GreenWood Forest Park
Coordinates: 53°10′50″N 4°11′45″W / 53.18056°N 4.19583°W GreenWood Forest Park (formerly The GreenWood Centre) is a theme park at Y Felinheli in North Wales. The park was opened by Stephen and Andrea Bristow in 1993.
Rides and attractions
The park, opened in 1993, contains adventure playgrounds, longbow shooting, slides, and a number of rides, among other attractions.[1][2] The Green Dragon ride at the park is the world's first "people-powered" roller coaster, powered only by the weight of the people on the ride.[3] In 2014 the park received 146,000 visitors.[4]
In May 2015 the park received £200,000 in funding from the Welsh Government for a new water ride and solar panels to generate 80% of the park's power requirements; the solar panels were unveiled in September 2015 and the ride is set to open in 2016.[4][5]
SwampFlyer ride
In April 2011 GreenWood opened a 145m zip wire ride called the SwampFlyer. Less than a week after the ride opened, an 11-year-old boy fell to his death after being wrongly attached to the rope.[6][7] In 2013 an inquest declared the death accidental.[8] In 2015 managing director Stephen Bristow appeared in court accused of not carrying out sufficient risk assessments for the ride.[9]
The boy's death sparked calls for more regulations and guidance regarding zip wire rides.[7]
Awards
The park has received a number of environmental awards for its efforts to reduce resource use, improve the local environment, and support local community projects.[10] It was also ranked 9th out of all theme parks in the United Kingdom on Trip Advisor.[11] Stephen Bristow, managing director of the park, received an MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to the tourist industry in North Wales.[12]
References
- ↑ Paul Whitfield, Catherine Le Nevez, Mike Parker (2012). The rough guide to Wales. (7th ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 363. ISBN 1405389818. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ "Awards and Recognitions". GreenWood Forest Park. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ Weisenberger, Nick (2012). Coasters 101 : an engineering guide to roller coaster design (1st ed.). CreateSpace. ISBN 1468013556. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- 1 2 Deans, David (21 May 2015). "New water ride powered by solar panels is on its way to GreenWood Forest Park". Wales Online. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ Chris Kelsey (21 September 2015). "GreenWood Forest Park unveils solar array which it hopes will meet 80% of its energy needs and save £1m". Wales Online. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
- ↑ "Greenwood Forest Park zip wire death inquiry begins". BBC News. 25 April 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- 1 2 "Zip wire: More regulation call after Bailey Sumner's accidental death". BBC News. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ Prichard, Lorna (9 May 2013). "Boy's zip wire death 'accidental'". ITV. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ "GreenWood park bosses to enter plea in June over child's zip wire death". News North Wales. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ↑ Alan Fyall (2008). Managing visitor attractions. (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 242. ISBN 075068545X. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ Sayid, Ruki (15 July 2014). "Blackpool Pleasure Beach voted Britain's best theme park". Mirror. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ↑ "New Year honours list: MBEs". The Guardian. 31 December 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2015.