Lightwater Valley Theme Park

ULTIMATE CONFIDENCE & AWESOME ADVENTURES!

2012-01-18T12:16:00.000-08:00

It's fair to say that a great deal has been written about our 2012 re-brand in recent weeks, especially across several enthusiast forums, and whilst our new logo is the most prominent feature of this exercise so far, we're keen to convey that this is about more than simply a new creative direction and a set of flashy new graphics (although they are pretty awesome and the guys at CQ2 have done an amazing job). Indeed, as an organisation we've come a long way over the past few years and we're keen to highlight our new found confidence and belief in Lightwater Valley and the brilliant experience that we can now offer our guests.

The park landscape has changed immeasurably since 2008 when we installed the Lightwater Wheel, swiftly followed by the Wild River Rapids in 2009, Whirlwind and Raptor Attack in 2010 and Skeleton Cove in 2011. Likewise, let's not forget the strides we're currently making with our events' programme and the fact that we have some of the friendliest and most committed staff within the industry. The Ultimate remains an epic ride experience and we can confidently back this up with one of the best dark rides in the UK (Raptor Attack) and one of the best selections of flat rides at any UK park (Eagle's Claw, Whirlwind, Black Pearl, Powder Kegs). Indeed, we defy any ride enthusiast to board Eagle's Claw, Whirlwind, Raptor Attack and The Ultimate in quick succession and deny the quality and intensity of the experience on offer.

We're under no illusions about the long and hard road ahead of us, or the strength of competition that's out there, but we remain confident in our product and, with our pre-booked online entry price being set at £16.00 for 2012, we challenge any visitor attraction to offer a finer customer experience, a better value day out and more than 7 hours of entertainment for that price.

Our recruitment drive for 2012 is currently underway, with a full list of seasonal job descriptions being online shortly, so if you feel like joining us on 'The Ultimate Adventure' this season then don't hesitate and download a copy of our application form! We look forward to welcoming you to the valley!

Our 2012 website is currently under construction and we intend to bring you an even more epic online presence over the coming weeks and months that provides a comprehensive information portal for all things Lightwater Valley. In the meantime, please take a look at the amazing Valley Mania micro-site where you can download our 2012 leaflet which contains fully updated details on our 2012 pricing and opening times.

PLUNGING INTO 2012!

2012-01-09T02:44:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the beginning of 2012 and the valley is taking its first few deep breaths of the new year. After an extended festive break, light is slowly creeping back into the watery valley as our dedicated team of staff re-set their alarm clocks and prise themselves out of bed for what promises to be an eventful year. If you're still busy reminiscing about 2011, however, we suggest taking a moment to read Valley Mania's review of our 2011 season.

This winter is providing quite a contrast to 12 months ago (when we experienced temperatures approaching minus 15 degrees and heavy snowfall) with the weak January sunshine bathing the park in a resplendent orange glow. Sitting in the office with the radiator 'cranked-up to the max' it's tempting to head out for a walk in nothing more than a t-shirt, but the outside temperature is still less than 10 degrees and only the foolhardy would venture into the park without several layers of clothing:

That said, our operations and maintenance teams would have been extremely grateful for this kind of weather during the construction of Skeleton Cove last winter when they had to fight not only a tight schedule, but also the fierce North Yorkshire elements:

It always feels strange returning to Lightwater after a few weeks away as a certain part of you expects everything to have changed, to somehow be different from before. Of course this is not the case as the landscape is still fundamentally the same as it was in 2011, but somehow our people have a new attitude, a fresh outlook and a burning desire to take on 2012 and to make it a truly landmark year in the history of Lightwater Valley.

Our brand new 2012 park map and leaflet has been released through Valley Mania, so please log on to their impressive micro site for an advance preview of the thrills this year has in store. Indeed, with this piece of literature now being finalised, the marketing department's attention has turned to our new website, which we hope to have 'up and running' by mid-February. Likewise, we'll be providing Valley Mania with a copy of our brand new 2012 TV advert, entitled AFTERSHOCK, for an early February release.

Here's to a thrillingly eventful 2012 and, for the latest news, views and gossip, remember to keep a beady eye on Valley Mania as well as our Facebook and twitter pages. As always, please don't hesitate to get in touch with any opinions or ideas that you'd care to share and, if your resolution for 2012 is to be more adventurous, you're gonna love our new events' programme which kicks-off on Monday 4th June with a visit from the UK Bungee Club. So, if you feel like taking the ultimate plunge from 160ft above the valley, we suggest getting your order in early by booking here!

Until next time!

THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS?

2011-12-20T01:28:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day that the majority of our full-time staff will be here at Lightwater until the New Year, having celebrated the festive season with our Christmas party towards the end of last week. It isn't often that we all get the chance to gather in one place, to reflect on the past season and to look forwards to the coming year, so it's great when we can all let our hair down and enjoy each other's company in a non-work environment.

Against a backdrop of sprouts, mince pies and Christmas pudding it was very satisfying to sit and reflect on the overall success of Skeleton Cove, the epic weather (and record crowds) we experienced for the Easter holidays, the third renewal of Frightwater Valley (along with our 3 nominations for the Screamie Awards) and a very successful Dickensian Festival.

Thoughts soon turned to 2012, however, as we have an immense amount of exciting events to look forward to, from our new partnership with the UK Bungee Club to our September pirate weekends, an expanded Frightwater Valley across 5 days and a new fireworks event branded as 'Nightwater Valley'. Likewise, our park-wide re-brand, new creative direction, new park map and brand new television advert are enough to make us want to jump into the New Year.

A theme park is a truly awesome place to work, but I think most people don't realise how much work goes into 'keeping the show on the road,' so to speak. Indeed, the winter period can be busier than the summer season for most departments with preparation and planning for the following year being immensely time consuming. That's not to say it isn't great fun, but it isn't always as glamorous as people may think.

In terms of our 2012 literature, next year's main leaflet (incorporating our brand new park map) will be finalised shortly and we hope to release this through Valley Mania in time for Christmas. So, keep a beady eye on our official fan site and please let us have your feedback through the Valley Mania forums, as well as our Facebook and twitter pages.

The weather has taken a distinctly chilly twist over the past few days, with our operations and maintenance teams wearing an alarming amount of clothing as they go about their daily tasks around the park! There's also a tinge of sadness when we walk around the site at this time of year, looking at the rides undergoing their winter maintenance schedules. Somehow a theme park needs sunshine and people to really come alive, with the surrounding landscape looking very cold and barren through November and December.

Given that we'll be breaking for Christmas shortly, our Facebook and Twitter pages remain the best method of contact until the early part of the New Year and will be checked on a daily basis. So, please don't hesitate to get in touch should you have a question or query.

So, without further ado, we hope you all have an amazing Christmas & New Year and we look forward to welcoming you back to the Valley in 2012!

See you in the New Year!

FESTIVE COCKTAILS & ULTIMATE PLUNGES!

2011-12-05T05:59:00.000-08:00

And there we have it - our Dickensian Christmas Festival is over for another year and brings 2011 to a close. The festival proved to be extremely popular this year with record crowds flocking to Lightwater Shopping Village to enjoy a festive cocktail of food, entertainment and shopping. With over 100 stalls selling a wide variety of products and entertainment ranging from a flea circus to a street theatre version of 'A Christmas Carol' it was an excellent four days and an enjoyable time was had by all!

We now have a very busy two weeks ahead before we all take a well earned break for Christmas, with 2012 planning being very high on our immediate agenda. Indeed, next year will see a major re-brand for Lightwater Valley Theme Park as we concentrate our marketing efforts on the experience that we offer people and the adventure that awaits:

This will be combined with an expanded events' programme as we welcome the UK Bungee Club to Lightwater Valley on both Monday 4th June and Saturday 8th September. Guests will have the opportunity to 'take the ultimate plunge' from 160ft above the valley and can book directly through the UK Bungee Club website. We have quite a few members of staff interested in taking part, so book early to avoid disappointment!

Moving forwards, we're very excited to introduce our new 'Swashbuckling September' pirate weekends which will run from Saturday 8th September until Sunday 30th September (4 weekends in total). So come along and learn to talk & fight like a buccaneer, listen to tales of seafaring heroics from our old sea dogs, win chests full of doubloons in our valley-wide treasure hunt and watch our marauding filibuster of a show! With competitions also running for the best dressed pirate, you'd better have your finest Tricorn at the ready …

The centrepiece of our 2012 events' programme will be Frightwater Valley, which will run across 5 days from Wednesday 31st October until Sunday 4th November. This will feature increased scare content, from terrifying live action horror mazes and hair-raising frightmare zones to gruesome Halloween shows and blood-curdling inhabitants, but no firework displays! So, come along and watch light turn to dark as the valley becomes shrouded in a menacing cloak of supernatural delight:

Given that Frightwater Valley will not feature any firework displays, this gives us a great deal more scope in terms of increased investment and expansion of the Halloween content. That's not to say, however, that we want to disappoint the firework fans! For 2012 we'll be remaining open for an additional weekend on Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th November for the inaugural Nightwater Valley:

So, it's fair to say that fireworks are back as we finish our 2012 season with a bang! Join us for a thrilling cocktail of pyrotechnical wizardry, awesome rides and chilled out vibes as insane explosions light-up the valley.

In the meantime, we'd really appreciate your help in voting for Frightwater Valley 2011 in the Screamie Awards - we're lucky enough to have been nominated in 3 categories but we need your help if we're going to win! Please click here to vote.

Oh, and remember that our Facebook and twitter feeds remain the best way of keeping up to date with all things Lightwater Valley, along with the Valley Mania forums!

DICKENSIAN AFTERSHOCKS!

2011-11-23T02:16:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy few days here at Lightwater, with the whole site gearing-up for our shopping village Dickensian Christmas Festival from 1st to 4th December. Our operations department are busy finalising the Winter Wonderland for the arrival of Santa and his reindeer, whilst the shops are looking resplendent in their Christmas decorations! Our festival marquee is almost ready to house the majority of the 100 different stalls that will be attending the event, with entertainment ranging from Punch & Judy shows to a flea circus and a street theatre version of 'A Christmas Carol.' For the thrill seekers amongst you, we will also be operating the Carousel and Skyrider over the Dickensian Festival weekend, as well as offering Donkey rides from the fairground (weekend only).

It was great to see Mat from UK Park News popping in for a coffee yesterday and bringing us a photographic gift to say thank you for entertaining them over our Frightwater Valley weekend (it was a pleasure, but we never say no to presents!):

Regular followers will know that we were in London on Saturday filming the second part of our brand new 2012 TV advert. It was a long day with a 5:00am train down to the big smoke, but the filming ran on schedule and we're now very excited to see the final result! We have one more day in an editing suite (early next week) and the advert is finished! Codenamed AFTERSHOCK, the advert is quite a move away from our usual style:

The advert will be available to view in the new year and is designed to fit with the wider re-brand that the theme park is undergoing for 2012. There will be plenty more news in our next blog on 2012 planning and events, but in the meantime keep an eye on Valley Mania for all the latest news and gossip!

SNOW PIRATES, SKELETONS & SEGWAYS!

2011-11-17T09:22:00.000-08:00

It's fair to say that 2011 has been an epic year for us here at Lightwater Valley, so it seems appropriate to write a quick review of the past 12 months before we start concentrating solely on 2012.

You may remember that the year began under heavy snow, which made working outside difficult for our operations and maintenance teams as they grafted tirelessly to complete Skeleton Cove in time for our Easter opening:

The valley always looks beautiful under a blanket of whiteness, but with temperatures dropping as low as 15 degrees below freezing it felt anything but gorgeous during January and February! Thankfully the weather relented as we moved into March and the spring bulbs began peeping through the hard earth on the banks of our lake:

Skeleton Cove launched to rave reviews at the beginning of April, with our marketing team jumping on the Pirate bandwagon as we attended the Great Days Out Fair in Manchester in early March:

With 2 weeks of sunshine for the Easter holidays, we attracted record early season crowds (the guys from UK Park News even came along in pirate costume):

As the season progressed we continued to attract hoardes of landlubbers who were interested to see what Skeleton Cove was all about, but it's easy to forget that we also purchased a Mondial Top Scan ride for the 2011 season and installed this between The Ultimate and Raptor Attack. Widely regarded as the most intense flat ride in the country, Whirlwind proved massively popular with thrill seekers from across the country:

The summer season flew by at an alarming rate, with mixed weather and a strong pirate theme running through all our marketing campaigns. Indeed, we had great fun at both the Lincolnshire and Great Yorkshire shows and also conducted a pirate themed treasure hunt around Meadowhall shopping centre:

We also sponsored a young racing driver called Max Coates in the Ginetta Junior Series at Croft Race circuit:

It was a very busy summer season here at the valley, aside from a few rainy days in August, and before we knew what had happened we found ourselves in the middle of September with Frightwater Valley preparations in full swing.

Frightwater Valley once again proved to be a massively successful weekend, with an electric atmosphere across the park, record crowds of people in attendance and the season finishing with a spookily loud bang:

It really has been an amazing year, so a massive thank you to everyone who's supported us over the past 12 months and we look forward to welcoming you guys back through our gates for our opening weekend of 2012 on 24th & 25th March.

ULTIMATE DECONSTRUCTION!

2011-11-11T02:47:00.000-08:00

Winter maintenance continues unabated now the park is closed for the winter months and, far from being a quiet period, our hard working engineering teams are busier than ever!

The Ultimate carriages have now been completely removed from the track, with the following image showing the final two blue carriages awaiting removal:

Many people would consider this to be a time of year tinged with sadness at the end of a long season, but we're throwing ourselves into planning for 2012 as we look forward with renewed hope to another great year. Once The Ultimate carriages have been removed from the track, they're effectively reduced to their component parts:

It's much the same story for the majority of our attractions as the Swan Boats are removed from the lake for winter storage:

The Twister chassis are stripped down:

And 'The Black Widow' has her arms (or should that be legs?) removed:

Looking ahead to Christmas, our Shopping Village Dickensian Festival is looming on the horizon from 1st to 4th December and our operations department are busy preparing for the arrival of Santa! The festival is open until 7:00pm on Thursday 1st December, with Santa arriving as part of a reindeer parade at 4:45pm. Santa will be present on every day of the festival, with his reindeer also staying on site with us, but for this year they'll form part of our new winter wonderland. Other entertainment will include fairground rides and donkey rides during the weekend, along with a flea circus, Punch and Judy shows (weekend only) and a special production of 'A Christmas Carol' by We Are Theatre (the people who provided our awesome Frightwater Valley actors).

Oh, and speaking of Christmas, remember that we're offering 25% off our 2012 season tickets if booked before 16th December:

In the meantime, remember to keep an eye on Valley Mania and our Facebook and twitter pages for all the latest news and gossip! Likewise, the eagle eyed amongst you will have spotted our new 2012 logo and a new style of artwork for next year - we hope you like the change and, as always, we'd really appreciate any feedback through the Valley Mania forums.

GEARING UP FOR WINTER!

2011-11-07T01:24:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again...winter maintenance! Some people may think that once the theme park closes we all put our feet up with a nice brew - it is, however, a very different story! All our rides and attractions need to be taken apart and inspected in preparation for the 2012 season, meaning that this is the busiest time of year for Lightwater's maintenance team. The first ride on the list this year has been the Twister - all the cars are now sat awaiting work in the Maintenance yard:

Three of the Raptor Attack cars have been removed from the ride's mineshaft (you can see a picture of a Raptor chassis below) and the Caterpillar is also sat awaiting some TLC in the maintenance yard:

It's much the same story for all departments here at the valley with the marketing team currently throwing themselves into planning for 2012 (next year's main leaflet and brand new park map is currently taking shape). Likewise, all our media and PR campaigns need planning well in advance, along with an expanded events' programme that will take a great deal of organisation and hard work. As such, the next few months will see us working closely with Centrix Q2 and Bonner & Hindley.

We filmed the first part of our brand new 2012 television advert during October half-term week and we're heading to London at the end of next week to complete the 'studio' part of the shoot. Next year's advert is a distinct and radical change from anything we've produced over the previous few years and will be ready for our Easter marketing campaigns. As such, we hope you guys like it!

In the meantime, remember to keep a beady eye on Valley Mania who will shortly be releasing details of our 2012 plans. Likewise, our Facebook and twitter feeds remain the best source of information for all things Lightwater Valley!

BANG GOES 2011!

2011-10-31T04:28:00.000-07:00

Well, there we have it! The 2011 season has drawn to a close, but we finished with a bang!

A big thank you to everyone who visited us this season and who came along to celebrate Halloween with us over the Frightwater Valley weekend - we hope you guys all enjoyed the event as much as we enjoyed staging it! If you think Frightwater Valley is worthy of a Screamie Award, please take a moment to nominate us here.

A special thank you must go to our awesome team of staff for all their hard work and dedication throughout the year, as well as the extra special effort they all put in for our final Frightwater Valley weekend. You make Lightwater Valley an amazing place to spend time and we must also mention 'We Are Theatre' for providing our Frightwater actors, the Magic Light Puppet Company for an amazing Frightwater UV Puppet show and our resident magicians (Paul and Marc) for their all round awesomeness.

It was great to see Valley Mania joining us for 'VM LIVE - Night of the Fundead' on Saturday 29th October and special mention must also go to UK Park News who will be publishing a full event review, with exclusive behind the scenes footage, over the coming weeks. Fan sites are the lifeblood of this industry and we are fully committed to providing all enthusiast groups with as much access, hospitality and support as possible. As far as we're concerned, you guys are official members of the press and we value your independent feedback, reviews and opinions.

Our Facebook & Twitter pages remain the best way to keep in touch with all the latest valley news, views and gossip through the winter months and we look forward to welcoming you all back in 2012 for 'The Ultimate Adventure!'

WELCOME TO THE VALLEY OF FRIGHTS!

2011-10-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

Only a few days to go until Frightwater Valley and a cloak of darkness has descended across the park; a darkness that belongs to the undead and the demons that lurk deep within the valley. Where there is no imagination, there is no horror and, as we put the finishing touches to our Halloween preparations, Frightwater Valley promises to be our most imaginative and intense event yet. Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th October will be spooktacular!

Dracula's Labyrinth is almost resurrected and, as the shadows of 1000 years rise again unseen, Dracula's vampire brides can be sensed lurking in the shadows. Nobody dare venture beyond the fairground after dark - and with good reason as rumours abound of ghostly pirates haunting Skeleton Cove and a deadly virus having turned Raptor Attack's long abandoned mineshaft into a Zombie feeding ground.

As Frightwater Valley approaches and the thin veil that keeps our world separate from the underworld weakens, our only hope is that spooktacular fireworks igniting the night sky will be enough to keep the evil creatures that inhabit the valley at bay. All we can advise is that guests brave enough to enter the valley of frights this weekend take extra care and always have an escape route (or should that be an escape ride?) at hand! Take special note of our Goblin's guide to Frightwater Valley and remember people - detection is protection when it comes to creatures of the night!

Welcome to the valley of frights. We bid you welcome. Come freely, go safely and leave something of the happiness you bring.

29th & 30th October.

GREEDY GOBLINS & PYROTECHNICAL WIZARDRY!

2011-10-18T01:08:00.000-07:00

Ahead of Frightwater Valley on Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th October, we felt it was time to give you guys a bit more detail on all of this year's Halloween happenings!

For those of you that don't know, the theme park opens at 10:00am each morning and all rides operate as usual throughout the day, with things drawing to a close at 8:00pm on Saturday 29th & 7:00pm on Sunday 30th October. For a full listing of which rides operate through the firework displays and until park close, download a copy of our Autumn brochure (which includes a full event map & a goblin's guide to Frightwater Valley). Likewise, for those of you who want to get some serious ride time in before experiencing our scare mazes and Halloween shows, we recommend that you do this between 10:00am and 1:00pm. Most of our guests choose the 1:00pm entry slot during Frightwater Valley, so you'll find the park is fairly quiet until lunchtime!

