roller coaster. | ||
'Jaw Droppers'
| # | Name | Opened | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle's Claw Eagle's Claw (Lightwater Valley) Eagle's Claw is a yellow, brown and black KMG Afterburner amusement ride situated in Lightwater Valley, in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England.Height Restrictions:1.3mManufacturer:KMGNumber of seats:24 Type:Afterburner... |
A KMG Afterburner Afterburner (ride) The Afterburner is a ride produced by KMG, with loose similarities to the Zamperla Nitro ride. The standard version of the ride is designed to travel on two trailers, and features six floor-less gondolas seating four passengers each, while larger static models feature 8 floor-less gondolas.Due to... ride. |
||
| Whirlwind | A temporary Mondial Topscan arrived at the park for the 2010 season, to be replaced by a permanent model a year later due to popularity. | ||
| Black Pearl | A inverting ship in Skeleton cove. Arrived for the 2011 season from Loudoun Castle. | ||
| Black Widow's Web | A HUSS Enterprise Enterprise (ride) The Enterprise is an amusement ride, manufactured primarily by HUSS Maschinenfabrik in 1972. The ride was an adaptation and improvement of a design produced earlier that year by Schwarzkopf, with an increased passenger capacity. Despite not owning the original incarnation of the ride, HUSS was... ride. |
||
| Skyrider | A jazz-themed Chairoplane type ride. | ||
| Trauma Tower | Small family orientated space shot tower ride. | ||
| Powder Kegs | Based on Gunpowder Barrels which spins around. Part of Skeleton Cove. |
Whipper Snappers
| # | Name | Opened | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dodgems | |||
| Carousel | |||
| Falls of Terror | |||
| Wild River Rapids | |||
| Flying Camels | Relocated from Pleasureland Southport Pleasureland Southport New Pleasureland, previously named Pleasureland, is an amusement park located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The original park operated from 1912 to 2006 and was closed by the parent Blackpool Pleasure Beach company due to what they stated was a lack of returns after investment... . |
||
| Skate Karts | |||
| Buffalo Express | |||
| Lightwater Wheel | A central ferris wheel providing views of the park and surrounding countryside. | ||
| The Flying Cutlass | Replacement for the Wave. Part of Skelton Cove | ||
| Pirate Swinger | Part of Skelton Cove | ||
| Skull Rock | Part of Skelton Cove | ||
Nippers
| # | Name | Opened | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swan Lake Boats | |||
| Lightwater Express | |||
| Spinning Teacups | |||
| Mini Ferris Wheel | |||
| Magic Wheel | |||
| Noah's Ark | Relocated from Pleasureland Southport Pleasureland Southport New Pleasureland, previously named Pleasureland, is an amusement park located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The original park operated from 1912 to 2006 and was closed by the parent Blackpool Pleasure Beach company due to what they stated was a lack of returns after investment... |
||
| Dragon Boats | Relocated from Pleasureland Southport Pleasureland Southport New Pleasureland, previously named Pleasureland, is an amusement park located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The original park operated from 1912 to 2006 and was closed by the parent Blackpool Pleasure Beach company due to what they stated was a lack of returns after investment... |
||
| Vintage Cars | |||
| Lady Bug | Relocated from Pleasureland Southport Pleasureland Southport New Pleasureland, previously named Pleasureland, is an amusement park located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The original park operated from 1912 to 2006 and was closed by the parent Blackpool Pleasure Beach company due to what they stated was a lack of returns after investment... |
||
- Magic Marc's Magic Shows
- Gator Park (selection of junior rides)
The Ultimate
The Ultimate was designed by Big County Motioneering and the park’s original owner Robert Staveley. Construction began in early 1990, taking 18 months to complete. The ride was constructed by in-house workers and British Rail who used track supplied from Tubular Engineering, after BCM were sacked due to track problems. The project was over a year behind schedule due to track alterations and trouble with train wheels.The ride finally opened on 17 July 1991 by Frank Bruno
Frank Bruno
Franklin Roy Bruno MBE is an English former boxer whose career highlight was winning the WBC Heavyweight championship in 1995. Altogether, he won 40 of his 45 contests...
