Peterborians encouraged to ‘Hop into Easter Fun’ at Wicksteed Park over the holidays

Wicksteed Park - a grade II listed venue - has been a firm favourite with families from our region ever since it was opened by Northamptonshire industrialist Charles Wicksteed in 1921.

One our region’s most popular destinations for a spring day out is preparing to welcome families over the school holidays.

Wicksteed Park is promising visitors will experience a truly egg-citing time of “family thrills and memorable moments” when the venue opens its Easter Extravaganza to the public on March 29.

As the UK’s oldest mainland theme park, Wicksteed Park offers visitors a relaxed, genteel and intimate theme park experience, all set within 150 acres of beautiful Northamptonshire parkland.

According to the park’s chairman, Oliver Wicksteed, this is what makes it such a perennial draw for families:

“Wicksteed Park has been the home of children’s play since it opened back in 1921,” he explains.

“Its founder Charles Wicksteed developed many of today’s most popular playground rides including the swing, the slide and the witch’s hat,” he noted.

It seems fitting then that visitors to the much-loved park will get to see the unveiling of another new child-focussed development this Easter - a Jack in the Beanstalk-inspired climbing frame designed by a 10-year-old girl from Northampton.

The delightful, fairy-tale themed frame was conceived by Mia Opoku Agyeman, who won a competition last year to design new playground equipment.

Mia’s design features leaf climbing pods, Perspex panels and a wind-up board that emits a noise whenever someone goes down the slide.

Oliver believes his great-grandfather would have been thrilled to welcome such an addition:

“What better way to carry on his legacy than to have a design created by a young person, built by the company that still bears his name, and installed here in his beloved park?”

Mia’s climbing frame is of course just one of the many treats Wicksteed Park has to offer.

While many parents instinctively head for the traditional wooden carousel and the ornately decorated Sway Rider which they remember so well from their own childhoods, older kids and adrenaline fans tend to gravitate toward The Thrill Zone, where firm favourites like Rocky River Falls, Dinosaur Valley and Galaxy Invader await.

Legacy rides such as the Water Chute ride (believed to be the oldest ride of its kind in Britain), and the always charming two-foot narrow gauge railway (the last feature added by founder Charles Wicksteed) are on hand to take visitors back to a bygone age.

Of course, little ones are well-catered for too, with Wicky’s Play Factory, Wicky’s Farmyard, Meerkat Manor, The Wicky Bear Theatre and the Clown Coaster all within an easy walk (or pushchair stroll) of each other.

As ever, entry to the park remains free.

All ride and attraction tickets can either be purchased individually (£3 per person) or via day wristbands (£20) which offer unlimited access to all rides and attractions (not including Wicky’s Play Factory).

Entry to Wicky’s Play Factory is available in two-hour sessions which are available daily from 9am-5.30pm and cost £6 for children, £2 for adults and £1 for those under 12-months.

A café where grown-ups can kick back and relax with a coffee is also standing by in Wicky’s Play Factory.For more information and to book online visit wicksteedpark.org.