Thorpe Park is one of the greatest theme parks in Europe, let alone the UK. It’s packed with notorious rides like the floorless Nemesis Inferno and the UK’s fastest roller coaster Stealth – which launches riders up to 205 feet (62m) and reaches speeds of 80 miles per hour (129km/h). The park is also famed for its fright nights at Halloween, where visitors brave spine-tingling horror mazes. For less seasonal scares, look out for new coaster Ghost Train (replacing the seven-year-old Derren Brown's Ghost Train), set to hit the park sometime in spring 2023.
Spanning 375 acres of the North Yorkshire countryside, Flamingo Land ticks all the boxes for a family adventure, with an extensive theme park, a resort village and even a zoo. Among the nine rides is the UK's steepest roller coaster: Mumbo Jumbo plunges downwards at a terrifying 112 degrees, with a stomach-flipping G-force in excess of four. Pictured is Velocity, a motorbike launch coaster with a dizzying acceleration speed – 0-60 miles per hour (97km/h) in just 2.8 seconds.
The biggest theme park in Wales has everything from toddler-friendly rides to some of the UK’s most unique coasters. And Speed – the steepest, fastest ride in Wales – is not for the faint-hearted, with a 90-degree chain lift hill and a nail-biting 97-degree first drop. Oakwood is also home to one of the world’s top-rated wooden roller coasters, Megafobia. It's currently closed for retracking, but should run even faster when it reopens in May 2023.
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You're unlikely to get bored at Adventure Island, with its 40-plus rides and attractions, including one of the UK’s steepest roller coasters. Situated next to Southend Pier, the Rage roller coaster, with its sheer vertical drop, is the headline attraction. There's wholesome family fun to be had at the site too: you can enjoy a traditional helter-skelter, which the park says is one of its "oldest and most beloved" rides. Look out for new attraction The Screature – an orbital ride that throws passengers up, down and sideways – which replaced 21-year-old park veteran Vortex last year.
Renowned for being one of the UK’s finest theme parks, Alton Towers is an adrenaline junkie’s paradise: your palms will be sweating and your heart pounding as you brave some of the scariest rides in the country. Oblivion lives up to its intimidating name with an 180-foot (55m) vertical drop. Meanwhile, Rita is nicknamed ‘The Queen of Speed’ as she shoots to 60 miles per hour (97km/h) in 2.5 seconds with 4.7 G-force. Visit after 18 March to experience all-new ride The Curse, a hair-raising dark ride that winds through the haunted halls of Alton Manor.
Believe it or not, there’s more to Staffordshire’s theme park scene than Alton Towers. Drayton Manor Resort is home to one of Europe’s only stand-up roller coasters, Shockwave, which subjects speed-demons to a G force of four and rises to 121 feet (37m). Or if you've got little ones in tow, make a beeline for Thomas Land, dedicated to the famous tank engine. The park is currently undergoing a major makeover, closing two long-serving rides to make room for a new 'Vikings' area (which opened last year), and an as yet unnamed 'family thrill coaster' in 2024.
This one's squarely geared towards families, and you'll find more than 40 rides and attractions tailored to kids under 12 at this cheerful park. Youngsters can brave the awesome tree-top adventure course, suspended 39 feet (12m) above the ground and spanning more than 21,500 square feet (2,000sqm) of woodland, or discover play areas, falconry shows and adventure golf.
Branding itself Northern Ireland's "best-kept secret", Let's Go Hydro rewards visits with a floating aqua park, plus opportunities for cable water sports, kayaking, canoeing and paddle boarding. If you want to make a weekend of it, you can overnight in cute glamping pods, safari tents or house boats. Best of all, it's just a 20-minute hop from Belfast.
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What started out with a single ride more than 120 years ago has evolved into one of the UK's best-loved amusement parks. It's now spread across an exhilarating 42-acre site on the seafront and includes the country's tallest coaster. The Big One is a daunting sight: it rises to a whopping 213 feet (65m) and reaches blistering speeds of 74 miles per hour (119km/h). Blackpool Pleasure Beach also holds an array of records, including the country’s largest collection of wooden roller coasters. Even now the park is continuing to innovate: its revamped dark ride Valhalla is expected to re-enter the fray some time in 2023.
If you thought the famous Blackpool Pleasure Beach was the only thrill-seeking attraction in town, you thought wrong. Step inside the UK's largest indoor waterpark and you'll be teleported to a land with a tropical 28°C (84°F) climate and a giant indoor roller coaster-turned-water slide. Little ones can enjoy a play area with a giant tipping coconut that spontaneously spills gallons of water.
You’ll get incredible views out to sea from the UK’s third tallest roller coaster, but you'll have to brave a whirlwind of inversions at high speed. The Odyssey is Fantasy Island’s flagship ride and reaches a hefty G-force of 4.8. There's a good mix of extreme thrills and more child-friendly attractions, while Europe's largest seven-day market operates here too.
Landmark Forest proudly touts itself as "Scotland's No.1 Theme Park" and it's not all about roller coasters here. As its name suggests, you'll find the site enveloped in woodland in the Scottish Highlands village of Carrbridge. Between the trees, there are three water coasters, a high ropes course, a climbing wall and a maze. The park's newest attraction, NetworX, is the first aerial net challenge in Scotland, and opened to rave reviews at the end of last year.
The swirling loops and dizzying heights of Wipeout are the standout attraction at this Suffolk stalwart, taking riders some 121 feet (37m) into the sky before rocketing around the track at 50 miles per hour (80km/h) – and then doing it all again. Backwards. Aside from the boomerang-style roller coaster there are more than 30 other rides, including a log flume and drop tower. Visitors can also enjoy a number of shows at the park, which is set within 50 acres of enclosed coastal parkland.
