Discover Wicksteed Park's History Through Talking Telescopes

December 1, 2023

Discover Wicksteed Park's History Through Talking Telescopes

Visitors can now learn more about Wicksteed Park’s rich past through a recent installation of telescopes around the park.

Seven ‘Talking Telescopes’ can now be found in key locations around the park and allow visitors to expand their knowledge of Wicksteed whilst venturing around the park. “We have chosen seven key areas of the park to highlight which each showcase a different element of the visit. The locations are the playground, the precinct, the fountain lawn, the rose garden, the railway, the lake and the water chute,” said Connor McIntyre, Community and Heritage coordinator.

When visitors look through the lenses, they see an image of the park as it appeared in the past. Visitors can also listen to the history of that location through the voices of Charles or Hilda Wicksteed by pressing a button on the telescope, providing a more interactive and accessible way to engage with the information. Each telescope has two lenses at different levels making it even more accessible for those interacting with them.

Talking Telescopes are part of Wicksteed Park’s @Play project which is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This project is an initiative to encourage more people to learn about the heritage of the park and the continued importance and value of play for the local community.

Other News

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.

Celebrating Hilda Wicksteed this International Women’s Day

For International Women's Day 2025, we want to celebrate the amazing Hilda Wicksteed who helped shape Wicksteed Park into what we know and love today.

The Wicksteed Charitable Trust: Join Us in Securing Our Future

Wicksteed Park has been a cornerstone of family fun, community events, and natural beauty for over 100 years. As the birthplace of modern play equipment, it holds a unique place in history—and in the hearts of generations. However, the park's future as a free to access site is at risk. The Wicksteed Charitable Trust needs your help to keep the park open, free, and thriving.

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."