A UK theme that after welcomed 2.5 million guests yearly, closed its doorways after virtually 30 years and now lies deserted with its rides rusting away
Camelot Theme Park in Lancashire opened in 1983 (Picture: Handout)
A cherished theme park within the coronary heart of the UK as soon as attracted a whopping 2.5 million guests yearly, with its towering 1,000ft curler coaster undoubtedly including to its attraction. But, after an exhilarating 29 years, it closed its gates and was left to decay, with its glory days now distant reminiscences.
Theme park lovers could recall the pleasing days spent at Camelot Theme Park in Lancashire, which spanned 140 acres and have become more and more well-liked after opening in 1983. The park drew inspiration from King Arthur’s Camelot and welcomed hundreds of friends via its iconic white fortress entrance earlier than they have been immersed within the pseudo-medieval attraction owned by Park Corridor Leisure.
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The theme park buildings have been lined with graffiti because it lies derelict (Picture: Matthew Holmes / SWNS)
Jousting spectacles transported guests again in time, alongside exhilarating rides and leisure. A few of its most favoured points of interest have been Whirlwind, Excalibur, Gauntlet, Dragon Heights, Pendragon’s Plunge, The Galleon and Components-Ok Go-Karts, which entertained youngsters for hours.
But Camelot’s most celebrated experience was undoubtedly the mighty 1,000ft curler coaster, The Knightmare, which debuted in 2006. Reportedly costing a staggering £3 million to assemble, it swiftly turned a agency favorite amongst thrill-seekers desperate to expertise its stomach-churning twists and turns, together with a near-vertical drop ominously nicknamed ‘the psycho drop’.
The theme park was additionally residence to The Tornado log flume and three sizeable water slides. Moreover, a big caterpillar curler coaster practice wound its approach throughout the whole expanse of the park, which might later spark years of nostalgia.
By the late Eighties, Camelot had been acquired by Granada and was at its peak, attracting a exceptional 2.5 million guests yearly. But the golden period started to fade as footfall declined to roughly 500,000 per 12 months in 1995.
The theme park was subsequently offered to Prime Resorts Restricted, which launched new points of interest, Excalibur 2, Whirlwind, and Knightmare, in a bid to spice up customer numbers. Regardless of this, customer numbers continued to slip.
By 2000, the park was welcoming 400,000 friends yearly, but by 2009, that determine had plummeted beneath 300,000. Tragically, the once-flourishing park shut its gates for good in 2012, with numerous points of interest offered off to venues throughout Europe.
But huge sections of the medieval theme park stay deserted to today, together with its well-known Knightmare experience, with buildings lined in graffiti, corroding curler coasters, and haunting remnants of what have been as soon as joyful household days out.
Camelot Theme park has been left to rot (Picture: Matthew Holmes / SWNS)
City explorer Matthew Holmes visited the abandoned website in 2017 and disclosed: “I went to the theme park once I was 13 years previous, and most adults have been. I believed, let’s go take a look and see what’s there. I went inside, and immediately all these reminiscences got here again from once I was a baby. It was fairly unhappy to stroll round, it is vitally dilapidated. All that pleasure and enjoyable to get replaced by empty house. It is frozen in time. All these rides are nonetheless there.”
Earlier proposals to demolish the theme park have come and gone, leaving it untouched. Extra just lately, plans have been outlined to destroy the theme park and assemble a 350-home village as a replacement, although these have but to be accepted.
In the intervening time, the location stays deserted and has often hosted sporadic occasions, resembling a live-action zombie horror expertise. However, the cherished reminiscences of Camelot will endure, in a method or one other.
Do you’ve got a journey story to share? E-mail webtravel@reachplc.com
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