You'll find yourself on a tropical adventure at Waterworld, a sprawling indoor aqua park. Start with Tornado Alley, which plunges riders down the UK's first ever trap-door water flume at 25 miles per hour (40km/h). If you still need an adrenaline fix, make a splash with Cyclone, which bundles riders into a rubber ring before shooting them into turbulent waters. The park is open all year round.
Sometimes you just can't beat a good old-fashioned fairground. And nowhere does a fairground better than Barry Island Pleasure Park. Scratch that nostalgia itch by riding on the Ferris wheel, waltzer and cup and saucers or hopping on the dodgems. The park's newest and highest ride is still less than a year old: an enormous swing ride named Aerospace that sends visitors hurtling 214 feet (65m) into the air.
If you’ve got both toddlers and older children to keep entertained, then Gulliver’s World has got you covered. The theme park is aimed at children aged two to 13, with rides, attractions and shows, plus a soaring wooden roller coaster, Antelope. There are sister parks in Bath, Rotherham and Milton Keynes too.
LEGOLAND is an all-time classic that's an absolute must for families with young children. It's got more than 55 rides and attractions and the 12 themed lands are sure to set kids' imaginations racing: whether they're flying through the treetops to escape dragons (on The Dragon roller coaster), riding the rapids with a Viking fleet (Viking River Splash), or joining LEGO divers on a magical underwater journey (Deep Sea Adventure). New for 2023 is the LEGO Ferrari Build & Race Experience, allowing young 'uns to build their own Ferrari racers and then drive them on tracks both real and virtual.
This spot was named one of the best amusement parks in Europe for 2022 by Tripadvisor, and it's hard to argue. Sundown Adventureland prides itself on being a top theme park for kids aged under 10, and it's got a huge array of child-friendly activities – from the Jolly Pirate Boat Ride and the Angry Birds Activity Park to the Jack and the Beanstalk Cottage.
Surrounded by picturesque Lake District landscapes, the UK’s biggest Center Parcs has everything from hair-raising rides to soothing natural beauty, with a wildlife sanctuary home to endangered red squirrels. Relax in Scandinavian-style lodges tucked away among the tall pine trees or venture out for some watery thrills. Opening in March 2023, the brand-new Tropical Cyclone ride sees you raft down 328 feet (100m) of turns and gravity-defying drops at the Subtropical Swimming Paradise water park.
Travel back in time and ride a thundering wooden roller coaster that’s been running since it was built in 1932. Simply named Roller Coaster, it’s the UK’s second tallest and second fastest wooden coaster, and an operator controls the brakes as there are none on the track. There are also 30 other large rides at the park – including upside-down 16-seater swing ride Pendulum, which opened in 2022 – as well as children's entertainment and arcades.
Little Peppa Pig fans and young-at-heart adults will be in their element at this enormous theme park spanning 140 acres. With a whole mini-world themed entirely around the TV series, the site includes some 70 attractions, including mellow rides, an indoor play zone and a water splash park. It's rated one of the UK's top family theme parks on Google too. Look out for the 40th Anniversary Percy Sculpture Trail, which starts on 1 April.
This countryside aqua park has some seriously thrilling inflatable obstacles. You'll need to bounce on trampolines, swing along monkey bars and clamber over walls without falling in – unless you want to, of course. When you’re done with the inflatables, you can enjoy wakeboarding, kayaking, paddle boarding and open water swimming, before huddling around a fire at the campsite in the woods.
Spread across 100 acres of glorious countryside, the biggest theme park in the southwest of England has more than 60 rides and attractions. It's often been voted 'the best day out in Devon' and there's plenty of family fun to be had – from shows at the giant big top tent to pirate-themed attractions and water rides.
Whether you spend the day leaping around the giant inflatables course, or ziplining over the 11-acre freshwater lake, this large aqua park guarantees thrills. If nothing else, guests are dared to try and tame ‘The Beast’, a mammoth standalone floating water slide. You can also get involved with canoeing, kayaking, paddle boarding and pedalo riding, or – back on dry land – taking on the high ropes and climbing wall.
What makes this so special? Well, you’ve only got about six weeks to enjoy it over the festive period. Swirl around an ice rink, gaze at London’s epic skyline from the 230-foot (70m) wheel, or explore the Ice Kingdom, where everything is made of, well… ice. And for the thrill-seekers among you, there are 10 high-adrenaline rides, including the swirling Munich Looping roller coaster. Last year's iteration brought with it no fewer than four new rides, so expect 2023's offering (which opens in November) to be packed with extra attractions.
It wouldn’t truly be a list of the UK’s best amusement parks if Brighton’s famous pier didn’t make the cut. The Grade II-listed pier has been welcoming visitors since 1899 and remains extremely popular. It’s home to classic fairground rides and roller coasters, an arcade, bars, restaurants and deckchairs to enjoy the sea view in summer. Millions flock here every year and it’s a staple of British culture, having featured in the gangster thriller Brighton Rock and The Who's movie, Quadrophenia. New for this summer, the pier has truly moved into the modern era with a VR-headset option on its rotating, carousel-style ride, Twister.
Liquid Leisure is home to Europe’s biggest aqua park and the first official park from popular TV show Ninja Warrior UK. There's every water activity imaginable on the picture-perfect private freshwater lake, including speed boating and water skiing. And when you're done, you can relax at the park’s beach resort.
A juggernaut of the theme park world, Chessington runs with the fitting strapline "Britain’s wildest adventure" and has more than 40 rides and attractions. It's about to get even better too, as the park’s newest themed area, World of Jumanji, will open in spring 2023. Families will attempt to lift the curse and save Jumanji by braving exciting new rides and exploring a jungle maze.