So, what's the story behind this year's scare attractions?

DRACULA’S LABYRINTH (open from dusk each day)

In the late 19th century, Count Dracula travelled to Yorkshire aboard a ship called the Demeter, along with 50 coffins of unhallowed earth from his homeland. It is rumoured that, as the coffins of earth were being transported from Whitby to Dracula’s new home in London, the horse-drawn convoy passed through North Yorkshire. Local legend then tells us that, as the carriages traversed a patch of farmland just North of Ripon, a brutal storm raging overhead, the horses reared violently and a single box of unhallowed earth crashed unnoticed to the floor.

As Halloween approaches and the thin veil that keeps our world separate from the underworld begins to weaken, it is rumoured that Dracula himself can re-awaken on the patch of earth known as ‘Dracula’s Dungeon’ by local residents, the exact spot on which that single box of unhallowed earth crashed to the floor all those years ago. Located at the very heart of ‘Dracula’s Labyrinth’, dare you enter the amazing maze of tunnels and risk an encounter with the Nosferatu?

This attraction is not suitable for under 12s.

RAPTOR ATTACK LIVE!

The Alpha Virus! A scientific team was recently sent to investigate the discovery of a tar-like substance deep inside Raptor Attack’s mineshaft, with a preliminary data transmission & analysis revealing remnants of a deadly prehistoric virus. Radio and video contact was subsequently lost with the scientists, with the last known images from the lead scientists’ camera showing a Raptor-like creature attacking (and seemingly killing) the group.

Video contact was re-established a short time afterwards, with the scientists’ bodies having disappeared and odd, guttural sounds echoing from deep within the tunnels.

Raptors might not be the only creatures that attack if you dare to venture into Raptor Attack … LIVE!

SPOOKY UV PUPPET SHOW

Frightwater Valley presents ‘magic lights’ and ‘freaky frights’, light hearted Halloween entertainment for your little goblins. Magic shows will take place at 1:30pm & 2:30pm with UV puppet shows at 3:30pm, 4:00pm, 4:30pm, 5:00pm, 6:00pm & 7:00pm

THE HAUNTING OF SKELETON COVE

175 years ago, to this Frightwater’s Day, a young pirate was walking, through the lush green bay. As the sun was shining, she saw and looked down, a locket was seen, half buried in ground. Eternal youth would be granted, the whispers did say, but defend it you must, no evil obey.

This Frightwater Valley weekend, witness an epic battle of good versus evil as the ghostly pirates of Skeleton Cove battle for eternal life and a young pirate girl battles valiantly to keep evil at bay.

Shows taking place inside Hungry Harbour at 12:00pm, 1:00pm, 2:00pm, 3:00pm, 4:00pm & 5:00pm.

FIREWORK SPOOKTACULAR

With spooktacular fireworks set to a supernatural musical soundtrack, Dr. Frightwater prescribes your annual dose of pyrotechnical wizardry. Fired over our lake at 6:30pm on Saturday and 5:30pm on Sunday, watch the skies explode in colour against a backdrop of thrilling rides and Halloween vibes.

Remember guys, the best rates are available through our website with all day entry for only £15.95 per person and entry after 1:00pm for only £12.95 per person (both offers only available when pre-booked online). We are accepting Tesco clubcard vouchers on the day, but as usual these are only valid against full-price individual and family tickets and we're advising 'pay on day' customers to be here for 10:00am.

For the latest news, views and gossip, Facebook, twitter and Valley Mania are the places to go!

Happy Halloween!

CHILLY TWISTS & SCARY HORIZONS!

2011-10-12T01:42:00.000-07:00

As we get closer to Frightwater Valley, we're starting to notice a distinctly chilly twist to the weather, with our engineering and operations teams wearing more and more layers of clothing each day (it almost looks like we now have several Michelin men walking around the valley!). Likewise, the trees that give Lightwater Valley such an amazing backdrop through the summer months have taken on some amazing autumnal shades, with deep reds, golds and yellows now dominating the woodland canopies.

Working here every day, it's very easy to take our location for granted, but at this time of year the beauty of our 175 acre site is particularly evident. That's not to say, however, that we have much time to stand and admire the changing landscape with both Frightwater Valley and our Shopping Village Dickensian Festival looming on the horizon.

Dracula's Labyrinth is nearing completion and our Halloween actors are in the final stages of their rehearsals for The Haunting of Skeleton Cove and Raptor Attack LIVE!, as well as Dracula's Labyrinth. So, exciting times indeed and we hope to see you on either the 29th or 30th October for Frightwater Valley! Don't forget to visit the Frightwater event microsite for a flavour of what we have in store for you!

Our 2012 planning is now nearing completion with many exciting projects, such as a brand new television advert and a new creative direction, in the offing. So, here's a small taste of some of our new photography for next year's literature:

As always, Facebook and Twitter are a great way of keeping in touch with all things Lightwater, as well as joining the debate in the Valley Mania forums.

MISTY ADVENTURES!

2011-10-01T05:58:00.000-07:00

Here we are on the first day of October and we're presented with some of the hottest weather we've seen for the past few months! In fact, this is probably the sunniest and warmest it's been here at Lightwater Valley since the Easter holidays!

The advantage of such fine weather (at this autumnal time of year) is that early mornings present the opportunity for some amazing photography, with mist clinging to the surface of the lake and 'The Ultimate' looking particularly awesome as it rises out of the valley:

October weekends remain a great time to visit and you can still take advantage of our special 'Autumn Adventure' offer until Sunday 23rd October, which gives entry for £12.95 per person when presented at our entry kiosks on arrival.

Looking further ahead, our Frightwater Valley preparations are now in full swing, with new props and theming being delivered on a regular basis:

This year promises to be the most awesome Halloween event we've ever staged, so remember to book your tickets well in advance through our website to not only guarantee the best available rates, but also to avoid disappointment. With all day entry for only £15.95 per head and entry after 1:00pm for only £12.95 per person, you really would be a crazy goblin not to book online as these special rates will not be available on the day! Oh, and remember that you can also check out the event microsite here and download your own copy of the Frightwater Valley map & guide!

Moving into 2012, we'd like to thank everyone who took part in our recent photo shoot as we 'bagged and tagged' some outstanding shots for next year's literature:

In the meantime, remember to keep an eye on our Facebook and twitter feeds for the latest valley news, as well as our Youtube channel and official fan site - Valley Mania.

A CAULDRON OF DEVILISH GOINGS ON!

2011-09-23T00:25:00.000-07:00

Halloween is coming, Halloween is coming!!

It's all systems go at the valley as we step our Frightwater Valley preparations up a gear, with our new signature prop having been delivered yesterday evening! Can you guess what it is yet?

Our Halloween actors are busy rehearsing for their parts in 'The Haunting of Skeleton Cove', 'Raptor Attack LIVE!' and 'Dracula's Labyrinth', whilst our engineering and operations teams are working on new lighting effects for Skeleton Cove - The Black Pearl promises to look amazing at night time.

If you haven't checked out the Frightwater Valley microsite you really should as it tells you everything you need to know about the event and you can also download a copy of the Frightwater Valley map and event guide.

In other news, remember to download your Autumn Adventures voucher if you're coming along before Sunday 23rd October and don't forget that we're actively encouraging all visitors to pre-book for Frightwater Valley to guarantee your place. The weekend of 29th & 30th October promises to be a cauldron of devilish goings on and you really don't want to miss it!

As if the frights and spooky happenings weren't enough, Doctor Frightwater is also prescribing your annual dose of pyrotechnical wizardry! Fired over our lake at 6:30pm on Saturday 29th October and 5:30pm on Sunday 30th October, watch the skies explode in colour against a backdrop of thrills, chills and Halloween vibes.

SPOOKTACULAR AUTUMN ADVENTURES!

2011-09-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

It has to be said that we're all getting in the 'Halloween' swing frightfully early this year, but we can't help ourselves. We work at a theme park, we're very excitable and Frightwater Valley is such an awesome event to work on, with this year's renewal being particularly epic.

We love fireworks (and our displays really are the best around), we can't wait for the resurrection of Dracula's Labyrinth, the addition of Raptor Attack LIVE! and the spooky Haunting of Skeleton Cove! Oh, and as if that wasn't enough, we also have the Magic Light Puppet Company performing their spooky Dark Light Halloween show in our theatre, along with our very own Magic Marc tailoring his magic shows especially for Frightwater Valley. We also have some great new props arriving for this year's event, so the park promises to look absolutely spooktacular. We anticipate the event being really popular, so booking early through our website is advisable to guarantee your place - it also guarantees the best prices with all day entry for only £15.95 per person and entry after 1:00pm for only £12.95 per head.

Our groovy technical support goblins (yes, these creatures do exist) have been working on a new microsite for Frightwater Valley, which is almost ready to go live (so keep a beady eye on it!). Before we get to Frightwater Valley, however, we remain open on weekends until October half-term week and we've just launched a very special £12.95 entry offer for September and October, which can be downloaded from our Facebook page!

In the meantime, we're encouraging everyone to book early for Frightwater Valley as we do anticipate selling out the event. Likewise, our Facebook, twitter and youtube feeds remain the best place to keep 'up to speed' on all things Lightwater! And if you feel like 'joining the debate' remember to check out Valley Mania.

THE SEASON OF MISTS!

2011-08-31T01:24:00.000-07:00

As I sit here writing, the park is becoming increasingly autumnal, with the surrounding leaves starting to take on a distinctly golden tinge and a wonderful mist clinging to the surface of our lake each morning. Autumn really is a magical time of year here in North Yorkshire and, although it may seem odd to be looking excitedly ahead before the month of August has faded, these are exciting times at Lightwater Valley:

Many of our longest-serving seasonal employees are now in the autumnal phases of their careers here at Lightwater and are now ready to move on to pastures new. Indeed, so many youngsters start work here at the age of 16 and remain with us until graduation from University, so it's genuinely satisfying to watch so many of our people developing their full potential. We wish all of our 2011 leavers every success in their future careers and special mention must go to Jonathan Denby, Lisa Fewster and Chris Strickland for giving so much to Lightwater Valley during their time here.

Moving forwards, work continues unabated on our 2012 marketing and events programmes and, as we immerse ourselves in planning for next year, we're keen to hear from anyone who has thoughts or ideas on how to improve the Lightwater Valley experience. As such, please don't hesitate to get in touch via our website, facebook or twitter pages or by joining the debate in the Valley Mania forums. Alternatively, please email us directly on marketing@lightwatervalley.co.uk.

Please remember that, from Sunday 4th September, the theme park moves back to a 'weekends only' operation until October half-term week. The Shopping Village and Birds of Prey Centre, however, remain open every day and we have two great events to look forward to in Frightwater Valley and our Dickensian Festival.

SUMMER SUNSHINE WITH A HINT OF AUTUMN

2011-08-19T05:38:00.000-07:00

Sitting here as we rapidly approach the end of the summer holiday season, Lightwater Valley is taking on a distinctly autumnal vibe during these late August mornings. Indeed, coming in to work before 8:00am is a great opportunity to see the park at its most beautiful with dew on the ground, the sun just peeping above the treetops and the abundant wildlife at its most relaxed. This morning was a perfect case in point and you can check out the photos from this morning in our Facebook album.

Looking ahead to September and October, the park moves back to a 'weekends only' opening schedule after 4th September (with the exception of October half-term week from Saturday 22nd until Sunday 30th October). With these dates not forming part of our peak season, they're a great time to visit with minimal queue times and maximum ride times. That said, you have until 4th September to make every day of the summer holidays count:

As we approach the end of October, we build towards our spooktacular Frightwater Valley event on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th. With fireworks and frights courtesy of 'Dracula's Labyrinth', 'The Haunting of Skeleton Cove' and 'Raptor Attack LIVE!' there's no shortage of Halloween fun on offer here at Lightwater Valley.

On the marketing front we're busy working on our Autumn & Winter programme, which includes a new microsite for Frightwater Valley, a new website for Lightwater Country Shopping Village and a reworked 'Goblin's guide to Frightwater Valley.'

Looking ahead to 2012, we're working on a wide range of groovy ideas that will hopefully drive the park forwards next year and we really want to hear your thoughts and ideas on how you'd like to see us promote the park and the events you'd like to see us stage. As such, please don't hesitate to get in touch through our Facebook or Twitter pages, or alternatively please email us directly on marketing@lightwatervalley.co.uk.

YORKSHIRE'S MOST MAGNIFICENT ATTRACTION?

2011-08-09T01:05:00.000-07:00

With the main summer holiday season now in full swing, it's 'all hands on deck' here at Lightwater Valley as we remain open every day from 10:00am until 5:30pm (until Sunday 4th September)! Indeed, with the tourism industry across Yorkshire experiencing quite a boom at the moment, we're proud to be at the forefront of the attractions industry and to be working hard to give families a great value day out. With entry for only £15.95 per head when booked in advance through our website, we like to think that's excellent value for 7 hours of entertainment that includes the longest roller coaster in Europe - The Ultimate - and two of the most intense flat rides in the country - Eagle's Claw and Whirlwind.

At the moment we're encouraging our guests to vote for us as the 'Most Magnificent Attraction in Yorkshire' in the new Yorkshire Attractions competition, run in conjunction with Calendar News. So, if you've visited us this season and would like to vote, you can do so here.

Moving forwards, at this time of year Frightwater Valley is never far from our thoughts as we're busy working on our Autumn & Winter programme. Gone are the days when people used to visit theme parks once each year in either July or August - Halloween is now a wonderful time of year to visit an attraction as you don't just get to experience the rides, but also loads of added extras such as scare mazes, firework displays and spooky magic shows.

This year we're working with We Are Theatre as we aim to make Frightwater Valley bigger and better than ever, building on the success of the past 2 years as we expand our Halloween programme with not only our famous firework displays and a scarier 'Dracula's Labyrinth', but also (new for 2011) 'Raptor Attack LIVE!' and 'The Haunting of Skeleton Cove.'

In the meantime, remember that our Facebook and twitter feeds are the best way to keep in touch with all things Lightwater Valley. Oh, and don't forget that for the best value deals you need to check out our special offers page prior to your trip!

THE HAUNTING OF MEADOWHALL!

2011-07-28T04:39:00.000-07:00

Forgive us dear readers, it's been a couple of weeks since our last blog, but show season was in full swing. With 2 days at Lincolnshire Show, 3 days at the Great Yorkshire Show and then 4 days conducting a pirate-themed treasure hunt around Meadowhall Shopping Centre, it's been a hectic time for our marketing team. Indeed, it feels like we've hardly been at Lightwater Valley for the past month or so! Shows and exhibitions are great fun and we really enjoy interacting with you guys, dressing as pirates and spreading the word about Skeleton Cove and Lightwater Valley, but they're also extremely hard work.

Our partnership with both Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions and Welcome to Yorkshire continues to go from strength to strength and we're forging ever stronger relationships with the other attractions within the group. As such, we're looking forward to many new concepts and events over the coming months.

Many of you will have celebrated The Ultimate's 20th anniversary with us and it really is amazing to see such an iconic and legendary roller coaster continuing to thrill visitors after 20 awesome years in operation. It was a pleasure to see people returning to Lightwater valley who actually met Frank Bruno back on the ride's official launch day (17th July 1991) and a big thank you must also go to the guys from UK Rides who brought along birthday cakes!

With the summer holidays now in full swing, we want people to get the best possible value from their day out at Lightwater Valley, so please remember to check out our special offers page before you visit and to download the money-saving vouchers for use on park. With meal deals available for just £5, treating yourself doesn't have to break the bank. Indeed, if you check-in on arrival with Foursquare or Facebook Places, and use the downloadable meal deal voucher, you can have a full day of action and adventure, along with lunch, for only £19.95 per person.

Looking ahead, work has now started on our Autumn & Winter brochure, with Frightwater Valley once again forming the centrepiece of our autumnal programme on Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th October. Likewise, we're also now working on video clips for 'The Haunting of Skeleton Cove', 'Raptor Attack LIVE!' and 'Dracula's Labyrinth', so keep your eyes peeled for the new Frightwater Valley microsite which will be going live from early September!

That's all for now folks, but we hope to be welcoming you to Lightwater Valley over the next few weeks!

THE ULTIMATE YORKSHIRE SHOW!

2011-07-16T02:58:00.000-07:00

It seems that time has ticked on at an astonishing rate since our last blog, so once again it's time for an update on all things Lightwater Valley!

Our marketing team are just back from an awesome 3 days at the Great Yorkshire Show and we need to say a big thank you to both Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions and Welcome to Yorkshire for their hard work and hospitality throughout the show. The Lightwater Valley pirate Captains had great fun interacting with guests in full swashbuckling costume and, should you wish, you can check out both the Lightwater Valley facebook photo album and the Welcome to Yorkshire facebook album from the show. It was great to see so many Yorkshire Attractions getting involved and special mention must go to the vikings from Jorvik, the Peter Pan characters from York Theatre Royal and the segway from Yorkshire Outdoors. Likewise, it was great to team up with the guys from Yorkshire Museum, National Media Museum, Eureka Museum, Magna Science and The Deep to make our stand one of the most interesting at the show!

Given that today is Saturday 16th July, it would be remiss of us not to wish 'The Ultimate' a very happy 20th birthday for this weekend. The ride featured on Calendar news a few nights ago and, if you missed the bulletin, you can catch it again here. In short, a truly epic coaster that remains as unique today as it did at launch in July 1991:

Next stop for our events team is Meadowhall Shopping Centre from Saturday 23rd until Tuesday 26th July, where we will once again be teaming up with Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions and putting on a pirate themed treasure hunt around the shopping centre! So, if you're in the area pop along and say hello! Oh, and we'll also be at Pontefract Racecourse on Monday 18th July for the literature exchange organised by Welcome to Yorkshire. As such, if you're a local accommodation provider or tourist information centre you can come along and take away some Lightwater Valley leaflets!

If you're visiting Lightwater Valley over the coming weeks remember to check out our special offers page before you set off as there really are some great money saving deals on there! Likewise, following our facebook and twitter feeds is always the best way of keeping up to date on all things Lightwater Valley!

WHITE ROSES, SANDY BEACHES & TREASURE HUNTS!

2011-07-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how time flies when you're having fun and the last few days have gone by in an absolute flash!! We must have been busy ... or at least been having fun and looking busy! Life at a theme park involves nothing but hard work and dedication (and don't let anyone tell you different)!

In news that's 'hot off the press', we've just been nominated for a White Rose Award by Welcome to Yorkshire in the 'Tourism Experience of the Year' category for Frightwater Valley 2010. We were lucky enough to be nominated last year for the inaugural 2009 event, but we're hoping to go one better this time around, especially as the 2010 event was such a great success and we made such an awesome promotional video (we'll be forever indebted to Paul Roberts for his cameo performance in the lake):

Speaking of Yorkshire, we'll be heading to the Great Yorkshire Show next week (12th to 14th July) so please come along and say hello to the Lightwater Valley pirates on the Welcome to Yorkshire stand. We're there as part of our membership to Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions, so there'll be plenty going on with loads of different activities. We've also heard a rumour that the stand will feature a real beach with sand brought across from Scarborough, so our pirates should feel right at home.

Our summer 2011 TV advert has now been completed, so we hope you guys like the final result! We were conscious that we wanted to portray Skeleton Cove in a swashbuckling light, so hopefully we've done that and given a good overview of a day at Lightwater valley. Thanks must also go to Centrix Q2 and Citizen's Band for their work on the project:

Going forwards, once our Skeleton Cove pirates have finished at the Great Yorkshire Show they'll be heading to Meadowhall Shopping Centre (just outside Sheffield) where Lightwater Valley is once again teaming up with Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions for 4 days of summer holiday fun from 23rd to 26th July! So, why not come along and see if you've got what it takes to complete the Lightwater Valley treasure hunt around the shopping centre?

