Speelland Beekse Bergen

Speelland Beekse Bergen
Type Amusement Park
Location Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands
Coordinates 51°31′37″N 5°07′30″E / 51.527°N 5.125°ECoordinates: 51°31′37″N 5°07′30″E / 51.527°N 5.125°E
Operated by Libéma Exploitatie BV
Visitors 235,000
Status Open April to October
Website http://www.speelland.nl

Speelland Beekse Bergen is an amusement park and playground which is located close to the city of Hilvarenbeek and is a part of the Beekse Bergen group, which also holds Safaripark Beekse Bergen. Since it cooperates with Safaripark Beekse Bergen, there are also combination tickets possible for Speelland & Safaripark. The park is being exploited by Libéma Exploitatie BV. Speelland mainly offers playgrounds, a beach and water attractions. Furthermore catering points and a souvenir shop can be visited.

History

Around the year 1960 a large lake arose between the cities of Tilburg and Hilvarenbeek because of a large sand extraction. After a few years the zoo Lion Park Beekse Bergen was opened next to the lake. At the same time another park opened its doors at the other side of the lake: Speelland Beekse Bergen. Later the zoo received a new name, which remained the same ever since: Safaripark Beekse Bergen. When translated into English, Speelland means Playland.

In the beginning Speelland mainly aimed at summer recreation. Later this park was enlarged with different playgrounds and attractions, which made the park more of a small attraction park than a playground or recreation lake. Due to privatization Speelland is a part of the company Libéma since 1987.

Park

Speelland mainly focusses on families with children until the age of 12. Most attractions are therefore aim at this target group. The park has a low amount of trees, but there are quite some plants and gardens throughout the park. A large part of the park is filled by a sand beach.

Attractions

In the following overview a list of attractions in Speelland Beekse Bergen is given. As can be seen, not all attractions are for free.

Events

Every season a number of events are being organised in Speelland Beekse Bergen. Most of the times these events are attached to a theme, such as pirates or cowboys and Indians.