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Location | Galston, Scotland |
---|---|
Coordinates | 55°36′38″N4°22′22″W / 55.61061°N 4.37279°W |
Opened | 1995 |
Closed | 2010 |
Slogan | Scotland's Best Family Theme Park |
Attractions | |
Total | 11 altogether |
Roller coasters | 3 |
Water rides | 1 |
Loudoun Castle was a theme park set around the ruins of the 19th century Loudoun Castle near Galston, in the Loudoun area of Ayrshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. The park opened in 1995, and closed at the end of the 2010 season. The park's mascot was Rory the Lion.
The park was opened in 1995 by a company based in London and has since been through the hands of travelling showman Raymond Codona to its current owner, Henk Bembom's Parkware Ltd. Bembom took over the park in 2002 and invested £5 million during his first year there, followed by an additional £2 million in the second. [1] Bembom continued to bring new rides and attractions to the park each year, including another £2 million of investment in 2007. [2] In winter 2006, Parkware moved all their operations and ride stock to Loudoun from their previous storage buildings in Margate.
On 15 July 2007, 18-year-old ride operator Mark Blackwood fell 80 feet (24 m) from a roller coaster he was pushing, the Rat, which had got stuck. He was taken to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock for treatment but died there on 16 July 2007. [3] After a two-week trial, the jury found the park owners not guilty of failing to provide proper training and supervision at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Saturday 10 October 2009. [4]
In September 2010 it was announced that the park had closed, Bembom stating that it was "no longer economically viable." There were no clear indications as to the future use of the site, whether the current owners intend to sell the business on as a 'going concern' or if they intended to use the site for other purposes. [5] As of February 2011 [update] a number of rides were for sale, including Twist 'n' Shout, Goldrush, Barnstormer, Wacky Worm, Crows Nest and Jammy Dodgems.[ citation needed ] As a Category A listed building, the possibilities for any redevelopment of the ruins of Loudon Castle proper, as opposed to this adjacent theme park, are severely limited by law.
Many of the rides at Loudoun Castle had been operated at Dreamland Margate in Kent when it was owned by Bembom Brothers. A few of these rides can be seen in the Only Fools and Horses 1989 Christmas Special "The Jolly Boys' Outing", in which the Trotters and many other male cast members visit Dreamland Margate.
In 2009, Loudoun Castle had five roller coasters:
Also in the park were various thrill rides including:
Thorpe Park, formerly also known as Thorpe Park Resort, is a theme park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertainments and includes rides, themed cabins, live events and Hyperia, the United Kingdom's tallest and fastest rollercoaster. In 2019, Thorpe Park was the UK's third most visited theme park, behind Alton Towers and Legoland Windsor. However, in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the park only had a 125-day operation season, along with limited capacity, leading to massively reduced visitor numbers.
Dreamland Margate is an amusement park and entertainment centre based on a traditional English seaside funfair located in Margate, Kent, England. The site of the park was first used for amusement rides in 1880, although the Dreamland name was not used until 1920 when the park's Grade II* listed Scenic Railway wooden rollercoaster was opened.
The Scenic Railway is a wooden roller coaster located at the Dreamland Amusement Park in Margate, United Kingdom. It first opened in 1920 and is the oldest roller coaster in the UK. The ride is distinctive compared to modern-day roller coasters, as a brakeman is still required to travel with the train to control its speed, manually applying brakes when needed. It is also one of only eight scenic railways in the world, and the UK's English Heritage granted the roller coaster Grade II listed status in 2002 and Grade II* listed status in 2011. The Scenic Railway was non-operational from 2006 until 2015 amid park closure and restoration following an arson attack.
Anton Schwarzkopf was a German engineer who founded Schwarzkopf Industries GmbH, a German manufacturer of roller coasters and other amusement rides that were sold to amusement parks and travelling funfairs around the world.
Lightwater Valley Family Adventure Park is an adventure park in North Stainley, North Yorkshire, England. The park was once home to Europe's longest roller coaster, The Ultimate.
Southport Pleasureland is an amusement park located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The park originally operated from 1913 to 2006 as Pleasureland Theme Park under the ownership of the Blackpool Pleasure Beach company. In 2007, the park re-opened under the ownership of Norman Wallis.
Oakwood Theme Park is a theme park in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
The Enterprise is an amusement ride, manufactured primarily by HUSS Park Attractions and Anton Schwarzkopf beginning in 1972. The HUSS ride was an adaptation and improvement of a design produced earlier that year by Schwarzkopf, with an increased passenger capacity. Despite not owning the original incarnation of the ride, HUSS was issued the patent.
The Ultimate was a steel roller coaster located at Lightwater Valley theme park in North Yorkshire, England. Manufactured by British Rail Engineering Limited, the roller coaster opened in 1991 as the longest roller coaster in the world, surpassing The Beast at Kings Island in the United States. It held the record until the opening of Steel Dragon 2000 in Japan.
Zierer Karussell- und Spezialmaschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG is a German company located close to Deggendorf. Zierer manufactures ESC and Force line of roller coasters, as well as panoramic wheels, wave swingers, flying carpets, Hexentanz, and Kontiki rides. They have previously manufactured the Tivoli line of coasters, however these have now been discontinued. The company also has partnered with Schwarzkopf to build Lisebergbanan at Liseberg and Knightmare at Camelot Theme Park.
Fantasy Island is a Resort Theme Park located in Ingoldmells on the East Coast of Lincolnshire.
Olympia Looping, also known as Munich Looping, is a portable steel roller coaster owned and operated by R. Barth und Sohn Schaustellerbetriebe KG. The ride was designed by Anton Schwarzkopf and Werner Stengel, and built by BHS. It is the largest portable roller coaster in the world, and the only one with five inversions. It appears at many carnivals in Germany, most notably Oktoberfest, where it made its debut in 1989.
This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various European amusement parks, water parks, or theme parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park owners, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.
Big Blue is a steel looping roller coaster, located at Dalmaland, Croatia, and operating there since 2017. It was formerly located at Loudoun Castle Theme Park in Galston, south-west Scotland, where it was known as Twist n'Shout; operating from 2003 to 2010.
Black Hole, briefly known as Black Hole II (1988) and New Black Hole (1989), was an enclosed steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers theme park near Alton in the English shire county of Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf and designed by Werner Stengel, the Jet Star 2 model opened to public in 1983 and operated until 2005. The track layout was enclosed within a large tent to provide a dark ride experience.
Dante's Inferno was a dark ride, Haunted attraction created in 1971 by Anton Schwarzkopf that was located at Astroland on Coney Island; a similar ride, Dante's Dungeon, is at Morey's Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey. Dante's Inferno is decorated with a purple Cerberus in each tower, a werewolf out of one window, and skeleton warriors in another, its exterior's centerpiece is a large devil holding a victim in his hand that is connecting to the tongue of an upside-down, lolling eyed creature, and a pitchfork in the other. The ride's exterior resembles a castle, and its open area is decorated in graffiti style artwork including Medusa's severed head held by a Grim Reaper, as well as a mad scientist and several dragons.
All American Triple Loop is an upcoming roller coaster under construction at Indiana Beach in Monticello, Indiana.
Raptor Attack was an enclosed steel roller coaster at the Lightwater Valley theme park in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom. and was the world's first underground subterranean rollercoaster, opening in 1987.
Hundeprutterutchebane is a steel family roller coaster at BonBon-Land in southern Zealand. The rollercoaster is known for its dog-flatulence-related theme.