Oh, and congratulations are definitely in order for our friends over at Valley Mania who are today celebrating their 5th birthday - it's been a pleasure working with you guys and long may our relationship continue!

That's all for now folks ...

GINETTAS, FOOTBALLS & AGRICULTURAL SHOWS!

2011-06-24T01:59:00.000-07:00

It's been an action packed few days for the marketing team here at Lightwater Valley, so we felt it was time for an update ... it isn't often that we're allowed out unsupervised, so we have to take advantage when we get to throw off the shackles!!

We had great fun at the Croft Motor Racing Circuit on Sunday 19th June in the company of the Max Coates Racing team, sponsoring Max's car as he competed in the Ginetta G40 Junior Championship. It was a superb event that attracted a crowd in excess of 30,000 people and was televised live on ITV4, with Max racing on the undercard of the British Touring Car Championship. As such, we were proud to be associated with such a great event and such a promising young driver. You can take a look at our photos from the event here and we'd like to wish Max and his team every success for the remainder of the season.

Following on from our first foray into the world of motor racing, Tuesday night witnessed the home leg of the Lightwater Valley versus Flamingo Land football match. The match attracted plenty of home support, including Valligator cheerleaders on the sidelines, and resulted in a 5-1 victory for the Lightwater Valley team (not that we like to boast!). Again, you can check out our facebook photo album from the match here and we will also be posting a video from the game within the next few days.

After such a glorious victory against Flamingo Land, Ash & Simon set sail for the Lincolshire Show on the morning of Wednesday 22nd June at an uncharacteristically early hour. Indeed, if you've ever seen a pirate emerge from his front door at 06:00 it really is a sight to behold (thankfully Captain Edward hadn't overdosed on rum the night before, but we did attract some strange glances as we headed South on the A1). The show itself was a great success as we collaborated with Magna Science & Adventure Centre, Eureka! and The Deep to make the Yorkshire Attractions Stand quite a spectacle (there was no escape from Captain Edward's Cutlass!). Again, check out the album on our facebook page for full details or take a look back at our Facebook and Twitter feeds for 22nd & 23rd June.

Now that we're back in the office it's time to start looking in more detail at Frightwater Valley, as well as our planning for 2012. Likewise, we'll be editing our Summer 2011 TV advert with the guys from CQ2 on Friday 1st July, so we should have this online a few days later.

As a final reminder, if you're thinking of coming along to the valley don't forget that the best deals are available through our website with a full day of action & adventure for only £15.95 per head and a great range of downloadable special offer vouchers for use on park.

That's all for now ye scurvy dogs!

TUTUS, GINETTAS & WATER PISTOLS!

2011-06-17T01:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been another busy week here at Lightwater Valley as we start to push forwards with our marketing activities and event plans for 2012. In fact, we held an inspiring meeting yesterday to talk about how we'd like to drive Lightwater Valley forwards and we've formulated some excellent new ideas that we'll be working on over the coming months. As such, the next stage is to talk to both Centrix Q2 and Bonner & Hindley to add some more creative meat to our ideas.

In the immediate future, we're pleased to announce that we're supporting the Max Coates Racing Team in the Ginetta Junior Championship at the Croft circuit this Sunday 19th June. As such, we'd like to wish Max every success in his Ginetta G40 (we'll be at the Croft circuit on Sunday to show our support).

On the online video front, we've now seen the first draft of our new Whirlwind ride video and it's fair to say that it's looking like another epic production by Simon, our groovy marketing assistant. With a few tweaks, this should be online within the next couple of weeks. Likewise, we had great fun last night filming our new Swan Lake video, with the help of some very willing volunteers from our operations department, four tutus and a couple of water pistols. As such, it's fair to say that we're looking at another humorous Flying Camels style video.

That's all for now, but in the meantime please remember that we're open every day for thrills & chills in the valley until Sunday 4th September!

FRIGHTWATER COVE!

2011-06-09T01:31:00.000-07:00

We've now had chance to catch our breath after a busy June half-term week, so we felt it was time for a quick update on all things Lightwater Valley. We weren't blessed with amazing weather for half-term (in fact it was quite mixed) but we had enough sunny and dry spells for everyone who visited to enjoy themselves. Having been closed to the public on Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th June, this also gave us chance to look at additional theming throughout the Skeleton Cove and Hungry Harbour area of the park, which should hopefully be installed over coming weeks.

We had the pleasure of entertaining the Rotary Club on Wednesday 8th June for their annual 'Kids Out' event, with over 800 children coming along to enjoy a much needed day out and the exclusive use of our marquee. As such, if you feel like organising your own corporate or family fun day, take a look at our corporate brochure.

As a quick reminder, we're also closed to the public on Monday 13th & Tuesday 14th June, but aside from this the park remains open every single day until Sunday 4th September. Indeed, with the summer season now in full swing, this gives our marketing department time to turn their attention to Frightwater Valley. For this year we're working with a local theatre group for the provision of Halloween actors and characters throughout the theme park, as well as looking at even more extensive theming in key areas of the valley. With the addition of Raptor Attack LIVE! and The Haunting of Skeleton Cove to the 2011 event, as well as the return of Dracula's Labyrinth and even bigger firework displays, there is only one place to be on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th October:

In the meantime, the best value deals remain on our website with entry tickets for only £15.95 (a saving of up to 25%) and an excellent set of downloadable special offer vouchers for you guys to bring along when you visit. Likewise, you can also check-in on arrival with Facebook Places or Foursquare to gain entry for only £14.95 per person (max 2 people per handset at this rate).

Hopefully see you all soon!

SUNSHINE & TV ADVERTS!

2011-06-02T01:22:00.000-07:00

Avast ye scurvy sea biscuits!

We had great fun filming our new Summer 2011 TV Advert yesterday, which will feature on ITV Yorkshire & Tyne Tees from mid-July until the end of August. This will replace our Easter 2011 TV advert and, as soon as we've edited the new footage together in the studio, the advert will also be featured on our website. As such, big thanks must go to the guys at both Centrix Q2 and Citizens Band for their continued help and assistance with our filming projects - the new footage from high above Skeleton Cove and on board The Black Pearl looks superb, as do the jib shots from track-side at The Ultimate. Likewise, given the amount of new footage that we garnered yesterday, we should be able to put this to good use in a variety of other ongoing video projects.

Moving forwards, online video content is something that we're continuing to grow heavily at the moment, which began with our Raptor Attack and Frightwater Valley clips from 2010 and has continued this year with Skeleton Cove and The Ultimate (to name but two)! Indeed, with social networking continuing to play a bigger and bigger role in our marketing strategies, video is a great way of adding exciting and eye catching content to the mix.

In other news, the weather looks to be on our side for the remainder of June half-term, having been quite disappointing for the earlier part of the week. Given the forecast, we're hoping for bumper crowds over the next few days, which should give the park a really vibrant atmosphere as guests enjoy the thrills and chills on offer. For those of you that don't know, our funky offices are located directly above the theme park entrance building and, as we look out across the park from the marketing window, all we can see this morning is wall-to-wall blue sky, sunshine and a few ducks relaxing by the lake.

ACTION PACKED VALUE!

2011-05-26T00:23:00.000-07:00

Good morning thrill seekers!

We thought it was time for a quick update before we get caught up in the Whirlwind that is school half-term week. As such, here's a quick reminder that we're open every day from Saturday 28th May until Sunday 5th June. We're then closed for the following two Mondays and Tuesdays, but remain open on every other day until Sunday 4th September. Please check our opening dates for further details.

We had the pleasure of entertaining over 1400 guests from the Diocese of York and Wakefield on the evening of Saturday 21st May, who booked the park for an exclusive evening on the rides, followed by an outdoor concert. As such, if you're looking for an event with a difference, please keep us in mind as we can accommodate all manner of corporate fun days, conferences, evening events, shows, markets etc ... take a look at our corporate brochure for more details!

We're thrilled to have recently passed 6500 'likes' on facebook and we're rapidly approaching 1500 followers on twitter, which is part of our ongoing commitment to engage in open, honest and friendly communication with our customers and fans. Oh, and remember that you can also join the debate in the Valley Mania forums, but if you'd prefer to email us your thoughts please get in touch directly on facebook@lightwatwervalley.co.uk. We genuinely value your feedback on all things Lightwater Valley as it's the only way we can look to improve the service we offer our guests.

No doubt you'll have come across our new online videos if you've been perusing our website, the latest of which is an awesome clip on The Ultimate. The next clip we're working on is for Whirlwind, with the help of some funky green screen technology from Darlington College, which we hope will be our best creation yet!

That's all for now and we'll hopefully see you all during June half-term week (remember to say hello to Magic Paul who meets and greets guests as they enter the park). Likewise, although you will always be welcome to bring along picnics, please take a look at both our where to eat and special offers pages before coming to Lightwater Valley as we've put some downloadable special offer vouchers on there to help you make a few savings. So, if you book your tickets online and use the downloadable catering voucher from our website, you can grab a full day of action and adventure at Lightwater Valley for under £21.00. That's what we call action packed value.

ULTIMATE VALUE!

2011-05-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since our last blog, so we felt it was time for an update on what's been happening at the Valley of Light!

Hopefully you've all seen the effort we've been putting into our online video over recent weeks, the latest of which is an awesome clip of The Ultimate which can be viewed on both our website and Youtube channel! Simon, our marketing assistant, has been working really hard on adding content to our website and social networking pages and he deserves every credit. Indeed, the latest Ultimate clip adds to our already impressive portfolio, covering not only Skeleton Cove, but also The Black Pearl, Eagle's Claw, Black Widow's Web and Flying Camels. We don't want to give too much away, but Whirlwind is next in line for Simon's groovy video treatment ...

We've recently established a facebook page for our Birds of Prey Centre (operated by Talon Falconry). These guys are putting a huge amount of time and effort into the centre, so please 'like' their page if you have a moment and consider visiting next time you're at Lightwater Valley. Their flying shows really are awe-inspiring and are well worth a watch (at 2:00pm and 4:00pm each day during theme park opening dates).

Those Eagle eyed fans amongst you will no doubt have read on Valley Mania about some of our plans for 2012. Indeed, our official fan site is the place to be for all the latest and exclusive updates. As a park with big ambitions, we're currently in the second year of a five year plan which places a firm emphasis on both the customer experience and offering excellent value for money. Oh, and speaking of value for money, keep an eye on our Special Offers page where we've recently placed a new set of downloadable catering & games discount vouchers.

We understand that times are tough and our guests sometimes like to bring picnics to eat by the lake, but please check out the food available on park as we are now offering meal deals for just £5.00 in conjunction with the downloadable vouchers available on our website. As such, if you check-in on arrival with Facebook Places (giving entry for £14.95 per head) and bring along the downloadable catering voucher from our website, you can now have a full day of action and adventure (plus a meal deal) for under £20.00. Now that's what we call Lightwater Value ...

That's all for now guys!

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM ...

2011-05-06T00:40:00.000-07:00

Good morning from an eerily quiet Lightwater Valley although, after the onslaught that was the Easter school holidays, it's been nice to have a few quiet days to catch-up and to finish those small jobs that we just don't have time for when we're open. As such, please remember that the theme park is now open on 'weekends only' until Saturday 28th May (for school half-term week). Our Shopping Village and Birds of Prey Centre remain open every day.

Thank you to everyone who visited us throughout April - you guys helped to make it one of the busiest Easter periods we can remember and the excellent visitor figures have given us a major boost as we head towards our main summer season. Likewise, the feedback about Skeleton Cove and Whirlwind has been extremely positive, which makes the investment, time and effort that we're putting into Lightwater valley seem completely worthwhile.

We'd like to remind people that, as a destination focused on action packed value, our guests will always be welcome to bring their own food into Lightwater Valley and, although we'd like you to buy our food, we realise that times are tough at the moment. In fact, this is also why we continue to offer free parking, to accept Tesco Days Out vouchers as full or part payment on your admission and to give a great value entry rate of just £15.95 per head to those who book in advance through our website. Likewise, admission for £14.95 is available to those who check-in on arrival at Lightwater Valley with Facebook Places, Foursquare or Gowalla (we'll admit a max of 2 people per handset at this rate).

We continue to place online marketing and social networking at the forefront of our promotional activity, which has seen some excellent new online video added to our website, facebook page and youtube channel over the past few weeks. So, if you haven't yet seen our new Eagle's Claw, Black Pearl, Skyrider, Falls of Terror or Flying Camels clips you should take a moment to have a look ...

On the corporate front Amanda and Sarah (our event managers) are working alongside companies and organisations from across Yorkshire and the North East on providing a range of family fun days, conferences and evening events here at Lightwater Valley. It's easy to forget that, with 3 corporate facilities at the very heart of our complex, we're also Yorkshire's most action packed corporate venue. So, whether you feel like a fun day in the park or an evening partying after dark, remember to take a look at our corporate brochure and to keep us in mind for your next 'event with a difference'.

BLOWN AWAY BY WHIRLWIND ...

2011-04-29T03:49:00.000-07:00

Avast ye scurvy Buccaneers! We be hopin' you had a very Happy Easter!

It seems that time really has flown since we re-opened for the 2011 season on 9th April and it's now over a week since our last blog. The sunny weather's certainly been a massive bonus for outdoor attractions right across the UK and Lightwater Valley is no exception, with crowds flocking to Skeleton Cove over the past couple of weeks. As such, this has been one of the busiest Easter periods we can remember for a very long time.

We're pleased to be welcoming our official fan site - Valley Mania - to the shores of Skeleton Cove tomorrow for the first 'VM LIVE' of the year ('Mutiny Mania'). They'll be the latest in a long line of fan sites and enthusiast groups to have dared drop anchor at Skeleton Cove, with Coaster Force, UK Park News, G Force Magazine, Towers Times and Theme Park Nerd having already braved our new pirate land!

If you haven't downloaded the brand new Lightwater Valley iphone app then we'd encourage you to do so and, as usual, our facebook, twitter and youtube pages are the place to keep updated on all things Lightwater Valley. Likewise, we're putting a lot of effort into our online video production at the moment, so keep checking our website for the latest ride clips.

Having spent yesterday in the theme park myself, I was extremely impressed with Whirlwind, which provided me with the most extreme experience I've ever encountered on a flat ride in this country. As such, the marketing manager's tip for the day is to seek out the end seat on each row if you really do want to be blown away.

On a final note, we're open every day until 2nd May, however we do then move to our customary 'weekends only' operation until Saturday 28th May, which signals the beginning of school half-term week. For full details of opening times please visit our website.

EASTER PIRATES!

2011-04-19T01:47:00.000-07:00

The season is flying by at an alarming rate; it's amazing to think that we've already been open for over a week. We have been blessed with wonderful weather, however, and the forecast is for this lovely sunshine and blue sky to continue right through the Easter weekend. As such, we recommend that you bring some suntan lotion along with you and, in true pirate fashion, also look at wearing a Tricorn or a Bandanna (or maybe even a parrot) to keep your head nice and cool! Oh, and don't forget to eat plenty of ice cream ...

As you'd expect with this kind of weather our visitor figures have been extremely buoyant, with plenty of guests taking advantage of not only our 25% online discount (with entry for only £15.95 per person) but also our great value check-in deals with Facebook Places, Foursquare and Gowalla (entry for only £14.95 per head).

Many people ask if we're accessible by public transport and, whilst it is easier to travel here by car, there are ways to get here by train or bus! Thirsk and Harrogate are our our nearest railway stations, with the 36 bus making regular journeys from Leeds bus station through to Harrogate and then terminating at Ripon bus station. The Procters Dales Bus service 70 runs from Thirsk Railway station to Ripon bus station, with the 159 service then running from Ripon market square to our entrance road.

It's great to see so many people contacting us through our Facebook and Twitter pages and we do endeavor to respond to all comments and enquiries as swiftly as possible. We do occasionally have to sleep, however, so nocturnal enquiries are usually answered the following morning.

Skeleton Cove has been the subject of some really positive reviews since we launched this new area on 9th April and UK Park News, Towers Times, G Force Magazine and Theme Park Nerd have all been to partake in our swashbuckling adventure ... we'll also be welcoming Valley Mania (our official fan site) to the shores of Skeleton Cove for 'Mutiny Mania' on 30th April. As a park we treat all enthusiast groups and fan sites as official members of the press, so if you happen to run a website or forum (and would be willing to publish a review based on your visit) please email us on media@lightwatervalley.co.uk in advance of your trip as you may be entitled to (up to) 4 free press passes.

With Skeleton Cove dominating proceedings, it's easy to forget that we also purchased a Mondial Top Scan ride through the winter months. Although we did rent an identical model for the 2010 season, feedback tells us that our 'new' 2011 model is an even more intense experience. As such, this now gives us 2 of the most intense rides in the country sitting side by side with Whirlwind and The Ultimate making excellent neighbors.

That's all for now!

OPENING WEEKEND!

2011-04-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Well, that's our opening 3 days of the 2011 season out of the way! It's fair to say that it was an eventful weekend with the first intrepid explorers venturing into Skeleton Cove and exploring our 5 new rides, as well as enjoying their first rides aboard Whirlwind in its new location.

We were pleased to welcome Theme Park Nerd and Towers Times to the Valley on Saturday, as well as UK Park News on Sunday. Likewise, we entertained the guys from Coaster Force a week earlier when they visited us on 2nd April for a sneaky advance preview of Skeleton Cove. We'd like to thank UK Park News for the bespoke flags they left for us to celebrate the launch of Skeleton Cove and we also need to make special mention of the excellent pirate costumes worn by the guys from both Towers Times and UK Park News - very impressive shipmates!

Please take a moment to view our opening weekend photos, as well as checking out Paul the magician on Youtube (courtesy of UK Park News). Likewise, if you haven't yet seen our Easter 2011 TV Advert you can watch it on our Youtube channel.

For the latest news and offers please keep a beady eye on our facebook and twitter pages and remember that you can also join the debate in the Valley Mania forums.

Open every single day until Monday 2nd May!

OPENING WEEKEND TRAVEL ADVICE!

2011-04-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

Well here we are - Monday morning and we thought we'd squeeze in a blog post for you guys before we get too wrapped up in the Whirlwind that is opening weekend and the launch of Skeleton Cove!

First order of business is to let you all know that the A1 will be closed in both directions on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th April between Junctions 49 and 52. We're not impressed with this news given that it's our opening weekend, however we do have some travel advice for those visiting us this weekend:

The usual junction for Lightwater Valley is A1 junction 50. If travelling from the South this weekend however, please exit the A1 motorway at junction 48 (for Boroughbridge) and follow signs for Ripon. This should bring you into Ripon past Ripon Racecourse and, once you hit the Ripon bypass just after the marina, you'll pick up the brown tourism signs for Lightwater Valley. From here, it's the usual route (past the Clocktower junction followed by the A6108 to North Stainley).

If travelling to us from the North, we'd encourage you to utilise the A19 rather than the A1 to get to Lightwater Valley and to follow the brown tourism signs from Thirsk. We are accessible from the Leeming junction of the A1, however it is a tricky route to follow and the A19 would make for a smoother journey.

For those of you with clever SatNav devices, our postcode is HG4 3HT and we're located on the A6108 between the City of Ripon and the village of North Stainley.

If you haven't yet booked your tickets, don't forget that you have until this Friday to take advantage of our special £11.95 online entry offer for visits between 9th April and 2nd May. Alternatively, you can check-in with us by using Foursquare, Facebook Places and Gowalla to gain entry for £14.95 per person (just show your phone at our entry kiosks to confirm your check-in - max 2 people per mobile device).

If you haven't seen our Skeleton Cove video be sure to check it out on our Youtube channel, follow us on twitter and facebook for the latest updates and join the debate in the Valley Mania forums.

COASTER FORCE!

