The History of Lightwater Valley Theme Park

Lightwater Valley started life in 1969 as a small pick your own fruit farm, which was quite popular with the local community. The Staveley family who had owned the land since 1516 ran the fruit farm. Sadly, in 1976 a severe drought hit the region, having a huge effect on the strawberry crop which was the main source of the farm's revenue. In order to help reduce the effects of a future drought, a lake was excavated. In the warmer months of the year, the lake became hugely popular with visitors and the Staveley's quickly began to see new business opportunities in the form of entertainment. Upon realising this, a number of small attractions were added which included an adventure playground (later Fort William), canoes, rowing boats and a circus. In the following years, the range of attractions was increased with the addition of petting farm, an excellent BMX bike track, pedal carts (later Moon Cars) and Skate Karts. To further increase the appeal of the park petrol-driven Go Karts were added along with a pitch and putt golf course.

Lightwater Valley Theme Park Only £2.50 per person

Take a look at this fantastic nostalgic video when the entrance price to Lightwater Valley was only £2.50 per person.

The Hell Slide

Over the years, Lightwater Valley Theme Park has boasted some unique attractions which included the likes of the Hell Slide (basically a tall indoor slide that was almost vertical). Some of the other historical rides unique to Lightwater Valley Theme Park were The Devil's Cascade water chute (later re-themed to 'Toad Hole') and pedal bikes with offset wheels. The bikes were very odd because as you rode them you also moved up and down. Over the years, a range of different fairground rides were introduced into the entrance areas of the park. Examples include chair swings, carousels, dodgems and waltzers.

Lightwater Valley Theme Park - The Hell Slide

Our Memories of Lightwater Valley

We have some fond memories from our visits to Lightwater Valley as children. Memorable rides and attractions are the BMX track which was in the shape of a figure 8. It featured a bridge to cross over with a tunnel underneath. I recall that the ramp leading up to the bridge was quite challenging and there was often a queue of riders trying to get up. Fort William was another memorable attraction with tunnels to crawl in, turrets to climb and ditches to cross on rope swings.

The Rat Ride

Lightwater Valley Theme Park became a major attraction in 1987 when the Rat Ride was built. Robert Staveley was keen to expand on the family market and provide something for the thrill market whilst still being suitable for the younger audience. At the time, his wife was a keen protector of the country park status and did not like the idea of having a roller coaster spoiling and compromising this. Eventually, she permitted the construction of a roller coaster as long as it was out of sight. In order to keep his wife happy Robert decided he would bury the roller coaster in the ground. This led to the idea of a subterranean roller coaster themed on the dwellings of a sewer rat. The ride was constructed by blasting large amounts of rock (which was sold) to form a large hole which was then capped with a large barn-style building. The ride attracted much attention, nearly doubling gate figures. In 2010 the Rat Ride was transformed into Raptor Attack. The parks increase in popularity following the installation of the Rat Ride led to further developments in the ride offering including, the park's first looping coaster, the Soopa Loopa, featuring two vertical loops.

The Ultimate

Robert Staveley used the success of the Rat Ride to persuade his wife that another roller coaster should be built. He liked the idea of having a roller coaster coming down the valley at the top of the park. The challenge he faced was initially getting people to the top of the valley to board the roller coaster train. His wife suggested that they send the train out to the top of the valley and then return it to the park with the aid of two drops. In 1990 construction began on The Ultimate, the world's longest rollercoaster. Costing £5.2 million and over 1.5 miles long it opened to the public in 1991, The Ultimates trains, each weighing 10 tonnes, reach speeds of up to 65mph as they swoop 157ft downhill on the one-and-a-half-mile track.

Additional rides and Attractions

Additional rides and attractions were added throughout the decade, including roller coasters and Water rides such as 'The Beaver Rapids' log flume and the 'Falls of Terror', now named Splash Falls. In order to reduce capital expenditure, rather than purchasing rides a number of them were acquired on short-term leases.

Take a nostalgic look at some of the historical rides and attractions and classic park maps.
Learn more about the History of Lightwater Valley Theme Park.

Livingstone Leisure

In June 2017 Lightwater Valley was bought by Livingstone Leisure from Jersey-based Ball Investments for an undisclosed sum. Livingstone Leisure also owns Flambards Theme Park in Cornwall and Birdland Park and Gardens in the Cotswolds. Prior to setting up Livingstone Leisure, director Ian Cunningham, who was born and bred in Harrogate, was the UK managing director of Spanish-based Aspro Ocio, a Spanish leisure corporation that operates a number of water parks and amusement parks. Following the takeover, some rides have been removed and the Angry Birds franchise has ended with The Angry Birds Activity Park renamed to Adventure Play. The Lightwater Shopping Village has also closed and the buildings incorporated into the Theme Park, with the Theme Park entrance kiosks moved to the front of the carpark.

An Increase in Visitor Numbers

In order to break even the theme park needs to attract 285,000 visitors per year and, in recent years, it has maintained good visitor numbers. Whilst not reaching the peak attendance figures of the mid-1990s of almost 500,000, it is significantly up on its performance during its troubled period in the late 1990s. The theme parks short-term aim is to hit 350,000 visitors and, eventually, return to its 500,000-a-year heyday. A key part of its strategy to attract more visitors is its plan to build 100-holiday lodges on land adjacent to the park over the next three years.

The infrastructure alone for the lodge area will cost in the region of £2.5m before any accommodation has even been put on the site, but the benefits the project will bring far outweigh the costs.

The lodges will help to increase the parks catchment area and give people the opportunity to spend a day at the theme park, combined with time exploring Yorkshire. Lightwater Valley will benefit from a bigger draw of people who wouldn’t normally drive there just for a single day out and it also opens the park up to international guests.

Brighton Pier Group

In June 2021 Leisure operator Brighton Pier Group purchased Lightwater Valley Theme Park in North Yorkshire for £5 million. This gaves renewed hope for the theme parks signature ride The Ultimate which remains in place at the park but has not operated since the COVID 19 pandemic began in 2019.

Its board said it believed the “extensive space” at Lightwater Valley provided a “long-term growth opportunity” for the group to develop and expand the park.

Chief Executive officer Anne Ackord made the following statement:
“I believe that we can develop Lightwater Valley into the premier amusement destination across Yorkshire and the surrounding areas”

Lightwater Valley Family Adventure park

Historically known as 'Lightwater Valley Theme Park', the park has been rebranded as 'Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park' for the 2022 season. A number of historic attractions remain in operation but they are predominately aimed at children aged 12 and under. The good news for families is that the admission prices have been adjusted accordingly to cater for this new audience.

New Opportunities

Lightwater Valley had ten years of minimal investment up to 2001 and now they are starting to rebuild, the theme park has massive potential. As you wander around the park you can envisage so many things that would work for the park. Like all independent theme parks, it is not always easy but they are working hard to make the most of their investments. The park's objective is to provide a quality offer, providing visitors with a great experience.