January 2023
Yes I know this one is on the tour bus at the moment, but I just can't say no to an abandoned rollercoaster.
The Visit
Did this as a solo visit one very cold January morning, as I got out of the car the temperature was a bracing -5° which really made me question my life choices. After finding my way around the guard sheep who were residents in a neighbouring field I found myself in the ground, from what I could tell there was nobody else on site at the time and I appeared to have free rein of the whole site. However I had come for one thing and one thing only, The Ultimate. I made my way to the rear of the park just as it was begging to go light and preceded to scale the first of the two lift hills (31 metres in height). Once I got to the top I took a seat on the walkway with my legs dangling over the edge and watched the sun rise over Yorkshire. After this stunning start to the explore I spent a good three hours working my way round the entire ride including the second lift hill (33 metres in height) and the station building. After this I was able to take my leave only to discover that the main gate had been opened whilst I was inside, luckily nobody had spotted be as I left or at least nobody that cared. In recent years the park has changed direction and now targets young families with all off their thrill attractions either removed or SBNO, whilst walking around the grounds I couldn't help but think this is the same direction that Camelot, American Adventure and Pleasure Island took in their final years and we all know what happened to them. I really hope the new owners can make it work but it does seem that catering for all ages is the strongest business plan in this industry.
The History
The area that became Lightwater Valley began life as a pig farm that would be transformed into a self-pick fruit farm in the late 1960s, the fruit picking would become so popular that it started to expand over the following years. Then in 1976 the farm was hit with a severe drouth which had a huge effect on the farm's produce. Unfortunately this resulted in a massive drop in revenue that year, to try and counter this the farm excavated a large lake within the grounds, this lake would eventually prove more popular that the fruit picking business. Because of this the owners would take the decision to transform the whole farm into a full tourist attraction, this included the addition of an adventure playground, canoes, circus and rowing boats which resulted in a huge increase in attendance figures. Over the coming years more attractions were added including fair ground rides and a restaurant, then in 1987 the park received its first roller coaster named 'The Rat' this was an Anton Schwarzkopf Wildcat which was constructed in a warehouse giving the illusion that the ride was underground. This ride proved very popular with the visiting public, almost doubling gate attendance in the first year, a year later the park added a second roller coaster 'The Super Looper' which again proved really popular earning the park the reputation as one of the best theme parks in the UK.
After two successful rollercoasters in a row the owners wanted more, a ride that was so ambitious it would not only become the parks defining attraction it would also have such a huge impact that would stop the park from ever reaching the same heights again. The owners wanted the ride to run through the valley that the park had taken its name from, however this was a significant distance from the existing attractions on offer. In order to get visitors to the valley the designers decided to create a ride that would first take you out to the valley even before it incorporated the valley section. This created one ultra-long rollercoaster, which at the time the designers didn't know they would create the longest rollercoaster in the world at the time. Originally estimated to cost just £1.2 million the company Big Country Motioneering Limited was appointed to construct the ride, they were flying high following successes of some of their smaller rides at other theme parks around the UK. It would soon become clear that their involvement in the project would be a huge mistake, as construction was plagued with long delays and costs escalating out of control Lightwater Valley eventually fired them and turned to engineers from British Rail for assistance with completing the ride. BR's team managed to complete the attraction by July 1991. What had been created was a roller coaster measuring 2.4km in length which was the worlds longest rollercoaster taking the title from The Beast at Kings island Amusement Park in Ohio, United States.
The final cost of the ride was £5.2 million in 1991 (the equivalent of over £11 million in 2023), the ride continued to operate each year until the end of the 2019 season. Along with all tourist attractions Lightwater Valley was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and when the park was finally allowed to open again later that year The Ultimate was left standing but not operating. It would see the same treatment in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons, which cased serious doubts about its future within the enthusiast community. Finally in late 2022 the park confirmed via social media that the coaster had been decommissioned and would not return. This makes sense as in 2021 the park was sold to the Brighton Pier Group (riderater.co.uk/9049/lightwater-valley-sold-to-brighton-pier-group/) who are in the process of transforming the park into a Family Fun Park targeted at under 12's, demolition has not yet been confirmed but is likely to commence shortly. Because of the terrain hugging design of the ride it is very unlikely to find a new home at another park and will most likely meet the scrap pile.
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Cheers for looking 
Canon EOS 70D, 10-18mm EFS
Canon EOS 70D, 10-18mm EFS
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have a good one matey . See you Saturday