2011-04-02T06:41:00.000-07:00

Avast ye scurvy dogs!

Well, we're now inside a week until our opening day of the 2011 season (Saturday 9th April). It's fair to say that it's an exciting time for everyone here at Lightwater and it really is great to see our seasonal staff back for 2011. I know we keep saying it, but it's the people who work here that make Lightwater such a great place to spend time and such a great place to work.

If you haven't already booked your tickets for our Easter opening period from Saturday 9th April until Monday 2nd May, you have until Friday 8th April to take advantage of our special £11.95 entry offer. We really would advise you to take advantage of this offer as you won't find a better deal anywhere else! From Saturday 9th April, our online price will return to the standard £15.95 rate, which still offers good value for money with a saving of up to 25% based on our full adult price of £21.45.

Should you prefer to pay using Tesco Days Out Vouchers, please remember these are valid when presented at our entry kiosks on the day of your visit (and against full-price individual and family tickets but not any concessionary rates). Alternatively, keep a beady eye out for the Yorkshire Post newspaper on Saturday 16th April, the Yorkshire edition of the Metro Newspaper on Wed 6th April and the Northern Echo on Friday 15th April if you happen to be a discount token hunter!

Skeleton Cove is now going through it's finishing touches and, for the latest updates, please take a look at the excellent Valley Mania Skeleton Cove microsite.

Whirlwind is also now fully operational and, having been strapped into the Top Scan myself this morning, the adrenaline junkies and enthusiasts amongst you will be pleased to learn that it's one intense ride (especially with Paul Walker, our Operations Manager, at the controls!). We also had the pleasure of showing Ian and Nic from Coaster Force around Skeleton Cove today and, as an unexpected pre-opening treat, they grabbed a sneaky ride on both The Ultimate and Whirlwind. Nic had a particularly menacing glint in her eye as she took the Whirlwind controls (under the watchful eye of Paul Walker, our operations manager) and gave Ian the ride of his life ...

One thing that you guys might not know is that we have a range of corporate facilities here at Lightwater Valley that are increasingly popular with companies of all shapes & sizes for breakfast meetings, conferences, evening events and shows. As such, please take a look at our corporate brochure if you're looking for an event with a difference.

On a final note, remember to keep posting images of yourselves to our facebook wall in pirate costume for the chance to win a 2011 season ticket (closing date 8th April). May the best costume win and we look forward to seeing you on 9th April for the launch of Skeleton Cove. Oh, and if you can't make it to Lightwater Valley this Easter, here's a flavour of what you're missing:

British Summer Time!

2011-03-27T06:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy old week at the valley - British Summer Time somehow managed to creep up on us unknowingly, but the lighter evenings should certainly make life easier for the guys working on Skeleton Cove.

Hopefully you've all come across both our Skeleton Cove viral and our Easter 2011 TV advert. We're really pleased with the final results and hopefully both clips showcase Lightwater Valley to best effect:

Skeleton Cove is rapidly approaching completion and, for the latest construction updates, remember to keep an eye on the Valley Mania Microsite. Likewise, our facebook page is also kept fully updated with the latest photos.

The week ahead looks like being another busy one for our marketing team as we're attending literature exchanges in Middleham and at Eden Camp on Tuesday. So, please feel free to pop in and say hello and to pick up some of our leaflets if you happen to be a local accommodation provider.

Located as we are on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, we're encouraging people to watch the upcoming ITV series entitled 'The Dales' which starts on Monday at 8:00pm on ITV1. If you're inspired by what you see, North Yorkshire really is a wonderful place to spend your holidays with great food and plenty to see and do.

Here at Lightwater Valley, we launch our 2011 season on 9th April and we look forward to seeing you all through the Easter holidays (we're open every day from Saturday 9th April through until Monday 2nd May). Oh, and remember to book your tickets online for the best value deal with entry for only £11.95 per person (must book before 8th April for visits between 9th April and 2nd May).

SKELETON COVE!

2011-03-23T02:06:00.000-07:00

Well, the Skeleton Cove video is here and has received some excellent reviews so far! So, take a look and then let us know what you think either through our Facebook page or via the Valley Mania Forum. You can also check out what both UK Park News and G Force Magazine think about 'The Fog'.

We've also taken a selection of new photos around the park, which have all been uploaded to our Facebook page. Likewise, Valley Mania's pirate blog is the place for all the latest Skeleton Cove construction updates.

Must dash - we have a park to re-open by 9th April!!

BEST OF BRITISH!

2011-03-21T03:14:00.000-07:00

You know, the weather this morning is amazing - you'd think Summer had arrived early (it's amazing how odd it feels driving to work in sunglasses after the long winter we've all had to endure). So, let's just hope this glorious sunshine hangs around for the Easter holidays (we're open every day from Saturday 9th April until Monday 2nd May).

Our operations team have made excellent progress with Skeleton Cove over the past week and it really is beginning to look and feel like the Pirate's whiskers! As a theme park enthusiast myself, I have to say that I'm genuinely impressed by the immersive experience Skeleton Cove offers guests (even with some construction and theming still to complete). For the latest construction updates, remember to keep an eye on the Valley Mania microsite and then join the debate in their Valley Mania forum.

With all the talk about Skeleton Cove dominating, it's easy to forget that we've also purchased and installed a Mondial Top Scan for the 2011 season, which should provide guests with yet another thrilling ride experience! Branded as Whirlwind, try to make sure you don't get blown away ...

Our marketing team had a busy week last week, attending the Best of Britain & Ireland Travel Trade event at the NEC in Birmingham on Wednesday and Thursday, as well as a regional literature exchange in Scarborough. At the Birmingham event we were present on the Welcome to Yorkshire stand, which forms part of our membership to Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions. Oh, and this week you'll find us at the regional literature exchange at Thirsk Auction Mart on Wednesday 23rd March, so if you're a local accommodation provider please feel free to come along, say hello and stock up on our leaflets and posters!

We're encouraging all guests to book in advance for our Easter opening period (9th April to 2nd May) as that's the best value option (you can save up to 40% on day tickets). With tickets on sale through our website for only £11.95 per head until 8th April (for visits between 9th April and 2nd May) you won't find cheaper. However, if you prefer to collect discount tokens from newspapers and pay on arrival, you can gain entry for only £14.95 per head (if you're lucky enough to purchase the correct newspaper or magazine on the correct day and garner the right discount token):

Yorkshire Evening Post - Wednesday 6th April
Metro Newspaper (Yorkshire edition) - Wednesday 6th April
Northern Echo - Friday 15th April
Yorkshire Post - Saturday 16th April

There will be many further reader offers in the local and regional press, however these tend to be placed at the discretion of individual publications and we can't always guarantee a particular insertion date.

Watch out for the Skeleton Cove viral hitting our website, Facebook page and Youtube channel this week. We're in Manchester on Thursday editing our new TV advert with CQ2 (for the Easter campaign from 4th to 17th April on ITV Yorkshire & Tyne Tees). This will also be available online when it's finalised, along with the Yorkshire Attractions TV advert that we're involved with.

That's all for now ye scurvy seabiscuits!

NEW 2011 WEBSITE!

2011-03-14T02:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's quite a relief to have launched our new 2011 website and, aside from a minor technical glitch here and there, it seems to have met with widespread approval. Indeed, we hope you guys see that we're putting a great deal of effort into our online marketing & social networking activity with a steady year-on-year improvement. The site has been reviewed by UK Park News and you can also join the discussion in the Valley Mania forum.

In other news, we had great fun filming our Skeleton Cove viral video on Wednesday afternoon and evening. The working title for the clip is 'The Fog' and, although we had to battle the elements with high wind and rain, we managed to get the footage we needed (if you've ever tried to operate a fog machine in 40mph winds you'll understand). As such, we owe a massive thank you to Paul Roberts and the other actors involved, as well as Tim from Citizens' Band and Mike the cameraman! Likewise, special mention must go to both the operations and maintenance teams for allowing us to film in Skeleton Cove and for their continued assistance.

We finished filming at just after midnight and it has to be said that Lightwater Valley is a spooky place at night (alas no sightings of the Lightwater beast on this occasion)! We also chose to film the clip in broadcast quality HD, so watch out for some of the footage being included in our Easter TV advert, showing on ITV Yorkshire & Tyne Tees from Monday 4th April until Sunday 17th April. Oh, and the viral clip should be ready within the next couple of weeks, depending on post production.

Work continues on Skeleton Cove and, for the latest construction updates, Valley Mania is the place to visit! Likewise, Whirlwind is just about ready to go!

We're now inside 4 weeks until we re-open, so it's 'all hands on deck' right across the park.

Yarrrrrrr!

MARCH FEVER!

2011-03-08T01:01:00.000-08:00

Welcome to March!! How great is it to see some sunshine, even if it does happen to be accompanied by freezing cold mornings and heavy frosts?

Most of you will have seen photos from our trip to the Great Days Out Fair in Manchester on Saturday. It was a really successful event from our perspective and we even met our friends from UK Park News who reviewed the event for their website. It was also good to meet our colleagues from Camelot Theme Park, Gullivers and Pleasure Beach Blackpool. Paul Roberts, our resident magician here at Lightwater, proved to be a massive hit with the people who visited our stand and Simon Edward, our new marketing assistant, threw himself into his pirate role.
Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions were also exhibiting at the Great Days Out Fair and sponsored the entertainment section. So, an excellent day was had by all as a strong Yorkshire raiding party invaded Lancashire!

The brand new Lightwater Valley website should be up and running from Friday 11th March. In the meantime, however, you can download our 2011 park leaflet from Valley Mania and keep up to date on all things Skeleton Cove by following their blog.

Whirlwind is now fully constructed and is ready to go for the start of the season, whilst work continues unabated on Skeleton Cove! The new sound system is now fully up and running within Skeleton Cove and, on a trip to the area yesterday evening, we can confirm that the music really does create an excellent atmosphere.

We're still aiming to reach 1000 twitter followers by 9th April (to coincide with our re-opening) and we have 4 family tickets to give away if we make it. So, follow @LightwaterV.

We're filming our new Skeleton Cove viral clip (working title - The Fog) tomorrow, so watch out for it hitting our facebook, twitter and youtube channels in a couple of weeks time!

We're starting our caravan park & campsite initiative today, so if you're staying at any site across North Yorkshire this season, remember to ask if they offer discount entry to Lightwater Valley. Oh, and if you run a caravan or camp site in North Yorkshire and we haven't visited you by early April, just drop us an email on leisure@lightwatervalley.co.uk and we'll happily send you our caravan / campsite pack or pay you a visit!

On the exhibition front, please feel free to come along and see us on the Welcome to Yorkshire stand at the Best Of Britain & Ireland event on Wednesday & Thursday next week, as well as the regional literature exchange at the Scarbrough Spa Complex on 16th and 17th March.

AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

A WHIRLWIND APPROACHES!

2011-02-28T06:40:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems crazy that a week has passed since our last blog post! As mentioned previously, time really does start to gallop as we get closer to our Easter re-opening on 9th April!

Whirlwind arrived on site over the weekend, so we're very excited to get our Mondial Top Scan in situ (primarily so we can all have a go!). For those that aren't aware of the situation, we rented a Mondial Top Scan throughout 2010 (which we branded as Whirlwind) and, due to it's overwhelming popularity, we took the decision to purchase an identical model. As such, we hope you guys enjoy it through 2011 and beyond!

Work continues unabated on Skeleton Cove and, for the latest construction news and photos, please keep an eye on the Valley Mania website and their exclusive Skeleton Cove microsite.

We're defecting across the pennines to the Great Days Out Fair in Manchester this Saturday (at the Museum of Museums adjacent to the Trafford Centre) so please come along and say hello if you're in the Manchester area. We're there to promote both the theme park and shopping village and, as well as having our own stand, we're also part of the Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions setup. So, we look forward to seeing you there (and keep an eye out for our pirate Captains!).

Our brand new website is still under construction and our aim is to launch by Friday 11th March (apologies for any delay!). In the meantime, however, our facebook and twitter feeds are regularly updated with all the latest news.

Skeleton Cove is a landmark development for Lightwater Valley and we're indebted to our parent company, Heritage Great Britain Plc, for their continued support and investment as we strive to improve our overall customer experience by focusing on both an expanding ride portfolio and excellent value for money. Indeed, given the theming trend we began with Raptor Attack in 2010 and Frightwater Valley in 2009, we hope to no longer be seen as 'the theme park without a theme' as we work hard to develop our 175 acre site with comprehensively themed rides, areas and events that create an immersive customer experience.

In terms of value for money, we're extending our season ticket offer until the new website launches on 11th March, so act now for 25% discount and a whole season of action packed value at a really great price! Likewise, if you wish to book day tickets online for our 3 week Easter opening from Sat 9th April to Monday 2nd May, you can do so for only £15.95 per person through Lastminute.com until our new website launches. Oh, and if you fancy winning 2 pairs of Lightwater tickets, take a look at UK Park News.

A late Easter usually bodes well for the leisure industry due to much improved weather, so why not consider extending your stay in the area and exploring the Yorkshire Dales or a range of other magnificent local attractions? We're blessed with a great range of accommodation in Ripon, from Sleningford Watermill Caravan & Camping Park to The Old Coach House in North Stainley and The Old Deanery opposite Ripon Cathedral, so there really is no excuse!

Action Packed Value!

2011-02-21T02:31:00.000-08:00

Well, it seems to be that time of year when time starts to gallop at 3 times it's usual speed. Indeed, with our opening date of 9th April looming on the horizon, it's 'all hands on deck' at Skeleton Cove and neighbouring Hungry Harbour.

In terms of recent good news stories, we're pleased to report that UK Park News have found Lightwater Valley to be the best value theme park in the UK:

UK Park News 2011 Pricing Survey

This is great news and we're particularly proud to be offering our customers such great value, especially during a time of recession and after a recent increase in VAT to 20%. Likewise, remember that we have 5 new rides being installed this year, which is a significant investment for the park. So, don't forget that the best value in 2011 will be available through our website with theme park entry for only £15.95 per person, a possible saving of up to 25% based on our full adult price.

Moving forwards, The Ultimate has been voted the second best roller coaster in Europe by a recent TTF poll (second only to Black Mamba at Phantasialand in Germany) and beating off tough competition from Blue Fire at Europa-Park and Dragon Khan at PortAventura.

Raptor Attack was also the highest performing new attraction in the 2010 poll – in spite of competition from The Monster, Joris en de Draak and Motogee. It finished at number 11, making a fantastic year for Lightwater Valley. Based on overall park performance, Lightwater Valley is now second behind Europa-Park – with two coasters inside the top 11! Full details available below:

TTF Poll Results

Our new website will be launching in early March with the online booking facility completely re-enabled. In the meantime, we recommend keeping an eye on Valley Mania for a look at our 2011 leaflet and regular Skeleton Cove construction updates or booking online through Lastminute.com.

In other news, if you happen to live in the Manchester area please come and meet us on either our stand or the Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions stand at the Great Days Out Fair on Saturday 5th March. We'll also be at the official Welcome to Yorkshire regional literature exchange at Thirsk Auction Mart on Wednesday 23rd March.

That's all for now folks!

HEADLESS PIRATES?

2011-02-11T00:42:00.000-08:00

As I write, the view from the marketing window is one of early February drizzle and a fairly bleak North Yorkshire landscape. This will not deter us, however, from looking forwards to warmer weather over the Easter holiday period as we launch our brand new swashbuckling adventure - Skeleton Cove (theme park open every day from Saturday 9th April until Monday 2nd May before moving back to a 'weekends only' operation until June half-term). Indeed, if you look closely enough the spring bulbs are beginning to push their way through the grass on the banks of our lake and you can't help but be filled with waves of optimism for the coming season.

Work continues unabated on Skeleton Cove and, although we've been fortunate with the weather since we returned to Lightwater after the Christmas break, the rain does make it difficult for the teams who are working tirelessly to ensure we're ready in time. Let's just hope they don't start being haunted by ghosts of headless pirates ...

We're hoping to welcome 'Whirlwind' back to site within the next few weeks. For those that don't know, we rented 'Whirlwind' on a temporary basis last year (a Mondial Top Scan ride for the uninitiated) and, due to it's popularity, we have now purchased an identical model. This will be a permanent fixture at Lightwater and will be located between The Ultimate and Raptor Attack (directly behind Ultimate snacks). As such, we now feel that we have one of the best flat ride portfolios in the country.

Our engineering department continue to work on ride maintenance and testing ahead of a new season, whilst our catering team are getting very excited about their new flagship unit - Hungry Harbour.

On the retail front, our revenue team have been visiting trade shows around the country (as we begin to re-stock our shops with new product lines) and our personnel department continue to be busy with seasonal staff recruitment.

On the marketing front we're pleased to announce that, in addition to our own TV campaign across ITV Yorkshire & Tyne Tees from 4th to 17th April, we'll be participating in the Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions TV campaign on ITV Yorkshire from 11th to 24th April. As such, look out for us on a television set near you! Our new website remains under construction, with a view to launching at the end of this month, we continue to explore new social networking platforms and a viral clip to promote Skeleton Cove is in the offing.

One of our key values moving forwards is to be open, honest and friendly in all communications, as well as actively encouraging customer feedback and input, so please feel free to get in touch through our facebook or twitter pages, email us directly on leisure@lightwatervalley.co.uk with any ideas you might have or join the debate on Valley Mania.

SKELETON PRICES!

2011-02-03T06:13:00.000-08:00

Such exciting times at the moment with a selection of our brand new Skeleton Cove theming having arrived on-site over the weekend. The props won't be placed 'in situ' until the new rides are fully installed and operational, but the new entrance-way and centrepiece for the Cove look amazing (can't give too much away but we feel this project really builds on the plaudits we received for Raptor Attack in 2010). For regular updates on the biggest winter project we've ever undertaken, take a look at Valley Mania.

In other news, we've recently been voted the 'Best Theme Park in Yorkshire' by Going Places magazine and we're very proud to receive such an accolade. As such, special mention must go to all of our full-time and seasonal staff who work so hard to keep the park clean & tidy and offer such a friendly welcome to all our guests. Full details can be viewed on the Yorkshire Post website:

GOING PLACES AWARDS

Work continues on our new 2011 website, which we're hoping to launch by the end of February (with greater integration across our social networking sites). In the meantime, if you feel like booking tickets for the Easter holidays you can save up to 25% on the Lastminute.com website with park entry for just £15.95 per person. That's effectively a price freeze on 2010 if booked online, so a cracking way to beat the VAT increase and sample our 5 new rides for no additional cost!

25% can also be saved on 2011 season tickets until the end of February, so with a little forward planning you can secure a whole season of fun for just £45.00 per person.

We'll be at the Great Days out Fair in Manchester on Saturday 5th March if you feel like coming along to say hello, as well as the Best of Britain & Ireland event at the NEC in Birmingham on 16th & 17th March as part of Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions.

That's all for now folks!

CAPTAIN WALKER!

2011-01-24T00:57:00.000-08:00

Well, the last week has absolutely flown by and it's amazing how fast our new Skeleton Cove development is progressing. It's unrecognisable from this time last week and, although much of the work to date has been ride foundations and platforms, the area is really taking shape (as is neighbouring Hungry Harbour). Exciting times indeed with new rides arriving on a regular basis; we also can't wait to see Whirlwind in it's new location.

We're trying to keep our facebook and twitter feeds as updated as possible and we're also working closely with the guys at Valleymania to bring you regular Skeleton Cove construction photos. As such, remember to check out Captain Walker's construction updates / blog for the very latest news:

CAPTAIN WALKER'S CONSTRUCTION UPDATES

In other news, our main 2011 leaflet has now been delivered, so if you would like a printed copy please email us on leisure@lightwatervalley.co.uk with your address details. Alternatively, you can download an electronic version here:

2011 MAP & LEAFLET

We're running a special 2011 season ticket offer at the moment with 25% off until the end of February. This makes an individual season ticket £45.00 and a family of 4 season ticket only £165.00 (including 25% discount). Remember, that's a whole season of action packed value and the price also includes entry to the Frightwater Valley weekend. For full details please click on the following link:

2011 SEASON TICKET OFFER

Oh, and as if that wasn't enough we're also recruiting at the moment. Full-time and seasonal vacancies can be viewed by clicking here.

