Many of my recent posts have started with “I last visited xx years ago” … Well, here’s another. I last visited Wicksteed Park when I was in my young teens, in the mid-1980s. It was a school summer holiday coach trip, arranged by our local town council. This traditional theme park is set in 147 acres of parkland with around 30 rides. I have memories of my previous visit, and I was keen to see how much has changed in the last 30 years.
Location
Wicksteed Park is located in Kettering in Northamptonshire. It is well signposted from both the A6 and the A14. The park is a short drive along Barton Road from Junction 10 of the A14 (the intersection with the A6). From our home in North Hertfordshire, it was an easy drive north on the A1 to Huntingdon, then the A14 to Junction 10. It takes just under an hour.
Parking and Tickets
Ok, this is what I like most about Wicksteed Park; you pay to park, but entry to the grounds is free. You needn’t buy wristbands to go on rides if you don’t want to. There are lots of free play areas, and a huge amount of parkland for a picnic and a kickaround with a football. We saw families having BBQs, others walking around the park and lake, lots of children playing on the traditional swings, climbing frames and slides, and lots of dogs on leads. It really is a family day out that you can design to be whatever you want it to be.
The current costs for parking are £3 (up to 2 hours), £4 (2-3 hours) and £6 (over 3 hours).
If you want to go on the rides, you can buy a wristband that covers all rides for as many times as you want to ride them. These are £20 for a child and £17 for an adult. However, if you just want to go on one or two rides, then you can buy ‘1 ride’ tickets for £2.50. For our visit, we had wristbands so that we could try out the rides.
History
Wicksteed Park is the oldest theme park in the UK, originally opening in 1921. After WWI a man called Charles Wicksteed decided to design a recreational park for local people – not a formal park where you couldn’t step on the grass, but one with open spaces to relax and play. He designed and built play equipment for the local children to use. Its success made him realise that this play equipment would also be of great benefit to every other community in the UK. Wicksteed is now the UK’s number 1 playground supplier, 100 years on, exporting to over 80 countries! When you’ve been at your local park on the swings, slides or climbing frame I’m sure you have seen the Wicksteed badge on the equipment; it all started with this one man, Charles Wicksteed.
The park, which is Grade II listed, has a large lake that was dug by hand and steam ploughs in 1916-1917; when we visited the path around it was being used by families with pushchairs, dog walkers, and bird watchers. The lake has many ducks, swans, geese, coots and moorhens – many of these were on nests.
In addition to the lake, and the vast grassed area, there’s a pavilion overlooking a formal garden (a wedding was taking place there).
There is also a train that takes you on a circular route around the park and lake, and of course there are the rides.
The Train
The railway was opened in 1931. On our arrival we headed straight for it, as we were told it gets busy. Our plan was to take a ride to pinpoint areas we wanted to walk to. The train costs to ride it – it is included in the wristband price, or you need single tickets. The ride lasts around 10 minutes. I think this is a ‘must do’ attraction when you visit Wicksteed Park.
The Rides
There are around 30 rides, many for young children. I am only going to focus on the rides and attractions that appeal to my 12 and 14 year old children … and these were predominantly located in the Park’s ‘Thrill Zone’.
The Thrill Zone contains rides that include Dodgems, Rocky River Falls (log flume), Dinosaur Valley (roller coaster), Paratrooper, and Galaxy Invaders
Nearer the entrance, and close to the traditional playground area, there’s the Carousel and Sway Rider.
The Animals
A highlight for the children, especially Millie-Mae (who is parrot-obsessed), was a walk through Woolloomooloo Aviary. Entry required us to show our wristbands, and we were greeted by two large parrots and an umbrella cockatoo. The latter, who repeats over and over “hello babe”, took a shine to me and hopped onto my arm while I wasn’t looking. For a short moment I feared my ear being nipped! Millie, on the other hand, had the huge blue and gold macaw (called Eva) step onto her shoulder, who proceeded to pull off a stud button on her coat (it can be repaired!)
The second part of the aviary is full of budgies, cockatiels, finches and ground-living quails. Beware the quails as they loved shoelaces (and were the same colour as the floor, so be careful not to tread on them). We could have spent hours watching the birds and playing with the parrots.
Next door to the aviary is Meerkat Manor. Only one (and a half – head popped out of enclosure) was out on display during our visit.
Food options
If you don’t want the hassle of carrying a picnic, there are lots of eating options available on site. Because we, as a family, are trying to limit bread and carbohydrates from our diet over the summer holidays, we decided to go to the Chicken Katsu bar and place an order for four chicken katsu burgers, without the bread roll.
I have to say it tasted lovely. The pickled salad was very fresh and the curry sauce wasn’t too strong. The chicken was lightly coated with crumb, which we appreciated. The lady who served us was very friendly and very accommodating to our strange request. But it meant we could enjoy our food without worrying that we’d broken our diet.
After our meal we headed to Carousel Café to get some coffees and cold drinks. We took these into the park to enjoy, as it was lunchtime and all the tables and benches were being used.
The Franks Fish & Chips bar was very popular, as was the Franks Burgers bar next door. We were also very envious of the generously proportioned ice creams from the Ice Cream Parlour.
What else?
We saw a substantial-looking zipline that the kids would have loved to go on, but it wasn’t operational when we visited. There is also a boating lake, but this wasn’t open. I think these are Covid measures. There’s also a camping field close by, so you could make it a weekend break. There are no electrical hook ups, but caravans and campers are welcome here too. And, of course, you can take your pet dog – so long as they are kept on their leads, they can enjoy their time at Wicksteed Park too.
Our verdict
In honesty, Wicksteed Park is a little too young for our teenagers. The rides in the Thrill Zone are tame when compared to the adrenaline fuelled modern theme parks. In fact, they most enjoyed the aviary and the open space where we would have played football had I thought about taking one. The rides are most suitable for slightly younger children – I’d say ideally between the ages of 7 and 10. My children said the Rocky River Falls and Dinosaur Valley rollercoaster were their favourite rides.
When we return to Wicksteed Park we’ll take the dogs with us and walk all the way around the lake. We’ll set out a lovely picnic, which we’ll probably end up sharing with the ducks and geese! It’s a good place to meet up with friends too, because of all the space, and the facilities nearby. If you want thrill rides, they have them. Do you want a large play area? You have that too. If you want to chill out by a lake, you can do this. Fancy a picnic? You can bring one. If you don’t want the fuss of a picnic, there are lots of takeaway options. As I said at the start, Wicksteed Park can be whatever you want it to be. There’s something there for everyone. And it’s great to support the Wicksteed Charitable Trust that looks after the park.
Disclaimer
We were gifted wristbands so that the children could try out the rides. However our review of our visit is honest, and hasn’t been influenced in any way.
