Pleasurewood Hills
Encyclopedia
Pleasurewood Hills is a theme park on a 59 acres (238,764.7 m²) 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. Rides include:
.
Noel Edmonds
converted the Haunted Theatre into Crinkley Bottom Castle in the mid-1990s. The park also featured appearances by Mr Blobby and Edmonds himself.
The park continued in this vein until 1996-7, when it was bought by Leisure Great Britain, a caravan park operator. It owned the park until 2000, when Peter and Peggy Hadden, who had been connected with the park for many years, bought it. The name changed to New Pleasurewood Hills. In 2000 the park bought Magic Mouse.
In 2004, Grévin & Cie, a French leisure group, purchased the site. The name reverted to its original form and in early 2005 the owners said they would spend £3 million on improvements.
Changes included repainting and renaming a number of rides, but the first major investment was in the park's first inverting coaster, Wipeout, with track from the closed American Adventure. The old cars were scrapped and new ones bought from Walibi World.
In 2009 the Mellow Yellow log flume was repainted and had a revamped entrance. It is now called Timber Falls. In 2010 the park put a StreetDance show in the Castle Theatre. In 2010 the park appointed a new manager.
On the 30th of January 2011, it was announced that the park had been sold to a new company. H.I.G Capital France, in partnership with industry expert Laurent Bruloy, purchased seven leisure parks, including Pleasurewood Hills, from across Europe.
The seven parks will benefit from a joint investment of around £1.7million over 5 years.
Corton, Suffolk
Corton is a suburb in the town of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. Corton is located around north of the centre of town. The local church is dedicated to St Bartholomew. The estimated population was 1,140 in 2008. It has boundaries with the suburb of Gunton. -Features:Corton is home to...
and Gunton
Gunton, Suffolk
Gunton is a suburb of Lowestoft in the English county of Suffolk. Gunton was a small coastal village but over the years has been suburbanised. Gunton has an estimated population of 6,640. The main A12 or Yarmouth road runs through the area.-Attractions:...
, near Lowestoft
Lowestoft
Lowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. The park contains attractions including three rollercoasters. Its mascot is called Woody Bear, who was given a "sailor" look in 2007. Rides include:
- WipeoutWipeout (roller coaster)Wipeout is a roller coaster located at Pleasurewood Hills theme park in Lowestoft, England. Vekoma designed the roller coaster. Wipeout uses a boomerang design.-History:...
- Vekoma Boomerang roller coasterBoomerang (roller coaster)Boomerang is a model of roller coaster built by Vekoma, and named after the hunting implement based on the traditions of the Indigenous Australians... - Snake in the Grass (formerly Rattle Snake) - SteelSteelSteel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
roller coasterRoller coasterThe 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... - EnigmaEnigma (roller coaster)Enigma is a roller coaster located at Pleasurewood Hills, Corton, Near Lowestoft, Suffolk.It is the only Schwarzkopf Jumbo V in the world, as it was the only one manufactured....
(formerly Cannonball Express) - Medium steel roller coaster
History
The park was created by entrepreneur Joe Larter in 1982 as a small American-themed family attraction, containing a miniature railway, Cine 180 and adventure playground. Yearly expansion brought the addition new attractions and general improvements. Controlling interest in the park was sold to RKF, a property development company, in the late 1980s. RKF built attractions including two Sea Life centres (Great Yarmouth & Hunstanton), a Ripley's Believe It or Not (Great Yarmouth seafront) and the 9 miles (14.5 km) Bure Valley Railway (in Aylsham). It started building a second Pleasurewood Hills style park in Cleethorpes. RKF went bankrupt in early 1991 and its attractions were sold. Some Pleasurewood management staff took control of The Bygone Village at FleggburghFleggburgh
Fleggburgh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, sometimes also known as Burgh St Margaret. It is situated to the west of the Trinity Broads complex with the Broads National Park, some north-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and east of the city of Norwich.The civil...
.
Noel Edmonds
Noel Edmonds
Noel Ernest Edmonds, is an English broadcaster and executive, who made his name as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presented many light entertainment television programmes, including Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Top of the Pops, The Late, Late Breakfast Show, Telly Addicts, Noel's Saturday...
converted the Haunted Theatre into Crinkley Bottom Castle in the mid-1990s. The park also featured appearances by Mr Blobby and Edmonds himself.
The park continued in this vein until 1996-7, when it was bought by Leisure Great Britain, a caravan park operator. It owned the park until 2000, when Peter and Peggy Hadden, who had been connected with the park for many years, bought it. The name changed to New Pleasurewood Hills. In 2000 the park bought Magic Mouse.
In 2004, Grévin & Cie, a French leisure group, purchased the site. The name reverted to its original form and in early 2005 the owners said they would spend £3 million on improvements.
Changes included repainting and renaming a number of rides, but the first major investment was in the park's first inverting coaster, Wipeout, with track from the closed American Adventure. The old cars were scrapped and new ones bought from Walibi World.
In 2009 the Mellow Yellow log flume was repainted and had a revamped entrance. It is now called Timber Falls. In 2010 the park put a StreetDance show in the Castle Theatre. In 2010 the park appointed a new manager.
On the 30th of January 2011, it was announced that the park had been sold to a new company. H.I.G Capital France, in partnership with industry expert Laurent Bruloy, purchased seven leisure parks, including Pleasurewood Hills, from across Europe.
The seven parks will benefit from a joint investment of around £1.7million over 5 years.
Roller Coasters
| Ride | Year opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Wipeout Wipeout (roller coaster) Wipeout is a roller coaster located at Pleasurewood Hills theme park in Lowestoft, England. Vekoma designed the roller coaster. Wipeout uses a boomerang design.-History:... |
2007 | A Vekoma Boomerang model. Relocated from the closed American Adventure theme park, where it was known as 'Missile'. |
| Enigma Enigma (roller coaster) Enigma is a roller coaster located at Pleasurewood Hills, Corton, Near Lowestoft, Suffolk.It is the only Schwarzkopf Jumbo V in the world, as it was the only one manufactured.... |
1995 | Previously known as 'Cannonball Express', this is the only example of a Jumbo V model by the defunct manufacturer Schwarzkopf. |
| Snake in the Grass | 1986 | Opened as the 'Ladybird Coaster'. Later re-themed to 'Rattlesnake' in 1990, and then 'Snake In The Grass' in 2007. |
Water Rides
| Ride | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Timber Falls | 1992 | Opened in 1992 as 'White Water Falls'. Later painted and renamed 'Mellow Yellow', and then re-themed as 'Timber Falls' in 2009. |
| Wavebreaker | 1996 | A two-lane dinghy slide. |
Other Rides
| Ride | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Fireball | 2006 | 5G Spinning pendulum ride Pendulum ride Pendulum rides are amusement rides based on the motion of a fixed pendulum. These rides consist of an arm attached to an axle. One end of the arm is fitted with a passenger-carrying gondola, while the other is usually fitted with a heavy counterweight... , previously called Whizzy Dizzy. |
External links
- http://www.pleasurewoodhills.com - Official site.
- http://www.rcdb.com/pt290.htm - Facts and timeline used for this article
- http://www.unofficialpleasurewood.co.uk - Unofficial website