Marketing activity continues with schools brochures, groups brocures and our new website all at the forefront of our minds, with attention also turning to our Easter TV campaign (kicking off on Monday 4th April across ITV Yorkshire & Tyne Tees). From April through October, you'll also be able to hear our messages accompanying the traffic and travel bulletins on Capital Radio (Yorkshire & North East stations).

That's all for now folks ...

Toodle Pip!

WHIRLWIND STORMS BACK ...

2011-01-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

Our sincere apologies for the lack of a blog for the past month, however our Marketing Manager's been away on his travels for a few weeks (just can't get the staff these days!). Given the nature of this industry, however, Christmas is one of the only times of year when taking an extended bout of annual leave is possible.

Anyway, getting things back on track, you'll be pleased to learn that we're now all back at the valley, so to speak, refreshed and motivated as we build-up to the park re-opening on 9th April. Given the split in the school Easter holidays, we're open for a continuous 3 week period until the first May bank holiday (also incorporating the extra bank holiday for the Royal Wedding) before dropping back to 'weekends only' until June half-term week.

Skeleton Cove, our new pirate-themed land, is taking shape nicely and we can't wait to launch on 9th April - for more information please take a look at our official fan site, Valley Mania, who have an exclusive look at our main 2011 brochure (released Tuesday morning). We'd also encourage you to 'join the debate' in their forums:

Valley Mania - the official Lightwater Valley fan site!

In addition to the new rides in Skeleton Cove, we're also pleased to announce that, given the success of Whirlwind throughout the 2010 season, we have now purchased a Mondial Top Scan which will be a permanent fixture at the park. The ride will be located between The Ultimate and Raptor Attack, almost directly behind Ultimate Snacks. As for the pad that played host to Whirlwind in 2010, another ongoing project is earmarked for this spot adjacent to the Eagle's Claw.

Enthusiasts may be saddened to learn that 'The Wave' will not operate at the park in 2011, however there will be plenty of pirate ship action with both The Black Pearl and The Flying Cutlass operating within Skeleton Cove. Likewise, The Vintage Cars have been removed as The Riviera gets a much needed makeover and re-theme into Hungry Harbour.

In other news, with the 2011 leaflet now at the printers, marketing attention turns to a brand new website (which we're hoping to launch in early March)as well as schools & groups literature. We're also hoping to build on our reputation for viral marketing, which we trialled in 2010 with the Raptor Attack and Frightwater Valley clips (both open to view on our youtube channel).

That's all for now folks but, as always, keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter pages for the latest information.

Toodle Pip!

FESTIVE REFLECTION!

2010-12-17T00:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas Everyone!

This is our last day in the Lightwater offices before we break for a fortnight of festive fun (try saying that after a couple of sherries!) so the first order of business is to let everyone know that our offices will be closed from 3:00pm this afternoon (Friday 17th December) until 9:00am on Monday 3rd January. As such, if you need to get in touch during this period we'd advise that you contact us through our facebook or twitter pages. Our Shopping Village will, however, remain open until midday on Christmas Eve, but will then be closed until 11:00am on 1st January.

It's our staff Christmas party this evening, so we'll be toasting what we feel has been a landmark year for the park. Indeed, the launch of Raptor Attack in April of this year was a giant leap forward for us in terms of theming and we hope to continue this into 2011 and beyond. Likewise, we dipped our toe in the 'viral marketing' water with clips to publicise not only the opening of Raptor Attack, but also the second coming of Frightwater Valley. The most important thing to celebrate, however, is that our staff have been amazing this year and by this we don't just mean our full-time employees, but also the seasonal members of staff who make the park such a brilliant and enjoyable place to spend time through the summer months. Without you guys there would be no Lightwater Valley.

We'd like to thank everyone for their messages of support across our social networking pages over the past few days - we do firmly believe that car parking should always be free and we're genuinely pleased that people see us as such a customer friendly park. We value your support and hope to give you all a warm Yorkshire welcome in 2011.

All that remains for us to do now is to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, a spiffing New Year and here's to a cracking 2011!

Cheers!

It's Nearly Christmas ...

2010-12-13T00:54:00.000-08:00

HO! HO! HO!

Well, it seems that we've nearly made it through to our Christmas break ... one more week and then the majority of our full-time staff will be enjoying a well-earned festive fortnight of rest and relaxation. It can be difficult to find time to ourselves through the Summer months, so the Christmas break is an excellent opportunity to grab some R 'n' R before we start to properly gear-up for the 2011 season in the New Year.

As regular followers will know our Dickensian Christmas Festival was hit very hard by the weather this year, however in true Yorkshire spirit we battled through and did the very best we could in tricky circumstances. Indeed, the last thing we wanted to do was cancel the event, however it was a struggle as many stallholders and entertainers were unable to leave their houses (or venture further than the end of their streets) due to the heavy snowfalls across Yorkshire and the North East! In light of this, we hope those who did manage to attend the event appreciated the effort we made in 'keeping the show on the road' and weren't too disappointed if a particular stall or entertainer hadn't managed to get here due to the weather. Special mention must go to our operations and maintenance teams who worked tirelessly to keep our site accessible throughout the festival.

In other news, our focus has now turned back to preparations for our 2011 season, with work continuing unabated until we break for Christmas. Next year's literature is taking shape (we hope to have our main brochure finalised by the end of this week) and our winter ride maintenance schedules continue as normal. The Valley has finally thawed out, so this should make things a great deal easier for everyone working out of doors.

We're hosting a 5k Santa Run on Sunday 19th December in aid of the CF Trust, so for more details please visit the CF Trust website. If you feel like coming along to watch, the race itself will start at 11am, our Shopping Village is open as usual from 10am and our Granary Restaurant will be serving drinks, mince pies and Christmas Lunch throughout the day.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and, although this is an amazing place to work and a great excuse to never grow up, we're quite looking forward to putting our feet up for a short while!

Toodle Pip!

Dickensian Snowfall ...

2010-11-30T06:43:00.000-08:00

You know, this has to be the worst snowfall we've seen for a number of years, especially at the end of November / beginning of December. It's made preparations for our Dickensian Christmas Festival quite tricky, however thanks to a sterling effort from both our Operations and Maintenance teams our site is now perfectly accessible and the event will go ahead as planned from 1st to 5th December. For full details on our Dickensian Festival, or to see some pictures of the park in the snow, check out one of the following links:

DICKENSIAN FESTIVAL 2010

ULTIMATE SNOWFALL PICS!

We're particularly looking forward to seeing the Punch & Judy shows this year, as well as the Flea Circus and the stilt walking fire eater! With over 75 different stalls selling a huge range of produce, our Dickensian Festival is also a great opportunity to pick up some Christmas bargains and to sample a wonderful festive atmosphere. Likewise, it's amazing how peaceful and picturesque the theme park looks in this weather and, as long as you're wearing 12 layers of clothing and a hardy pair of snow boots, it really is an incredibly beautiful landscape.

Toodle Pip!

DICKENSIAN FESTIVAL!

2010-11-24T00:21:00.000-08:00

GOOD MORNING CAMPERS!

You know, today has to be the first morning that's really felt like winter, with a weather forecast that warns of snow falling over Sutton Bank as we write. As such, we may be white over by lunchtime, although as it stands we have freezing drizzle falling from the sky and a very bleak landscape to look out on from the marketing window.

Today's landscape is quite a contrast to the vista we looked out on through the summer months, although working on a site such as Lightwater you do feel very much in touch with the changing seasons. From a springtime full of hope and optimism when the daffodils start bursting through the frosty earth to the amazing autumnal canopy of leaves that greets a time of reflection as we look back on another season, this place really can be a photographer's dream.

The park remains closed until 9th April 2011, however work continues unabated on winter ride maintenance schedules, ground works for our new 2011 installations, next year's promotional literature and our upcoming Dickensian Christmas Festival, which kicks-off on Wednesday 1st December and runs through until Sunday 5th December. So, if the kids would like to visit Santa in his grotto and you need a few Christmas gift ideas, you know where to come! For full event details please click on the following link:

LIGHTWATER DICKENSIAN FESTIVAL

Oh, and don't forget that we're also hosting a 5k Santa Fun Run on Sunday 19th December (in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust). So, if you fancy running around The Ultimate track in a Santa suit and raising some money for a good cause, check out:

SANTA 5K FUN RUN

We're off to turn the radiators up to maximum and to make a pot of strong coffee, so we'll catch you all later ...

Shiver me Timbers!

2010-11-09T02:42:00.000-08:00

Ahoy there, me hearties!!

Well, it has to be said that it feels strange settling back into our winter routine. It's amazing how many people think that we all hibernate for the winter, although this is the busiest time of year for the majority of full-time staff here at Lightwater (it is nice to have a few weekends off though). What we do miss, however, is the buzz of the park being open and our great team of seasonal staff who really are the life and soul of the valley.

To give you an insight into how we're all keeping ourselves entertained, the marketing department are now busying themselves with 2011 literature production and media planning (as this all needs to be in place prior to Christmas). We have some really great new ideas and concepts for next season, so keep an eye on our social networking pages for the latest updates.

We have our Shopping Village Dickensian Festival coming up from 1st to 5th December, so this also takes a fair amount of planning and organising! With over 80 stalls purveying a wide range of produce, plus a festive entertainment programme including carol singers, bands, a flea circus and Punch & Judy shows, it's well worth a walk around to soak up the enchanting atmosphere and to hunt for a Christmas bargain or two! For more info please visit:

LIGHTWATER DICKENSIAN FESTIVAL

Our operations department have now stripped the park for winter (it's amazing how many bins and picnic benches we have when it comes to storing them over the closed season!) and our engineers are cracking on with their winter ride maintenance schedule.

You could say it's a very labour intensive time of year, and that's before we start on our new ride preparations and installations ...

Savvy?

End of Season!

2010-11-02T01:47:00.000-07:00

Well, there goes another successful season and it was absolutely fantastic for us to go out with a bang this year! Frightwater Valley was a massive success with 11,000 people attending over the 2 day festival and the feedback so far has been very positive indeed!

Our first tilt at a horror maze in the form of Dracula's Labyrinth was greeted with shrieks of terror as guests ran from the maze with scared looks on their faces ... but then being chased by a madman with a chainsaw would have that effect!!

For a full review of the event please take a look at the UK Park News website and, if you have a spare moment or two, please fill in our Frightwater feedback survey. We're looking to expand the event in future seasons and we need your help in telling us how you'd like Frightwater Valley to develop:

UK Park News Frightwater Review

Frightwater Feedback Survey

In terms of the 2011 season as a whole, we experienced a slow start to the year with poor weather hitting the Easter weekend, however the launch of Raptor Attack and the installation of Whirlwind proved to be massive hits with our visitors and helped to make July and August 2 very buoyant months.
So, watch this space for what we have planned for you guys in 2011.

Our next stop is the Shopping Village Dickensian Festival from 1st to 5th December, but work is now starting on our new 2011 ride installations and our 2011 literature.

As always, keep an eye on our social networking pages for full details of what's happening here at the valley.

Toodle Pip!

From Lightwater to Frightwater ...

2010-10-27T00:48:00.000-07:00

Well, it's nearly here and the excitement is building as we get closer to the Frightwater Valley Halloween weekend!! The theming has started as we transform the park from Lightwater to Frightwater and, for those of you who didn't catch the sneaky facebook pics, click on the following link:

FRIGHTWATER VALLEY PHOTOS

Personally, we think the lake will look absolutely majestic after dark!

In the meantime we've now gone past 250,000 upload views on our youtube
clips, 4000 facebook fans and we're also rapidly approaching 500 twitter followers, so spread the word!! We like to think that we keep our social networking pages fairly interesting, but if there's anything you'd like to see on there please don't hesitate to ask. Quite fittingly for this time of year, we'd hate to be missing a trick ...

Moving back to Frightwater Valley for a second, we're asking our customers for a bit of feedback as we look at how best to expand the event in 2011. If you have a spare moment or two your time would be genuinely appreciated as we look to continually develop Frightwater into an event that you guys look forward to and always want to attend:

FRIGHTWATER VALLEY SURVEY

That's all for now folks ... we have graves to dig!!

Get into the spirit ...

2010-10-20T02:15:00.000-07:00

Well, they say time flies when you're having fun and the last couple of weeks have flown past at alarming speed!

It's all systems go as work continues unabated on Dracula's Labyrinth (our new 2010 scare attraction) and indeed right across the park in anticipation of our Frightwater Valley Halloween weekend on the 30th and 31st October. Likewise, preparations also continue for our Champion Children's awards ceremony on Monday 25th October (run in conjunction with the Harrogate Advertiser) as we acknowledge and support children from our local community who have triumphed over adversity.

If you need any further information on Frightwater Valley please visit the dedicated page on our website:

FRIGHTWATER VALLEY INFO

We're encouraging as many people as possible to come along in full Halloween costume for the Frightwater Valley weekend as it really did create a spooktacular atmosphere in 2009 (our retail department will also be offering face painting, so don't worry if your make-up skills aren't up to scratch!!).

On the entertainment front, we've already touched on Dracula's Labyrinth, however the theming across the site will be a great deal more comprehensive this year as we look to expand into different areas of the park. The Magic Light Puppet Company will be returning with their Halloween dark-light show in our theatre (not to be missed) and the Frightwater Express ghost train will be offering ghostly rides in the dark after the firework displays.

For full event timings and details download our Goblin's Guide:

A GOBLIN'S GUIDE TO FRIGHTWATER VALLEY

It's a full moon on the 23rd, so let's hope the spirits don't come out to play too early ...

HALLOWEEN HYSTERIA ...

2010-10-05T01:09:00.000-07:00

Morning all!

Well, it has to be said that we had an excellent evening at the Yorkshire Events Centre in Harrogate on Monday night as we attended the White Rose Awards; a great opportunity to mix with friends, colleagues and other attractions from across the industry.

We were nominated in 2 categories (tourism experience of the year for Frightwater Valley and large visitor attraction for the theme park) however we didn't manage to come away with an award. For full details on the event please take a look at the following link:

WHITE ROSE AWARDS 2010

In other news, Dracula's Labyrinth is taking shape ahead of Frightwater Valley and construction continues unabated:

"In the late 19th century, a solicitor from London named Jonathan Harker travelled to Count Dracula’s castle in Transylvania to negotiate a real estate purchase. Dracula imprisoned Harker and left him to be tortured by his vampire brides, but not before the real estate purchase of Carfax Abbey near London had been successful. Harker escaped, however, and managed to return to England, where the famous Bram Stoker tale continues.

Meanwhile, Dracula had inadvertently travelled to Yorkshire (aboard a ship called The Demeter that ran aground at Whitby) along with 50 coffins of unhallowed earth from his homeland (the source of his regenerative power).

It is rumoured that, as the coffins of earth were being transported from Whitby to Dracula’s new home at Carfax Abbey, the horse-drawn convoy passed through the City of Ripon. Local legend then tells us that, as the carriages traversed a patch of farmland just North of Ripon, a brutal storm raging overhead, the horses reared violently and a single box of unhallowed earth crashed unnoticed to the floor.

Over the years, as this unhallowed Transylvanian earth was left to seep into the very fabric of the land, nearby residents began to report strange nocturnal sightings and disappearances on the site that is now home to Lightwater Valley Theme Park.

As Halloween approaches and the thin veil that keeps our world separate from the underworld begins to weaken, it is rumoured that Dracula himself can re-awaken on the patch of earth known as ‘Dracula’s Dungeon’ by local residents, the exact spot on which that single box of unhallowed earth crashed to the floor all those years ago. Located at the very heart of ‘Dracula’s Labyrinth’, dare you enter the amazing maze of tunnels and risk an encounter with the Nosferatu?"

For further details on Frightwater Valley, to watch the preview clip or to download a copy of our Halloween map, please visit:

FRIGHTWATER VALLEY INFORMATION

Tickets are selling scarily fast so don't forget to pre-book online!

Dracula's Labyrinth!

2010-09-28T00:15:00.000-07:00

Morning all!

What a wonderful autumn day we have here at Lightwater - a fine Yorkshire mizzle appears to be falling, but that won't dampen our high spirits.
Our Operations Manager is back from his holiday and work has just started on Dracula's Labyrinth (our new scare maze) ahead of Frightwater Valley on Sat 30th and Sun 31st October (we're a tad excited to say the least). If you haven't yet seen our trailer for the event you can click on the following link:

FRIGHTWATER VALLEY

In other news, regular followers will know that our marketing department went down to the Birmingham NEC last week for the Group Leisure, Leisure Industry Week and Event UK shows. We've brought back plenty of great ideas, so it really is an intriguing time of year as we plan ahead into 2011.

Whirlwind has now left the park, so just a polite reminder that you won't be able to experience this ride through October. We just hope that you all enjoyed riding our Top Scan model through the main season (we certainly did and the customer feedback has been very positive).

Going forwards we're all now throwing ourselves into the Halloween mix and, having just heard the final soundtrack for the Frightwater firework displays, it sounds absolutely fantastic. Likewise, we hope you all love the new theming and scare zones we have planned for this year's Frightwater as much as we do.

FRIGHTWATER VALLEY!

2010-09-22T00:14:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Pumpkins!

As our regular social networkers and bloggers will know, we released our Frightwater Valley trailer ('Night of the Fundead') on Monday to critical acclaim! To take a look for yourself, click on the following link (whilst you're there you can also download a Frightwater Valley map and full event guide):

FRIGHTWATER VALLEY TRAILER

Here's what a few people have said about the clip so far:

"One of the most awesome theme park adverts ever!"

"Wow! Quite simply amazing!"

"Dear God! That's better than anything I've seen since the Nemesis / Haunted House Alton Towers ads in the 90s."

From the whole team at Lightwater, we'd like to thank everyone for such positive feedback; rest assured that we're fully committed to the event and have big plans for the future. Likewise, the marketing department would like to take this opportunity to give a massive thank you to everyone involved in the making of the film (no professional actors or make-up artists were used). The members of staff who volunteered to take part were simply amazing and deserve a special mention for their enthusiasm, professionalism and commitment. You guys were brilliant:

Lisa Fewster (Operations Department)
Rachel Johnson (Operations Department)
Frances Wilkinson (Marketing / Front of House)
John Tarn (Operations Department)
Paul Roberts (Magic Paul - entertainer)
Paul Walker (Operations Manager)
Andy Watson (Sales Manager)
Jack Cullen (Operations Department)

Thanks must also go to our maintenance team for staying late on the evening to ensure the rides were working when needed, to Derrick, John and the team at CQ2 as well as Tim Newton who directed the clip. Oh, and nobody was harmed in the making of this film (although Magic Paul was a bit chilly after his extended dip in the lake).

If you'd like to join the debate, please leave us some feedback on our facebook page or visit the Valley Mania forums:

LIGHTWATER VALLEY FACEBOOK

VALLEY MANIA FORUMS

As a word of warning, we have witnessed quite a surge in Frightwater bookings since we released the clip, so again please book your tickets early to avoid any disappointment (we did sell out last year):

BOOK FRIGHTWATER TICKETS

In other news, this weekend is your last chance to ride Whirlwind before it leaves us for the remainder of the season and the marketing department are heading down to Birmingham today for the Group Leisure Show / Leisure Industry Week.

Toodle Pip!

Night of the Fundead

2010-09-20T00:44:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Pumpkins!