. When opened, it was the world’s longest rollercoaster at 1.5 miles (2.4 km), taking over 5 minutes to ride and costing £5.2 million. The Ultimate has 4 trains in all named after park staff. They are called, Tony’s Tornado, Ron’s Rocket, Mick’s Meteor and Jim’s Jet.
However, only the latter 2 trains are used in present day. The trains also used to have over the shoulder restraints until 1992 when they were removed and replaced with lap bar restraints.
The Valligators
"The Valligators" are three green alligator-costumed entertainers who currently act as the park’s mascots and entertain the younger visitors. They are better known as Sally, Harry and Baby Al. They were introduced to the park in 2001 to mark the beginning of a new era following Heritage GB takeover of Lightwater Valley.Accident
20-year-old Gemma Savage died on 21 June 2001 following an accident the previous day when two carriages collided on the "Treetop Twister", a spinning Wild Mouse roller coasterWild Mouse roller coaster
A Wild Mouse roller coaster is a type of roller coaster characterized by small cars that seat four people or fewer and ride on top of the track, taking tight, flat turns at modest speeds, yet producing high lateral G-forces...
, which had opened in May that year. Police decided not to prosecute a maintenance worker, who claimed that he had only received an hour's training on that ride and had not seen its manual. Faulty wiring had also caused a malfunction on the ride. In October 2004 Deputy Coroner John Sleightholme
John Sleightholme
John Sleightholme was the chairman of Derby County Football Club. He is a barrister and deputy coroner, and was nominally made chairman and owner of two-thirds of Derby County in October 2003, in a move arranged by Murdo Mackay. There were also two other directors, Jeremy Keith, who owned one-third...
at Skipton
Skipton
Skipton is a market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is located along the course of both the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire, on the south side of the Yorkshire Dales, northwest of Bradford and west of York...
Magistrates' Court ruled death by misadventure.
Lightwater Valley's owners and electrician Eric Butters admitted breaching health and safety laws at Leeds Crown Court on 14 November 2006. Lightwater Valley Attractions Ltd was charged with failing to ensure the health and safety of riders, Butters was charged with failing to ensure safety through his work. Both pleaded guilty. A French manufacturer, Reverchon Industries SA, was convicted of two charges of failing to ensure the ride's safe design and construction.
Past Attractions
| # | Name | Opened | Closed | Replaced by | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soopa Loopa | A looping roller coaster Roller coaster The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885... manufactured by Soquet. |
||||
| Viper/Zyklen | A City Jet / Jet 400 type ride manufactured by Schwarzkopf Anton Schwarzkopf Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer of amusement rides, and founder of the Schwarzkopf Industries company, which built numerous rides and large roller coasters for both amusement parks and travelling funfairs.... . |
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| Batflyer | A steel suspended roller coaster. | ||||
| Toad Hole | Lightwater Wheel | A Dark Drop Rollercoaster into a pool of Water. This ride was removed due to the fact that it was old and unrealiable. But that isn't all. The boat derailed which made the closure of the ride earlier than planned | |||
| Rat Ride | Raptor Attack Raptor Attack Raptor Attack is an enclosed steel roller coaster at the Lightwater Valley theme park in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom.-History:In 1987 Lightwater Valley constructed an Anton Schwarzkopf Wildcat roller coaster. The ride was constructed inside a warehouse-type building which is hidden by trees and... |
A Schwarzkopf Anton Schwarzkopf Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer of amusement rides, and founder of the Schwarzkopf Industries company, which built numerous rides and large roller coasters for both amusement parks and travelling funfairs.... Wildcat Type roller coaster. |
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| The Wave | Nothing (Area it was at can't be reached) | A Swinging Pirate Ship which closed because of a new Pirate ship (The Flying Cutlass) openning in Skeleton Cove. | |||
| Grand Prix Go Karts | Skelton Cove | Racing in Go-Karts in which you could drive the go-kart or sit in the passenger seat | |||
External links
- Lightwater Valley Home Page
- Valley Mania - The Official Lightwater Valley Fan Site
- Lightwater Valley images on ARDcoasters.com
- Visual & Informative look into Lightwater Valleys rides.
- September 2010 interview with Marketing Manager
- Lightwater Valley at ThemeParks-UK
- Official 2011 Full Review of Skeleton Cove