Lightwater Valley Park
North Stainley, Ripon, North Yorkshire, UK
A VERY DIFFERENT RIDE is offered by this unusual coaster ride in a gem of a theme park.
I'd rung, the previous year, to find when Lightwater Valley shut for winter. The lady had said they shut at the end of October. We arrived mid-week, mid-October to find the park closed until the weekend. She could have said they had limited open hours towards the end of the season: How annoying is that?
Just visible from the road, however, is the first drop of The Ultimate: We knew we'd have to come back -- and they had a lot to make up for.
An empty parking area bodes good in my book: small queues. The circus clown assisting the ticket officer greeted us at our car because there was only Ruth, me, him and the ticket officer in sight!
The park is family owned and run. The family designed The Ultimate, the longest roller coaster (acknowledged in World Records) with steel track on a wood structure. The station is just off to the left of the picture here, you can see the drag lift and the first drop. The train is quite long so G-forces are completely different at the front and back of the train.
Having made the drop the train undulates at ground level until it is dragged up another lift (just visible in the distance of picture one) to make another equally thrilling drop. Picture two shows the drop. The track then weaves, at exceptionally high speed, in and out of trees (the front car is best for this bit!) until it returns to the station. The whole circuit takes 5 minutes, travelling one and a half miles. There is nothing else like it!
The park has another unusual coaster: The Rat. It's an underground
coaster. Riders have to make their way down drains and through
pipes (with water running under-foot), in the dark, to the station.
It's not fibre-glass here, and not for the claustrophobic!
Lightwater Valley http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/
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| The first drag lift in the foreground, with a train in its sidings. In the distance is the second drag, a 90 degree left turn and a second fantastic drop. |
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| At the crest of the first drop, the track ahead can be seen following at ground level until the second drag up to the second drop. |
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| The view from the train just before it turns left for the second drop, into the trees for a high speed twisting ride back to the depot. |
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| Inside one of the Rat tunnels, this one is the ride exit route. Much like the London Underground!. |