Yes, it's that Halloween time of year again and Night of the Fundead (our Halloween trailer for Frightwater Valley) has just been released:

NIGHT OF THE FUNDEAD

You just gotta love fireworks, frights and things that go bump in the night. It's all too exciting, so we may have to go for a sit down and a glass of pumpkin juice. In the meantime, if you're craving more information about the event and would also like to download the brand new Frightwater Valley map, you can find it all here:

FRIGHTWATER VALLEY

Oh, and don't forget to book your tickets early as we did sell out last year:

BOOK FRIGHTWATER TICKETS

In other news, you guys only have one more weekend to ride Whirlwind before it leaves us for the remainder of the season(its last day of operation will be Sunday 26th September) so you'd better get your skates on!

WELCOME TO AUTUMN!

2010-09-01T00:51:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Autumn guys - the season of mists is upon is, so crack out the extra layers of clothing and keep on riding! September and October are actually great months for visiting theme parks (as most enthusiasts will tell you!) with massively reduced queue times and some fantastic Halloween events on offer next month. It's fair to say that 'Halloween Hysteria' in the UK hasn't quite reached American levels, although we are catching-up quite rapidly as more and more theme parks and attractions develop new and exciting events.

Before we go any further, just a quick reminder that we move to our customary 'Weekends Only' operation from Saturday 4th September until October half-term week, however Lightwater Shopping Village does remain open every day for you bargain hunters out there.

Please also remember that Whirlwind will not be on-site throughout October, so if you want to ride our Top Scan you need to do it fast:

WHIRLWIND COUNTDOWN

PARK OPENING DATES

Moving swiftly on, if you haven't yet seen the Frightwater Valley map, take a look at the following link and don't be afraid to let us know what you think through Facebook or Twitter:

FRIGHTWATER VALLEY MAP & GUIDE

We are advising people to book early this year as we're anticipating another sell-out event, so make sure you reserve your tickets online as soon as possible - pay on day admissions will probably be limited:

FRIGHTWATER VALLEY EVENT INFORMATION

BOOK TICKETS ONLINE

In other news, we're now throwing ourselves into planning for 2011 as we look to another strong winter of investment as we drive the park forwards and onto bigger and better things!?

The Season of Mists ...

2010-08-25T00:27:00.000-07:00

Well, the school holidays seem to be rattling along at a fair old rate ... seems crazy that it's September next week. Where did the summer go? It was Easter, then we blinked and Autumn appeared on the horizon! That's no bad thing, however, as Autumn is one of our favourite seasons when the park looks amazing bedecked in its golden canopy.

We're open every day until Sunday 5th September, then we move to our customary 'weekends only' operation until October half-term week. For all opening dates please click on the following link:

LIGHTWATER VALLEY OPENING DATES

Also, we're now reminding everyone that Whirlwind will be leaving the park and will not be on-site throughout October. As such, if you want to ride it, you'd better get your skates on:

WHIRLWIND COUNTDOWN

In other news, Tuesday night witnessed the filming of our new Frightwater Valley viral clip entitled 'Night of the Fundead'. We picked Tuesday 24th as the shoot date due to the full moon and were extremely lucky to get a clear sky with only a small amount of cloud ... the video will be available across our social networking sites towards the end of September / early October. In the meantime, we are encouraging people to book early for Frightwater Valley this year as we did 'sell out' in 2009:

BOOK ONLINE & SAVE

Enjoy the remainder of the holidays and we'll hopefully see you all soon.

Do you know a champion child?

2010-08-19T00:17:00.000-07:00

Do you know a champion child?

Lightwater Valley has teamed up with the Harrogate Advertiser to launch the 2010 Harrogate Advertiser Champion Children Awards. As the name suggests, the aim of our awards is to recognise and celebrate the achievements of children and young people that have triumphed over adversity or positively contributed in some way in our local community.

Young people are sometimes negatively portrayed and these awards challenge those stereotypes by recognising potential young role models, who have done good deeds and made our community a better place to live and work.

To nominate a young person for an award, all you have to do is write a letter of no more than 150 words, explaining why you would like to nominate the child. You will need to select from one of the award categories listed and include the name and age of the child, as well as your personal contact details. Award categories and entry details as follows:

Courage – the child could have helped save a life, shown tremendous courage or supported someone and being courageous in some other way.

Triumph over adversity – the child or young person has triumphed against the odds, challenged adversity and shown a determination to succeed in life.

Helping the community – the child or young person could have helped someone in the home, done errands or could have worked on a community project, supported a vulnerable person or other. This category is all about making their community a better place to live or work.

Fundraising – the child has helped raise funds in an innovative or creative way. It’s not just about raising a sum of money; it’s about determination and a passion for an actual cause.

Achievements in academia – the student has excelled in scholarly activities, not just in their grades, but in the whole of academic life, including attitude, attendance and attainment.

Achievement in the performing arts – the pupil or student has excelled in drama, dance or some other expressive art form. This is about celebrating children with natural talent and ability.

Achievement in sustainability and environmental projects – the young person(s) or child has supported a green concern or has demonstrated a keen awareness and need for sustainability and a sensitivity in the way we impact our environment.

Achievement in sport – the child or young person has excelled in their chosen sport and has demonstrated passion and enthusiasm, whilst also being able to respect their fellow competitor and peers – it’s all about the taking part.

Special Award – Not all children will be able to be categorised. The special award is a category for any child or young person that has done well, has possibly challenged and excelled or is a champion child in some other way. This category is left open to interpretation.

Team of the year – this award will go to a group of people that has achieved, not just against the competition, but against the odds. A team that demonstrates true spirit, a passion, a motivation and a willingness to work as a team. This is a very special award.

Champion Child of the Year – this is the most coveted award and the highest accolade that can be given as part of this celebration. The award will be judged on merit and will go to a very special child (chosen from the selection of nominated children on the actual day).

Closing date for nominations is Friday 01 October 2010. Children must be between the age of five and sixteen years of age (as of 01 October 2010) and live in the Harrogate Advertiser circulation area. A selected panel of judges will decide who will win awards. All the recipients of awards and their families will be invited to a coveted award ceremony at Lightwater Valley Theme Park on Monday 25th October 2010.

Post your entry to:

Champion Children Award nominations
The Harrogate Advertiser
Ackrill Media Group
1 Cardale Park
Harrogate HG3 1RZ

Yorkshire Fun ...

2010-08-10T03:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the second Yorshire CCC Fun Day that we've held here at Lightwater and we were pleased to welcome the team and a selection of their junior members to the valley.

After a morning enjoying the rides, the players enjoyed a private BBQ Lunch at our corporate marquee and a relaxed game of Kwik Cricket with their young fans. Following this, it was back into the park for a fun-filled afternoon before a training session today and a crunch match against Gloucestershire at Headingley tomorrow.

Some of the more famous players on show at Lightwater included England stars Adil Rashid, Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shazhad, as well as South African Jacques Rudolph and West Indian overseas player Tino Best. To check out the photos from the day, click on the following link:

YORKSHIRE CCC FAMILY FUN DAY

In other news, we're happy to report strong visitor numbers through the early part of August, as well as a new partnership with Haven, whereby guests staying at their sites along the Yorkshire coast can gain preferential theme park entry rates (check your Haven welcome packs on arrival at your resort). Likewise, if you are staying in the region, it's always worth checking with your caravan, camp site or accommodation provider for the best deals.

Our Autumn & Winter brochure should be available within the next couple of weeks and, as usual, keep an eye on our social networking pages and the Valley Mania site for a first glimpse of the brand new Frightwater Valley map, as well as an announcement on the new Halloween attractions for this year. There will also be a Frightwater viral clip appearing in early September, so again keep watching this space ...

Toodle Pip!

Camping, White Roses & Dracula!

2010-08-03T04:51:00.000-07:00

Well, the summer holidays are now in full swing and the weather seems to be holding steady - let's hope for some scorching sunshine over the next 4 weeks so that we can all splash about on water rides, feel the wind in our hair on roller coasters and eat loads of ice cream ... a veritable banquet of thrills, spills and chills!

Camping and caravanning holidays are looking extremely popular across the North Yorkshire region once again this year and, as far as we're concerned, there's no better place in which to sleep under the stars!! Located as we are at the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales, we recommend the following site if you feel like extending your stay and coming back to the valley for a second day:

http://www.sleningfordwatermill.co.uk/

As well as Lightwater, North Yorkshire is blessed with a fantastic range of attractions, so you'll never be short of days out and activities. For more details, take a look at the Yorkshire Attractions website:

Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions

Likewise, if you feel like staying somewhere a little more upmarket, why not try The Old Deanery which overlooks Ripon Cathedral:

The Old Deanery Hotel & Restaurant

In other news, we're pleased to announce that we've been nominated in 2 categories for the Welcome to Yorkshire White Rose Awards. Frightwater Valley is shortlisted for tourism experience of the year and the park is shortlisted for large visitor attraction of the year. As such, we have our fingers crossed ... the awards ceremony will take place in early October and for more information please visit the following site:

Welcome to Yorkshire (White Rose Awards)

Oh, and speaking of Frightwater Valley, we're beginning to get more than a little bit excited at the prospect of a 2 day Halloween event this year. With a special guest appearence from Dracula and his brides, it promises to be absolutely spooktacular! Plus, as we sold out in 2009, we're seriously encouraging people to book online well in advance of the 30th and 31st October ...

Toodle Pip!

Jigsaws and Opinions!

2010-07-24T00:47:00.000-07:00

Good morning campers!

Well, it seems that we survived 'schools week' without any major dramas - over the peak 'end of term' period we welcomed thousands of students through our gates. So, let's hope they enjoyed our new ride experiences (Raptor Attack and Whirlwind) and look to visit us again through the summer holidays or for Frightwater Valley this Halloween weekend.

We've now completed the jigsaw puzzle which was left for us by the guys from UK Park News (some of you may have seen the pic on our facebook page) so remember to keep an eye out for their full trip report:

UK Park News

Likewise, Valley Mania is the place to be if you want to share views and opinions on all things Lightwater:

Valley Mania

In other news, we've just launched a short survey to ask for opinions on how we should move the park forwards in 2011. As such, if you have a spare couple of minutes your feedback would be very much appreciated:

Survey Monkey

Schools Week!

2010-07-21T00:47:00.000-07:00

Well, schools' week is now in full swing and we have another 5500 students expected in the park today, with numbers peaking on Thursday 22nd at 7500. From Friday, however, normal service should resume as we begin to welcome back our more traditional family groups through the summer holidays.

Incidentally, with the increased throughput on Raptor Attack and the welcome addition of Whirlwind for 2010, we're finding that queue times have been significantly reduced and the park is able to cope much more effectively with larger crowds these days.

Moving forwards, our TV advertising campaign is kicking off on Monday 26th July and will initially be aired at the following times across ITV Yorkshire and Tyne Tees:

YO Mon 26/07/10 14:45 C DICKINSONS RD
YT Mon 26/07/10 20:28 E COUNTRYWISE
YT Tue 27/07/10 15:45 C 60 MINUTE MAKEOVER
YT Tue 27/07/10 19:28 E EMMERDALE
YT Wed 28/07/10 14:45 C DICKINSONS RD
YT Wed 28/07/10 20:55 C MIDSOMER MURDERS
YT Thu 29/07/10 09:55 C JEREMY KYLE
YT Thu 29/07/10 12:10 C THIS MORNING
YT Fri 30/07/10 17:58 E TEN MILE MENUS
YT fri 30/07/10 19:28 E EMMERDALE
YT Sat 31/07/10 10:23 E CROCODILE HUNTER
YT Sat 31/07/10 10:53 E CHILDRENS HOSP

In other news, we've added some additional new clips to our Youtube channel, which have also been embedded on the relevant ride pages of our own website. So, take a look at the following link for further details:

Lightwater TV

That's all for now ...

Rave Raptor Reviews ...

2010-07-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a busy few days exhibiting at the Great Yorkshire Show for our marketing team as part of Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions ... we've met loads of interesting people, handed out thousands of special offer vouchers and generally had a great deal of fun! In fact, the great yorkshire public are quite a sight to behold when they let their hair down and we're proud to be at the very heart of such a great county. So, for more details on amazing days out in Yorkshire, check out the following links:

Welcome to Yorkshire

Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions

Back at the valley, school trip season is now in full swing, with end of term outings reaching a peak from now until the end of next week! Then it's summer holiday season, so we look forward to welcoming you to Lightwater over the coming few weeks, whether you happen to be living or holidaying in this great county of ours!

In other news, Raptor Attack continues to receive rave reviews right across the board, with a few recent comments from the Valley Mania forums as follows:

"Raptor Attack is awesome! Lightwater have a better new ride for 2010 than Alton Towers ..."

"Raptor Attack and The Ultimate are two of the most unique rides in the UK."

If you feel like joining the debate, visit our social networking pages or take a peek at the Valley Mania forums:

Valley Mania Forums

Oh, and don't forget to keep checking our Youtube channel as we're continually uploading new clips and ride footage:

Lightwater TV

Toodle Pip!

Great Yorkshire School Bookings!

2010-07-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

Well, what can we say? It just keeps getting busier around here as school trip bookings have now gone past 2009 levels. As such, we are now reminding people who are thinking about coming along for a day at Lightwater that Tuesday 20th until Thursday 22nd July will be exceptionally busy with end-of-term trips (if you can manage to avoid these dates you'll get much more value from your entry tickets).

In other news, just a gentle reminder that we'll be at the Great Yorkshire Show with Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions from Tuesday 13th until Thursday 15th July, so come along and see us if you're in the area! We'll be combining with a range of other magnificent attractions from across the region to put on allsorts of activities and giveaways, so don't forget to come and say hello! Check out the following links for more information:

Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions

Great Yorkshire Show Website

Moving on, most of you will have seen our new TV advert on our social networking pages and you'll be able to catch it on your TV screens from w/c Monday 26th July (ITV Yorkshire and Tyne Tees). We've also uploaded quite a few new ride clips to our Youtube Channel, so take a look at the following link for more info:

Lightwater Valley TV

Oh, and don't forget about the Valley Mania competition to win a pair of tickets for the valley:

Valley Mania Competition

That's all folks!

Television Adverts and Flying Time ...

2010-07-01T01:24:00.000-07:00

Morning All!

Forgive us for the delay since posting our last blog as it's been a tad hectic around here, what with editing new TV adverts and the daily tasks associated with running a theme park ...

Anyway, moving swiftly on, you'll be pleased to learn that our new TV advert for the summer 2010 campaign is now complete and can be viewed on our facebook page and / or youtube channel:

Facebook TV Advert

Youtube TV Advert

This clip will also shortly be added to our website, before it hits TV screens on ITV Yorkshire and Tyne Tees from Monday 26th July. Likewise, now this project is complete, we're looking to start work on our Frightwater Valley viral clip with some nightime filming at the park. Who knows what terrors might come out to play after dark?

Oh, and speaking of Halloween, can anyone believe it's July already? Where's this year going? We're now fast approaching our peak period for schools, so once again just a gentle reminder that if you can avoid coming along midweek between Monday 12th and Thursday 22nd July you'll certainly get more value from your entry ticket (we'll be a tad busy with school trips to say the least).

On the corporate event front this weekend looks to be a busy one as we welcome 34 Squadron from RAF Leeming for their Summer Ball on Friday night and BT Nezra for their family fun day on Sunday. The Summer Ball is taking place in our theatre with an evening BBQ, DJ, live band and ERT on a range of fairground rides. Sounds like a pleasant way to spend an evening, so please keep us in mind if you fancy an event with a difference:

Lightwater Corporate Website

That's all for now folks!

Come on England!!

2010-06-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Right then football fans - remember that if you're coming along on Sunday you can still watch the England v Germany football game. We'll be showing all the action over at the Pub in the Wood and in the Gallery bar (above the Granary restaurant in the Shopping Village). Should these facilities be well frequented, we also have the theatre as an overflow ... come on England!! So, take a break from the rides, put your feet up and enjoy a chilled beverage of your choice whilst also drinking-in the sporting action!

In other news, Theme Park Review had a great time with us this morning during their ERT on The Ultimate and some extended time on Raptor Attack. Check out our facebook page for a few snaps or alternatively take a look at Theme Park Review's own website:

Theme Park Review

LWV Facebook Pics

Incidentally, Raptor Attack was given a unanimous thumbs-up by the whole group for such top-notch theming (and these are serious roller coaster fanatics we're talking about here)! As such, we'd like to wish the guys well on the remainder of their UK and European tour and hope they have a safe journey back to the USA. Oh, and speaking of theme park fan sites, don't forget to keep an eye on our official fan site:

Valley Mania

Keep up to date on all the latest Valley news and join the debate in the forum!

OFFICIAL RIDE LAUNCH!

2010-06-23T00:33:00.000-07:00

As our regular social networkers will know, we officially launched two new rides for the 2010 season on Saturday 12th June, which signifies a major £1.2 million investment in Lightwater Valley and the addition of 2 great new ride experiences!

The two new rides were opened with an official joint red ribbon cutting ceremony by The Mayor of Ripon, Councillor Mr David Elsy and Mr Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, representing the local community and regional tourism respectfully. There was also a celebratory VIP launch party attended by 160 guests.

Mayor of Ripon, Councillor David Elsy, commented “I was pleased to be invited to officiate at the launch of Whirlwind at Lightwater Valley. It’s important we support our local businesses as they play an important part in the economic development of our community, by attracting visitors to the area and offering jobs to local people."

Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, added “It’s fantastic to see our local visitor attractions investing in their own futures. They are important to the region's tourism prosperity and we must recognise Lightwater Valley’s contribution to attracting visitors to the area over the past thirty years.”

Mark Bainbridge, General Manager and Director at Lightwater Valley, also added “As a regional visitor attraction and leading UK theme park, we need to remain competitive and offer our customers the very best day out. The addition of two new rides offers visitors some great new ride experiences. Whilst market conditions are challenging, the new rides have helped attract extra visitors to the park.”

To see an image of the ribbon cutting ceremony, take a look at our facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4672979&id=151961685291

In other news, the Autumn & Winter brochure is coming along nicely and the new Frightwater Valley map looks frighteningly good - this should be ready for distribution from mid-August, so watch this space!

We continue to be busy on the events front with Theme Park Review coming along on Friday for an hour of ERT on The Ultimate before the ride opens to the public. This is closely followed-up by our locals weekend on Saturday and Sunday and a major corporate event in the theatre on Friday 2nd July with BBQ, Disco and Live band. So, if you're looking for an event with a difference, take a look at our corporate brochure:

Events with a Difference

That's all for now folks as we're exhibiting at Lincolnshire show with Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions today!

Action Packed Value!

2010-06-21T01:07:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a superb few days it's been - summer might finally be upon us! And to celebrate the longest day of the year, here's a link for a special offer pdf voucher - valid until the end of July:

http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/pdf/Lightwater-Valley-June-E-Shot.pdf

So, not only can you get theme park entry for only £11.95 per person, but you can also beat the summer rush if you come along in June and / or early July. The only week we'd suggest you avoid is July 19th to 23rd as we will be exceptionally busy with school children on end-of-term trips!

As part of our membership of Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions, we'll be attending Lincolnshire Show on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. So, if you happen to be in the area, please come along and say hello - there'll be fun, games and various activities from all participating venues. So, check out the following links for more details:

http://www.yorkshireattractions.org/

http://www.lincolnshireshowground.co.uk/lincolnshire_show/

Oh, and if you aren't already following us on Facebook or Twitter then it's not too late - our social networking pages are always first with all the latest Lightwater News!

Coaster Sunshine!

2010-06-16T01:48:00.000-07:00

Here we go then - the first day of 'full time' opening is upon us, so we're now up and running every day until Sunday 5th September! Let's hope for heaps of sunshiiine and the amazing summer weather that we've been promised for the past decade!

