End of the line for Kettering attraction as Wicksteed Park monorail is removed

Work to remove some of Wicksteed Park s iconic rides has begun with the dismantling of the helicopter monorail, that has graced the park for 20 years, located above the small boating lake.

Loved by children - but not so much by parents - the pedal-powered ride used the rider's muscles to move the brightly coloured cars along the track above the water. But now work has begun to remove the track and posts.

Other favourite attractions, deemed too costly or inefficient to run, will also go including the Clip ‘n’ Climb and the zipwire - which both required visitors to pay an additional fee on top of the ride wristband - and the racing cars.

Last month, Wicksteed Park announced that it was planning to re-open in line with the roadmap announced by the Government.

Rachel James, Wicksteed Park’s head of sales and marketing, said: “This is an incredibly important year for us for lots of reasons and first and foremost we are so thankful that we are still here, and grateful to the people who have helped ensure that this is the case.

“We are still finding our feet in terms of recovering from the effects of the pandemic and have had to make some hard financial decisions affecting a small number of our attractions, some of which were popular with visitors, some not so popular.

“But we are working hard to make the park a better place to visit in every way and hope people are looking forward to coming back to see us as much as we are looking forward to welcoming them.”

Rides and attractions will re-open gradually over the coming weeks as visitors are welcomed back to the park they love, culminating in a celebration weekend to coincide with start of May half-term on Friday May 28.

The park will continue opening the free playground and Carousel Café to people visiting the park up to and during the Easter holidays, followed by the opening of a selection of rides and attractions at weekends from Saturday, April 17.

The entire park, rides and attractions will open for the weekend on Saturday, May 22, with Wicky’s Play Factory also scheduled to re-open on the same day.

The park is planning an official re-opening weekend to coincide with the start of May half-term on Friday May 28.

Work to enhance the park’s attractions has already begun with the building of a new meerkat enclosure which is fully accessible for all visitors.

Ms James said: “This is the news everyone at the park, and all our loyal visitors, have been waiting for. We are delighted and can’t wait to welcome everyone back to enjoy themselves and have fun after what has been such a difficult year.”