Wicksteed park’s iconic water chute voted as uk’s best historic ride

October 3, 2022

Wicksteed park’s iconic water chute voted as uk’s best historic ride

Wicksteed Park’s Water Chute is the oldest ride of its kind in the UK. The Water Chute has been judged as the country’s Best Historic Ride in the 2022 UK Theme Park Awards.

The iconic attraction was built by the park’s founder Charles Wicksteed in 1926 and was a forerunner to many of the theme park rides now popular across the world.

The national award was decided by a public vote after nominees were selected by competition judges, with Wicksteed Park winning Gold, ahead of the Ghost Train at Blackpool Pleasure Beach (Silver) and Snails at Joyland (Bronze).

Winners in 22 different categories were announced during an event at Drayton Manor theme park, Staffordshire, on Thursday September 22.

The Wicksteed Park Water Chute showcases the wonderful vision and engineering of Charles Wicksteed in his quest to encourage children and families to explore and have fun.

In 2016, the ride was protected by Government body Historic England by being made Grade II Listed.

Megan Wright, Wicksteed Park’s Head of Sales and Marketing, said:

We are both delighted and proud that the Water Chute has been voted the Best Historic Ride in the UK.

It is a truly unique ride and, even after all this time, is still one of the most popular attractions at the park. We can’t thank everyone enough who voted for us to win this prestigious enough for their support.

The national UK Theme Park Awards recognise the country’s best rides and attractions, shows and events.

The awards are organised by ThemeParks-UK.com, an independent consumer guide to UK theme parks. In 2022, the awards were presented in association with AttractionTickets.com.

The 22 categories included Theme Park of the Year, Best Customer Service and Best Value. New categories included Best Steel Coaster, Best Wooden Coaster and Best Mascot.

In advance of the public vote, a shortlist was compiled using public nominations and with the help of a panel of expert judges including Paul Kelly (Chief Executive of the British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions) and Andy Hine MBE (Chairman – Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain). More than 36,000 nominations were received, with a total of 30 theme parks nominated for awards in 2022.

Wicksteed Charitable Trust

Wicksteed Park is cared for by the Wicksteed Charitable Trust which maintains the park as a truly unique, freely accessible public space. You can help to preserve the park for future generations by making donations. All money raised is used to help maintain the park and its grounds. Donations can be made by visiting our reception. Car parking charges made whilst visiting the site also supports Wicksteed Charitable Trust in maintaining and preserving Wicksteed Park.

Become A Trustee Donate Here

Other News

Rare black poplar trees planted at Wicksteed Park

As a part of National Tree Week last month, running from November 25th until December 3rd, Wicksteed Park planted 13 rare black poplar trees on the estate's South Meadow. This is apart of a local couple's efforts to reintroduce the species to Northamptonshire.

Heritage Now

Heritage Now is a six-week placement programme with the Wicksteed Park Community and Heritage Team. The placement is a flexible programme that can be tailored to your interests and skills taking place one day a week over six weeks.

BBQs at Wicksteed Park

BBQs at Wicksteed Park are permanently banned, unless you are camping where you can use a freestanding BBQ.

Customer Reviews

"It was absolutely amazing, my toddler loved seeing Santa and going to the elf workshop to pick a present! We saw reindeers, went on the train and a couple rides and went to the farm! A fantastic day out and a great experience for seeing Santa for the first time! Staff were great!"

Bethany

"Had not been to Wickstead park for years . Thought I would take my grandson and despite the weather and it being late in the season we had a lovely time. Great value for money and will return next year"

Perry

"We had a great fun day out. Old fashioned English Park. Good variety of rides. Clean loos. Friendly staff. We loved the train ride. Also the water rides were fantastic. Best to buy a wrist band that let's you have unlimited rides"

Rose

"We camped here this week, and all had a blast!!! It was so well-priced. We were one of the first in the park. The camping was quiet, and the kids absolutely loved all the places to walk!!! Thank you!"

Charlotte

"My parents took me to Wicksteed Park as a child over 50 years ago. Today I took my grandchildren and it was quite an experience. The train around the park is still there but now there are lots of much bigger rides for older kids and adults including a log flume. The old water chute I went on as a kid is still there and is loved by young and old. We found all the staff friendly and helpful at Wicksteed which is really important, as at other theme parks its what made for a poor experience. Maybe Wicksteed's British origins makes it a more relaxed experience than US style parks. You can almost imagine post Edwardian Britons in 1920's enjoying days out in this beautiful park with all its green spaces. My older grandkids enjoyed the rides and short queues whilst younger ones liked the soft play area. We are already planning our next visit to Wicksteed Park."

Del

"Great day out for extended family particularly good for 6 to 10 year olds and the older kids can take the little ones on the rides. The parks is really beautiful and there are hardly any queues. Lots of fun rides and wrist bands good value if you do lots of rides like my kids did. All 14 of us had a great day and we had a take out in the park before leaving on a beautiful evening. Fun times."

Julial

"We were lucky enough to go in a lovely sunny day. There were 11 of us, 5 adults and 6 children, 2 of whom have disabilities. The staff were so helpful in every way, sorting our wristbands out, giving advice, looking after us on rides, etc. Some of the rides I was used to were shut; the rocking tugboat, drop slide and mini landrovers, but a lovely surprise awaited in the form of new rides; the garden wheel and mechanical horses. We went boating on the lake, rode the water flume, went on loads of other rides for which there was barely a queue. The actual park itself is amazing, so much room to play for the children, we had a lovely picnic under the trees. Toilets were really clean, plenty of food outlets, although not as many as on previous visits. It baffles me that more people don't go there, as there really is something for everyone. Even if you didn't want to pay for the rides, there is still a excellent playing park. Take my advice and just head out there for the day..."

Janice

"Kids loved it, even through it was busy the queues weren’t too bad and as there is so much green space we easily found a spot in the shade for our picnic. Lovely parkland and they even dragged me on to the Dinosaur Valley ride! The band/ ticket options are great for a mixed group who might not all want to go on every ride."

Amy

"We camped at Wickstead park this weekend for our annual camping trip with friends and kids (age range 15 - 13). Booking was very easy and great communication with reception. The site is very clean, as are the facilities and there is lots for the kids to do. Its a very safe site and I would highly recommend it. We will definitely be back!"

Jackie

"Having one of our sons, and his nine year old to stay gave us a reason to visit Wicksteed Park yesterday. The rides were great fun and suitable for a range of ages; they all seemed well cared for and the operators paid attention to safety. We bought a wristband for our grandson, and individual tickets for the rest of us so that we could mix and match who went on with him. The weather was rather dull, which may have contributed to the generally short waits to get on the rides. The playgrounds are excellent and there is lots of room for running around. We took a picnic and easily found somewhere to sit and eat. Car parking was easy, and given there is no entrance charge, I thought it reasonable. I use a mobility scooter and had no problems getting around. We used to take our sons when they were small and we had little money: by just going in the playgrounds (no charge); playing ball games on the grass and taking a picnic, it was a cheap day out. Enjoy."