If it materialises (and that's probably a big if!) this could certainly be another bumper summer for the domestic tourism industry across Yorkshire. And let's be honest, when the weather's fine, there's no better place to spend a week or two than God's own county and we're ideally placed here in Ripon for a few days exploring the Yorkshire Dales and surrounding visitor attractions:

http://www.yorkshire.com/

http://www.visitripon.org/

The school that visited the park yesterday seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves - please keep in mind that, if you can bring a minimum of 600 people along, you can have the whole park to yourselves on any day that we're not open to the public! It's not as expensive as you might think (usual group rates apply) so give us a ring if you'd be interested in coming along for an exclusive midweek session through September or October. Alternatively, we are now taking exclusive bookings for May 2011.

On the coaster front, not many people may know this, but our legendary Ultimate was recently voted the second best roller coaster in Europe (second only to Europa's Blue Fire) by a Towers Times forum. A few guys from Towers Times recently visited Lightwater and you can check out their reviews on the following forum:

http://forum.towerstimes.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=524861#p524861

So, as well as being the longest coaster in Europe, our very own Ultimate is up there with Europe's very best! Allied to this, The Eagle's Claw is arguably one of the finest flat rides in the UK, Raptor Attack is arguably one of the best themed and Whirlwind is just, well, a bit crazy! So, you could say that we really are an action packed value day out!

Welcome to Ripon!

2010-06-12T06:12:00.000-07:00

Well, what a hectic day it's been at the valley ....

Firstly, we need to say a big thank you to Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, along with the Mayor and Mayoress of Ripon for conducting the official opening of both Raptor Attack and Whirlwind this morning. These rides have formed part of a significant £1.2 million investment for the park over the winter period as we look to strengthen ties with not only the local Ripon community, but also the wider tourism industry across Yorkshire.

Raptor Attack is arguably the best newly themed ride in the UK this year and we think it's the absolute Raptor's whiskers, so if you haven't yet ventured into our abandoned mineshaft, what are you waiting for? Check out the Raptor Attack on-ride photo of Gary Verity and the Mayor / Mayoress of Ripon on our facebook page - AAARRRRGGGHHH:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4602317&id=151961685291

Or take a look at the viral clip on our Youtube page:

http://www.youtube.com/user/lightwaterv

Oh, and if you're thinking about a visit to Yorkshire this summer, take a look at the official Welcome to Yorkshire website, your one-stop resource for all things Yorkshire:

http://www.yorkshire.com/

That's all folks!

Corporate Value!

2010-06-11T00:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another blogtastic update from the Valley!

We have a busy weekend of corporate events coming right up as both our marquee and theatre are booked on Saturday. The event in the theatre includes a breakfast package for 180 people on arrival, which is a fantastic way for guests to begin a fun-packed day in a private facility. It's then 2 hours of action-packed fun out on the park before heading back to the theatre for a private buffet lunch; the forecast also looks good so it should be a cracking day out for all concerned!

Meanwhile, to celebrate the arrival of Raptor Attack and Whirlwind, the marquee is also busy hosting our VIP ride launch party - this has seen competitions running on radio and a wide range of regional newspapers. As such, we're pleased to welcome 200 lucky winners on Saturday for a fun-packed VIP day out.

Oh, and whilst we're on the subject of corporate events and facilities, we're also hosting a wedding reception in the not too distant future. You may not instantly associate us with wedding receptions, but we know how to stage a party. Check out our corporate site for more details:

http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/corporate/

The Rotary Club 'Kids Out' event on Wednesday went well and we're proud to continue our association with such a great event, giving over 1000 disadvantaged children and their carers a great day out.

School bookings continue to come in 'thick & fast' for our peak July period and, if you are planning on coming along towards the end of July, we'd advise you to avoid Monday 19th July through until Thursday 22nd July as we will be exceptionally busy with school trips. Meanwhile, June is scheduled to be a quiet month, so if you really want to extract maximum value from your entry ticket, now's the time!!

Quacking Good Theming!

2010-06-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon from the rainy valley! You know, this week has seen some great weather across North Yorkshire, so it's a shame that the last day of school half-term brought torrents of water from the sky. On the plus side, poncho sales went through the roof and Daphne duck was in her element.

As our facebook fans will know, next year is The Ultimate's 20th anniversary and we're asking for ideas and thoughts on how best to celebrate this momentous milestone. So, get your thinking caps on and give us your feedback!

In other news, just a further reminder to everyone that the park is actually closed on Monday 7th & Tuesday 8th June, as well as Monday 14th & Tuesday 15th June. We don't want anyone to travel a long distance and have to send them away disappointed.

Raptor Attack continues to get rave reviews across the board - we hope with this project that we've shown exactly how a ride should be themed! In fact, we think our abandoned mine is the absolute Raptor's whiskers!

Peace in the Valley!

Raptor Ramblings ...

2010-06-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems a while since we last updated this blog, but it has been a tad hectic around here this week!

Regular followers will know that we filmed a new TV advert on Wednesday and we really do need to say a huge, massive thank you to the family who helped us on the day. In fact, things couldn't have run more smoothly and you'll be able to see the fruits of our labours through July and August on ITV Yorkshire and Tyne Tees.

The Raptor Attack footage looks particularly dark and menacing, whilst The Ultimate clips from the bottom of second drop are pretty spectacular - the red train bursting through the canopy of trees looks amazing, as does Whirlwind twirling away against a backdrop of gorgeous blue sky!

It's a busy weekend ahead on the corporate front - we have a conference in the theatre tomorrow and an event in the marquee on Sunday. We're also looking forward to the Whirlwind and Raptor Attack launch party on Saturday 12th June - if you're lucky enough to have won tickets on Galaxy Radio or through a vast range of regional newspaper competitions then we look forward to seeing you there! Oh, and for more info on our corporate packages check out the following link:

http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/corporate/

Don't forget that we're now open every day until Sunday 5th September, with the exception of Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th June, as well as Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th June!?

The Great Outdoors ...

2010-05-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

On the marketing front, we've now confirmed Wednesday 2nd June as the date for filming our new TV advert ... let's hope for some sunny weather as we're looking to grab some excellent new footage of Raptor Attack, Whirlwind and The Ultimate! The new 30 second advert will then feature in a 6 week campaign across ITV Yorkshire and Tyne Tees through July / August, to be closely followed by a new teaser clip for Frightwater Valley (in early September) across our website and social networking sites.

We continue to work with Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions as we aim to collaborate and share information with all manner of different attractions from across the county:

http://www.yorkshireattractions.org/

It's great to be able to benchmark what we're doing against the other attractions within the group as we continue to look for ways to improve the customer experience we offer. All feedback is welcome, so please let us know your thoughts through the feedback form on our website or via our facebook page.

The most recent Yorkshire Attractions meeting was held at Castle Howard, quite possibly one of the most picturesque places in North Yorkshire, so keep them in mind if you're staying in the area for a few days:

http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/

It looks like being another bumper summer for camping and caravanning holidays across the country and there's no better place to experience the great outdoors than North Yorkshire! Plus, as an added bonus, if you are staying with a camping or caravan site around the Yorkshire Dales, don't forget to ask them about special entry offers for Lightwater Valley!

Bird Watching ...

2010-05-27T00:23:00.000-07:00

Looks like another fine day in the offing - working here sure beats sitting in a city centre office block all day! The view across the lake on a morning like this can be quite breathtaking. Oh, and on the bird watching front, we have an Oyster Catcher nesting in the shopping village - our GM spotted her a couple of days ago! She should be on the East coast, but seems to have travelled inland to lay her eggs.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/o/oystercatcher

We've cordoned off an area for her, so she's resting safely and soundly with her eggs! We'll keep you posted on any developments ...

Our new TV advert is coming along nicely and we're planning to bag some new footage of Raptor Attack & Whirlwind during half-term week. The revised script is just about complete, so keep a look out for the film crew if you're around on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday next week (we're now watching the weather forecast to pick the day with the best chance of blue skies!).

We're offering a more personalised service to camping & caravan parks this year as Andy, our new sales manager, has been visiting sites across North Yorkshire, talking to owners / operators and distributing Lightwater Valley discount entry tokens. So, if you're camping or caravanning in the North Yorkshire area this summer, check to see if you can get an even better deal on your park tickets!

School bookings are coming in 'thick & fast' for our peak period from 5th to 23rd July - the busiest days at the moment look to be Monday 19th through to Thursday 22nd July, so if you can manage to avoid these dates the queues will certainly be reduced.

Our 'Welcome to Yorkshire' White Rose Award entries have now been submitted for 2010 and we all have our fingers crossed for a nomination! Last year our Dickensian Festival was shortlisted for 'Tourism Event of the Year' and in 2008 we were shortlised for 'Large Visitor Attraction of the Year' and 'Tourism Website of the Year'.

http://www.whiteroseawards.com/2010

We have a Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions Meeting at Castle Howard this afternoon - remember to keep an eye on their website for great deals on days out throughout the summer.

http://www.yorkshireattractions.org

We'll be joining them at the Lincolnshire Shows (23rd & 24th June) and Great Yorkshire Show (13th to 15th July) so come along and say hello if you're in the area.

That's all folks - hopefully see you next week as we're open every day from Saturday 29th May through until Sunday 6th June.

Ramblings ...

2010-05-23T05:38:00.000-07:00

Just a quick one on our opening dates to start:

The park will be open every day from Sat 29th May through until Sunday 6th June for school half-term week (let's hope the heat wave continues!). The park is then open every single day until Sunday 5th September, with the exception of Monday 7th & Tuesday 8th June and Monday 14th & Tuesday 15th June. Please note, however, that the theme park is not open between Monday 24th and Friday 28th May (we don't want any disappointed kids on our hands!).

In other news, take a look at the new facebook piccies from our concert on Saturday night - the park was hired exclusively for the evening with a rock concert to follow, so why not keep us in mind for your next event? Whether it's a fun day in the park or a party after dark, we're Yorkshire's most versatile events venues. Check out our corporate site for more details:

http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/corporate/

It seems scary, but bookings are coming in thick and fast for stalls at our Dickensian Christmas Festival (Wednesday 1st until Sunday 5th December). So, if you're a local supplier of interesting crafts, tasty food or intriguing beverages and would like to reserve a stall, please contact Jane Tyler through our main switchboard on 0871 720 0011 or check out the Dickensian Festival page and image gallery on our website at:

http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/dickensian_festival.php

That's all for now - we're off to buy an ice cream from Twister Treats as it's a glorious day out there!

Exclusive Fun Days!

2010-05-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

As the weekend approaches, it looks like the best weather forecast of the year ... could summer finally be here? It's a good job actually as, once the park closes to the public at 5:00pm on Saturday, we've been hired for an exclusive evening. That's all the rides in the park until 8:00pm (what a very lucky group of people!!) with a rock concert to follow!

In fact, our exclusive days and evenings are becoming more and more popular and they aren't as expensive as you might imagine (our usual group rates apply but you need to bring along a minimum of 600 people - so get talking to your friends, family and colleagues). May and September are the most popular months for exclusive bookings as we're open to the public on 'weekends only' but we'll do our best to accommodate you at any time during the season. You can even combine your event with a corporate facility, a disco, a concert, a BBQ ... the list is endless!! And for smaller groups of people, we can quote for exclusive use on individual rides (by the hour) which can be a fantastic option for evening parties and celebrations.

In other news, The Plant Shop is now fully up and running at the entrance to Lightwater Shopping Village, offering a stunning array of seasonal plants, flowers, pots and hanging baskets for every type of garden. So, whether you’re a seasoned gardener or an absolute beginner, we can now help you turn your little patch of earth into a veritable oasis of scent and colour! Oh, and if flower arranging is your thing, The Plant Shop also stocks a comprehensive range of dried flowers. Make sure you have a look on your next visit!

On a thrill-seeking note, work has continued on Raptor Attack throughout this week with the entrance tunnels now looking scarier and more realistic than ever ... dare you venture into the abandoned mineshaft?

Toodle Pip!

Thrills, Spills & Chills!!

2010-05-15T00:37:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another weekend at the valley and what a glorious day we have on our hands - bright blue sky and that big yellow thing shining overhead (must be summer)! The spring flowers are now beginning to fade, but in all honesty we've never seen the park looking as beautiful as it does right now; the woodland areas are wearing a full canopy of fresh green leaves and the grassed areas bordering the lake look so inviting for an hour or two of chill-out time. It's so easy to forget that we're not just about thrills and spills - given our 175 acre parkland setting we also have some wonderfully picturesque chill-out areas, a relaxing round-the-park train ride and a pub in the wood for 'a drop of what you fancy!'.

As regular followers of our social networking pages will know, Raptor Attack has been given a great deal of TLC over the past few weeks, with additional theming having been added to the entrance and exit tunnels, as well as the neighbouring paintball range. In fact, this prompted the following comment from our valley mania forums:

"Can I just say, in a nutshell the theming (on Raptor Attack) is more fulsome and better thought out than that found on Th13teen (at Alton Towers); and for that, the park must be given credit."

Thanks for the vote of confidence guys and and we hope this shows how determined we are to drive this park forwards (special credit must go to Paul Walker and Neil Kimberley). Likewise, if you want to join the debate check out the forums at www.valleymania.co.uk.

In other news, we'll be filming a brand new TV advert in a couple of weeks time as we aim to bag some excellent new footage of both Raptor Attack and Whirlwind. In line with these 2 new rides, we're hoping to run a slightly darker creative theme through the 30 second advert, whilst also retaining our all important family positioning. This advert will form the basis of our 6 week summer campaign (across ITV Yorkshire and Tyne Tees) and, should you wish, you can view the existing version on our homepage at www.lightwatervalley.co.uk.

Raptor Attack Paintball!!

2010-05-13T00:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a really busy week at Lightwater as the Raptor Attack paintball range has been receiving the full attention of our in-house theming company. As such, we hope you'll all agree from the pictures on facebook that we're really keen to put this area of the park on the map, so to speak, and to prove that we can produce theming as well as any other UK attraction.

As well as working hard on the paintball range itself, the whole Raptor Attack ride exit building has been re-worked with additional theming throughout. Likewise, much to the delight of our official fan site at Valley Mania, work has continued unabated on the ride itself with additional theming having been carried out within the entrance and exit tunnels.

Moving forwards, the weather today is absolutely glorious and we hope it stays this way for the weekend - don't forget to visit the paintball range to get your own back on the Raptors or maybe take in a live flying show over at the Birds of Prey Centre (with a completely different breed of Raptor!)!

Scarecon

2010-05-10T01:55:00.000-07:00

Morning Everyone!

It seems a while since we last updated this blog (quite remiss of us) so our apologies for the oversight, but it's been quite a hectic week!!

As regular readers will know, we visited Scarecon (the European convention for scare attractions) at The Magic Circle HQ in London last week. As we aim to take Frightwater Valley to the next level, we've brought back some amazing ideas for improving our Halloween weekend. It's quite scary how Halloween is growing these days as it's now second only to Christmas in terms of worldwide consumer spending - not surprising given the amount of events, attractions and costumes that are readily available. But please remember that Frightwater Valley is the only place to be seen this Halloween.

In other news, work has continued unabated on Raptor Attack with additional theming being added to the queue line and entrance tunnel - this seems to have met with widespread approval from the guys at Valley Mania and we're immensely proud of what we've achieved with this attraction. Take a look at our official fan site for more details or to comment in the forums.

Spooktacular!

2010-05-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

Well, that's the bank holiday weekend over and it seems to have gone all too quickly!! If you came along to see us over the past 3 days, we hope you had an absolutely cracking time and enjoyed the brand new ride experiences offered by both Raptor Attack and Whirlwind. Oh, and don't forget to check out the new photos of Whirlwind on our facebook page!

As a quick reminder, please remember that the park is now open on 'weekends only' until the beginning of June and that you can see our full calendar of opening dates on the following link:

http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/openingtimes.php

Please note, however, that our shopping village remains open every day with bargains galore in every outlet, kids t-shirts from just £1 in Hopscotch and great value meals and snacks in The Granary restaurant.

In other news, the marketing department are looking forward to their trip to Scarecon at The Magic Circle HQ in London on Thursday, which is Europe's only show dedicated to scare attractions. As we build on the hair-raising success of the inaugural Frightwater Valley, we're hoping to come back from 'The Big Smoke' with a raft of spooktacular new ideas to make this year's 2 day Halloween event bigger and better than ever:

http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/frightwater.php

Work is already progressing well on Frightwater Valley 2010, so watch out for the viral clip hitting our social networking sites from early September and a brand new Halloween-themed park map in our autumn & winter brochure, also released from late August / early September!!

Toodle Pip!!

More Ramblings ...

2010-05-01T00:12:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder that we're open Saturday, Sunday and Monday for the first May bank holiday weekend, so let's keep our fingers crossed for some sunshine! The forecast looks promising at the moment and, as if we needed to remind you, our 2 new rides for 2010 are ready and waiting for action. So, if you're feeling brave enough to enter Raptor Attack's abandoned mineshaft, we hope to see you on the other side and, as if that wasn't enough, you can then be blown away by Whirlwind.

We've been working hard on Raptor Attack over the past 2 weeks and we're pleased to report that a new electronics system is now fully installed in time for this bank holiday weekend. As such, queue times will be significantly reduced as throughput will increase dramatically. All part of the service ...

We're pleased to welcome Phil Johnson and Leeds D A Caravan club to the valley this bank holiday weekend. It may be another of our best kept secrets here at Lightwater, but we are able to easily accommodate caravan rallies (which include overnight stays and preferential park entry rates). For further information, please contact Jane Tyler through our main switchboard on 0871 720 0011.

If you feel like eating something a little different during your day with us, don't forget that The Granary restaurant over at Lightwater Shopping Village offers great value meals (including healthy options, fish & chips and a cracking carvery every Sunday lunchtime). Likewise, Joe's coffee shop in the main theme park entrance building offers a legendary all day breakfast (and we also recommend the cheese and ham toasties!).

That's all folks!

Corporate Hijinks!

2010-04-29T03:14:00.000-07:00

First of all, we'd like to welcome Stray FM to Lightwater Valley today for their sales meeting, as well as some mid-afternoon hilarity with an hour of ERT on The Eagle's Claw, Skyrider and Dodgems. Stray FM will be making use of our excellent gallery facility, which comprises a classroom area, private bar / breakout lounge and a balcony with stunning views of the lake.

Our corporate facilities are possibly one of our best kept secrets here at Lightwater as we can offer a wide range of packages from 12 to 2000 delegates. In addition to the gallery mentioned above, we also have a marquee set in the middle of the theme park (great for family fun days, concerts and private BBQs)and a purpose-built theatre with a full stage facility adjacent to the fairground.

We can also arrange for some exclusive ride time on any or all of our attractions, so we can definitely make your meeting, conference, fun day or party go with a bang. So, whether it's a fun day in the park or an evening partying after dark, we invite you to come along and experience our instinctive Yorkshire hospitality. With BBQs, buffets and sit down meals available, we can offer a great deal more than just fast food.

Click on the corporate link on our website for more details!

In other news, we're now busy building-up to the bank holiday weekend with Raptor Attack and Whirlwind (our 2 brand new rides!) both fully operational and ready to entertain our guests. Now all we need is some more sunshine ... oh, and don't forget to buy a Northern Echo, Yorkshire Evening Post, Harrogate Advertiser or Darlington & Stockton Times this Friday (tokens inside)!

On the exhibition front, watch out for us at the Lincolnshire Show on 23rd and 24th June and the Great Yorkshire Show from 13th to 15th July (both as part of Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions). See you there!

Toodle Pip!

Whirlwind Value!

2010-04-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

Well, we now have Whirlwind (our second new ride experience of 2010) fully up and running a whole week ahead of schedule. As such, we've spent this weekend watching our braver guests being flung, twisted and turned in every direction imaginable! Whirlwind looks stomach-churningly brilliant when it's spinning away alongside the Eagle's Claw - the screams can be heard right across the fairground - so all we need now is some more sunshine for the first May bank holiday weekend!!

Raptor Attack's abandoned mineshaft also continues to thrill guests as we look to build on a successful start to the season with an enhanced portfolio of rides and a greatly improved visitor experience. And don't forget that we're still home to the longest roller coaster in Europe - The Ultimate!!

In other news, if you spend over £100 within Lightwater Shopping Village you can now claim a free ticket to visit the theme park (offer valid for receipts dated from 01.04.10 until 30.09.10). How about that for value?

Raptor Mania!

2010-04-20T01:02:00.000-07:00

Well, that's Easter gone for another year! Thank you to all those who visited Lightwater over the past couple of weeks and we hope you all had a really fun day out with us and enjoyed the brand new Raptor Attack experience! The feedback we've received from guests so far has been really positive and, to answer a query on the Valley Mania forums, we will shortly be taking delivery of our new Raptor Attack ride photo frames. At the same time, we will be moving away from a generic park frame with individually branded photo frames for The Ultimate, Wild River Rapids and Twister.

In other news, we conducted a focus group with our official fan site (valley mania) on Sunday evening after their 'Mine ya' Head' trip to the park (for full trip reports visit www.valleymania.co.uk). We'd just like to thank all those in attendance for their invaluable feedback and ideas - thanks for taking the time to let us know your thoughts guys.

As a quick reminder, please note that we're now open weekends and bank holidays only until school half-term (first week in June). The shopping village does, however, remain open every single day from 10:00am until 5:00pm and, if you spend over £100.00 within the shopping village, you can claim a free theme park ticket for the 2010 season!!

Toodle Pip!

Ramblings ...

2010-04-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

As our two week Easter opening pediod draws to a close, please keep in mind that we're now open weekends and bank holidays only until school half-term week from Saturday 29th May through until Sunday 6th June. Our shopping village does, however, remain open every single day, so please pop in and say hello if you're passing!!

It's been a hectic couple of weeks here at the valley and the sunny weather has certainly brought people out for their first rides of the year on Europe's longest roller coaster, as well as our first new ride experience of 2010 - Raptor Attack! It's also fair to say that, with the daffodils in full bloom around the lake, Lightwater has never looked prettier.

Preparations for the launch of Whirlwind (our second new ride experience of 2010) are progressing nicely and, all being well, we're hoping to launch this ride on Saturday 24th April, a full week ahead of schedule (keep an eye on this blog for confirmation shortly).

Oh, and looking further ahead, the Frightwater Valley firework displays are being finalised as we speak, so if you have any songs that you'd like us to use as we choreograph the displays to music, now is the time to let us know. Please keep in mind, however, that the music must have a spooky Halloween theme running through it (please post any suggestions on our facebook wall).

For all you bargain hunters out there, our next wave of discount offers will be hitting the newspapers in time for the first May bank holiday, so look out for the Northern Echo, Darlington & Stockton Times, Harrogate Advertiser Series and Yorkshire Evening Post on Friday 30th April.

And finally ... we look forward to welcoming the delegation from Valley Mania to Lightwater on Sunday and we hope they have a cracking day with us!

Toodle Pip!

A Whirlwind Approaches!

2010-04-14T01:16:00.000-07:00

Morning everyone!

It seems that preparations for the launch of Whirlwind at the beginning of May are coming along nicely, however we have now postponed the official launch of Raptor Attack on Friday by the Mayor of Ripon due to the forthcoming elections. The ride remains fully operational, so if you come to visit us you can still feel the terror of this abandoned mineshaft.

In other news our 2 week Easter opening has seen a bouyant couple of weeks for the park with guests coming along and enjoying the nice weather and rides on their favourite attractions including The Ultimate, Wild River Rapids and Raptor Attack!! It seems that guests have also thoroughly enjoyed the new Raptor Attack paintball range, with the chance to get their own back on The Raptors!!

Many people seem to be so busy in the park itself that they forget about our on-site Birds of Prey centre - remember that every day the park's open the centre offers daily flying shows at 2:00pm and 4:00pm. If you have chance, you really should take the time to try and watch one of the shows as they are a tremendous spectacle for just an extra £1.50pp. With owls, falcons, hawks and vultures, the Lightwater Birds of Prey centre is an excellent addition to a day at the valley.

The Granary Restaurant over at Lightwater Shopping Village offers a much more varied menu than you'll find within the theme park itself, so if you feel like freshly cooked fish & chips or a healthier meal option, you should definitely keep The Granary in mind during your next visit.

Toodle Pip!

Raptor Attack - Official Launch!!

2010-04-11T01:21:00.000-07:00

As another fine day dawns over the valley, we're pleased to announce that Raptor Attack will be officially launched on Friday 16th April by Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, and Councillor David Parnaby, Mayor of Ripon. The official ceremony will be a red ribbon cutting event and is primarily designed to highlight not only the importance of the investment made by Lightwater Valley in new rides through the winter months, but also our role in supporting the local economy and the wider tourism industry across Yorkshire.

Raptor Attack has proven to be a roaring success during its first few days of operation as customers have eagerly ventured into Lightwater Mining Company's abandoned mineshaft to find out what lurks beneath the surface.
In other news, the construction of Whirlwind is coming along nicely and we look on course to launch our second new ride of 2010 at the beginning of May (if not slightly sooner). An official launch date will be announced shortly, so keep your eyes on this blog, our social networking sites and our official website for further details!!

It's hoped that, with Raptor Attack and Whirlwind operating at capacity throughout our peak periods, queue times will be reduced right across the park, with a view to increasing customer satisfaction levels and providing a far better visitor experience.

Shorts & Suntan Lotion!?

2010-04-10T00:22:00.000-07:00

Morning everyone!

What a cracking day we have here at the valley - blue sky as far as the eye can see and the sun beating down on what looks set to be a glorious weekend!! This is definitely the time to take a spin on the Wild River Rapids as you'll dry off in no time ....

You'll be pleased to learn that Whirlwind (our second new ride experience for 2010) is now on-site and we're hoping to have this attraction fully operational by the beginning of May. For those of you who haven't studied our 2010 map, Whirlwind will be located adjacent to the Eagle's Claw and should make for an interesting addition to our existing portfolio of rides.

It has to be said that Spring has now definitely 'sprung' and the park is looking particularly beautiful with all the daffodils now in full bloom - a pedal around the lake in one of our Swan Boats should give you the best view of our displays.

In other news, Magic Paul and Magic Paul (our 2010 entertainers) seem to have struck-up quite a rapport and can usually be seen meeting and greeting guests as they enter the main theme park entrance building. Don't forget to say hello if you're passing or to make a point of finding out Magic Marc's magic show times from visitor services (every afternoon!).

Cuppa Joe's coffee shop is proving as popular as ever with visitors to the valley and, having eaten in there yesterday, I'm pleased to report that the cheese & ham toasties are as good as they were last season! Likewise, I have it on good authority that the Cuppa Joe's 'All Day Breakfast' is one of the best you'll find in all of North Yorkshire!!

That's all for now folks, so get your shorts and suntan lotion on and head to the valley!

Sunshiine!

2010-04-08T01:03:00.000-07:00

Finally we have some decent weather and our apologies for not having updated the blog for a few days - it seems that preparations for our Easter opening took over!!

If you're coming along to the valley over the next few days it definitely seems that the sun will be shining on you ... great weather for a few turns on the Wild River Rapids! The views from the top of The Ultimate second lift are also amazing on a clear day like this. And it'd be rude to not sample an ice cream or two ...

Raptor Attack's abandoned mineshaft continues to impress and scare guests of all ages as they re-emerge into the newly refurbished paintball range as white as sheets! In this weather, however, people should soon have some colour back in their cheeks ....

Work is now starting on Frightwater Valley 2010 as we begin to plan the new Halloween attractions with a view to making this year's renewal bigger and better than ever. We hope that Dracula's dungeon, the Frightwater express ghost train and the spooky Halloween walk through darkwater forest will surpass all expectations. In fact, with a 2 day event this year and a spooktacular firework display on both Sat 30th and Sun 31st, Frightwater Valley will once again be the place to be seen this Halloween weekend!!

Toodle Pip!

HAPPY EASTER!!

2010-04-04T04:50:00.000-07:00

It seems a while since we last posted a blog, so it's definitely time for an update! Regular followers will be pleased to learn that Rapor Attack opened at lunchtime on 3rd April and proved an instant hit with guests of
all ages. So, our sincere apologies for the slight delay in launching this ride, although the first survivors did seem proud to wear their 'I survived Raptor Attack' stickers for the rest of the day!!

If you feel brave enough to try and tame Raptor Attack, come and see us this Easter as we're open every day from now until 18th April (we then revert to weekends and bank holidays only until school half-term week)!! It has to be said that a Raptor Attack on-ride photo will be the least flattering image you ever have taken as the camera is situated quite near to a not-so-friendly Velociraptor!!

The Easter competition we ran in conjunction with Stray FM has now come to a close and a lucky family from Harrogate have won our giant (chocolate) Raptor Egg. We only hope they're a large family as the egg needed 4 people to carry it into visitor services when it arrived!! Oh, and speaking of chocolate eggs, thank you to our retail department for distributing cream eggs to every member of staff this morning!!

Happy Easter!!

RARE PREHISTORIC FOSSIL FOUND!

2010-04-01T00:37:00.000-07:00

Rare prehistoric fossil discovered at theme park!!

A rare prehistoric fossil has been discovered at Lightwater Valley. The clutch of Raptor-like eggs is a major discovery and was found whilst excavating foundations for a new ride at the park. The find has sent the palaeontology world into a frenzy!!

Ashley Young, Marketing Manager commented: "One of our contractors was working on a section of the foundations for the new ride, when they saw what they thought was a pile of smooth stones and, on closer inspection, realised it was a fossil. It's a fantastioc discovery and everyone at the park is really excited. We are now seeking advice from palaeontology experts with regard to what to do next."

Lightwater Valley is in detailed discussions with various authorities and academic institutions.

Easter Treats!

2010-03-31T00:13:00.000-07:00

So, here we are, on the verge of our Easter opening (every day from Thursday 1st until Sunday 18th April). The weather looks to be improving (just in the nick of time) and the whole place is extremely excited about the impending launch of Raptor Attack. As we put the finishing touches to the park, now all we require is some much needed sunshiiiine!!

I had the pleasure of visiting Raptor Attack's abandoned mineshaft yesterday and, in all honesty, the theming on the ride is the best I have ever seen at Lightwater. From the queue line to the entranceway and the tunnels that descend into the mine, hats off to Paul and his team on a genuinely fantastic piece of work. Likewise, the Raptors themselves are far from tame and scared the life out of me yesterday:

http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/raptor_attack.php

Our giant chocolate Raptor egg (the biggest in the world) is being given away in a competition with Stray FM, so tune into the Harrogate-based station to be in with a chance of winning. Likewise, if you're searching for a bargain this Easter, keep an eye out for the Northern Echo, Darlington & Stockton Times and Harrogate Advertiser series of newspapers this Friday (2nd April).

The Yorkshire Pass is launching this Thursday 1st April, so if you're staying in Yorkshire for a few days over Easter or through the summer months, you may wish to investigate the following site as the pass will also give discounted entry to Lightwater:

www.yorkshirepass.com

Oh, and we hope to see you over Easter!!

We're Open!!

2010-03-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

Here it is - the 2010 season is upon us and we're officially open for business! The buzz around the park is back (not that it ever left!) and we absolutely cannot wait to launch Raptor Attack next week (the biggest thing to happen here at the Valley since we launched The Ultimate). The excitement is building and we're just praying for decent weather over the Easter bank holiday weekend!!

The first day of the season has been excellent with 1000 people in the park enjoying their first rides of 2010 on The Ultimate, The Eagle's Claw and Trauma Tower to name but three!! The operations team leaders can be seen around the park in rather fetching blue fleeces this year (keep a lookout for them when you next visit) and it's great to see Joe's coffee shop open again and serving amazing cakes, tasty toasties and great value all day breakfasts. It's just a good job that our site covers 175 acres and we all cover so many miles each day!!

In other news, we are now advising people that Whirlwind (our second new ride of 2010) will be launching in May and that it won't be operational throughout the Easter period from 1st to 18th April.

So, all being well, we hope to see you over the Easter period for a taste of what Raptor Attack has in store - if you dare!! Don't forget that we're now open on Sunday 28th March and every day from the 1st right through to the 18th April.

Toodle Pip!

Welcome to Yorkshire!

2010-03-23T01:14:00.000-07:00

Well, it was an interesting day at Y10 on Monday, which was billed as the biggest tourism event of the year with 1500 people in attendance. For those of you that don't know, Y10 is effectively the 'Welcome to Yorkshire' conference and took place at Harrogate International Centre.

It seems that this year is set to be another exciting season for the tourism industry across Yorkshire, with some very strong marketing campaigns already in place. As an example, 'Welcome to Yorkshire' have agreed a new sponsorship deal with the popular TV programme 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' and will also be sponsoring the Ebor horseracing festival at York in August. Likewise, there will be a 'Welcome to Yorkshire' garden at Chelsea flower show this year, based on a Rhubarb crumble and custard theme (well, after all, we do have the rhubarb triangle in our county!). This garden will also be at the Great Yorkshire Show, before moving to its permanent home at RHS Garden Harlow Carr near Harrogate. So, you could say there's never been a better time to visit this great county of ours!

In other news, work continues unabated across the park as we build towards launching both Raptor Attack and Whirlwind on Thursday 1st April. Oh, and you'll be pleased to learn that we've ventured into Raptor Attack's abandoned mineshaft for another sneaky visit and survived the experience - it gets the official thumbs up from the marketing team, although we are still shaking.

It really is great to see so many teams working non-stop right across the park as a plan comes together for another season, so hats off to you all!! We hope to see you at some point over Easter - we open on 27th & 28th March and continuously from Thursday 1st to Sunday 18th April!?

London!

2010-03-21T06:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a few days since we last posted an update to this blog, so you could say it's long overdue. We have, however, been more than a tad busy in the big smoke, where we attended the Best of Britain & Ireland Travel Show at Olympia. We had an excellent few days and, if you came along to say hello to us on the 'Welcome to Yorkshire' stand, it was great to meet you! You can see a selection of pics on our facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160756&id=151961685291

We arrived straight back from London to see the 10k and 3k runs taking place at Lightwater today (Sunday 21st March). This is a fantastic event which is raising money for 'Help for Heroes' and the local North Stainley school, so congratulations to everyone who's taken part or just came along and supported the runners this morning. Special mention must go to our Valligators (Harry, Sally & Baby Al) who completed the 3k fun run in a more than respectable time of 27 minutes and, once again, pics are on our facebook page should you fancy a peek:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=161003&id=151961685291

In other news, the countdown is well and truly on as we build-up to our opening weekend on 27th and 28th March and continuously from Thursday 1st to Sunday 18th April. We're launching 2 brand new rides in Raptor Attack and Whirlwind (keep an eye on our website for the official launch dates, but we anticipate this being 1st April) and, if you haven't done so already, take a look at the teaser trailer for Raptor Attack:

http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/raptor_attack.php

Oh, and we'll be sending a team to Y10 (the biggest tourism event in Yorkshire this year - well, aside from Frightwater Valley) at Harrogate International Centre tomorrow, so if you're registered to attend, we look forward to seeing you there. For more info check the following link:

http://www.ytb.org.uk/News---Events/Press-Releases/Press-Release-Articles/Y-10-Biggest-Tourism-Event-in-Yorkshire.aspx

Toodle Pip!

Grizzly Bears!

2010-03-15T01:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome to another week at Lightwater Valley!

We're pleased to report that Mother's Day in The Granary Restaurant at Lightwater Village was an outright success on Sunday 14th March as the sell-out crowd enjoyed a 3 course special menu for only £10.00. This was in addition to more than 150 people and a coach party coming along on the day for a range of drinks and snacks, so congratulations to Janice and her team on an outstanding success.

It was also a successful induction weekend for many of our new and returning seasonal staff, with presentations covering topics such as customer service, health & safety and park familiarisation. There was also training within individual departments so that we're ready to hit the ground running from 27th March.

On the theme park front, those of you familiar with the park will know that the Wild River Rapids replaced a coaster known as the Grizzly Bear at the beginning of last season. This ride had 17 bear carvings (of various shapes and sizes) scattered around its immediate vicinity, which have now been fully refurbished and will be hidden around the park (in various guises) for the 2010 season. If you can spot all 17 during your day with us and tell us exactly where they are, you can win a family ticket (keep an eye on our facebook page for details)! These bears were located at the paintball range through 2009, but have now been replaced with Raptors as we launch Raptor Attack paintball to coincide with the launch of Raptor Attack - http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/raptor_attack.php.

In other news, preparations are complete for our trip to the Best of Britain and Ireland travel show this week (17th to 20th March at London Olympia). Please feel free to come along and say hello as we'll be exhibiting as part of Yorkshire's Magnificent Attractions on the Welcome to Yorkshire stand - http://www.britainandirelandevent.co.uk/. We'll also be attending the literature exchange at Eden Camp on Wednesday 17th March, so if you're an accommodation provider or tourist attraction from across Yorkshire you can come along and pick-up a selection of our literature - http://www.edencamp.co.uk/.

That's all for now folks!

Toodle Pip!

Peace in the Valley!

2010-03-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

Afternoon all!

If you haven't seen the Raptor Attack viral clip yet, don't forget to check it out on the following link:

http://www.lightwatervalley.co.uk/raptor_attack.php

Likewise, we've been spending some time in archives this week and have come across some old TV adverts from the early 1990s. As such, we now feel a retro advertising campaign coming on!! Check out the old 'Peace in the Valley' soundtrack on our facebook page - it's made quite a few members of staff feel about 7 years old again:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150139858935004

Train tickets and accommodation are now booked as Ash and Andy head off to the Best of Britain & Ireland show at the London Olympia next week (Wednesday 17th to Saturday 20th March). So, if you happen to be in the big city, please drop in and say hello!!

In other news, our Valligators remain in training and were seen lapping the park at lunchtime ahead of the inaugural Lightwater 10k challenge (here at the valley on Sunday 21st March). The event is the brainchild of members of North Stainley Stags and so far, has attracted over 300 entrants. There are two distances to race; a 10 km challenge for serious runners and a 3 km family fun run. Many local military families from Tockwith and Ripon, who have family members serving in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan, are taking part, as well as runners from running clubs throughout the north of England and members of the local community. The overall aim of the event is to raise needed funds for forces charity Help for Heroes and local North Stainley School.

To finish, our maintenance manager Tony Bolsover recently spent the day engaging with Year 7 pupils from Snaith school in East Yorkshire. The aim of the day was to assist pupils in working on a roller coaster project, as part of their alternative curriculum experience, so well done Tony and we hope all the Year 7 pupils from Snaith school enjoyed their day with our charismatic maintenance manager.

That's all for now folks!

Raptor Attack

2010-03-10T08:38:00.000-08:00

As regular followers of our facebook and youtube pages will notice, the teaser clip for Raptor Attack is now online at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/lightwaterv

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1361060595974

Let us know what you think!

We had an excellent time at the regional literature exchange in Thirsk this morning, talking to other attractions and accommodation providers from across the region. It seems that the tourism industry is in buoyant mood as we look forward to another good year! Most importantly, however, the bacon sandwiches at Thirsk auction mart were first-rate, although Jane was a tad disappointed at the lack of hot chocolate on the menu.

Our next stop is the Best of Britain and Ireland travel show at London's Olympia from 17th to 20th March, as well as another regional literature exchange at Eden Camp on Wednesday 17th March. As such, we're splitting-up the dream team with Andy and myself heading to London, whilst Jane and Richie head to Eden Camp! For further details please take a look at:

http://www.britainandirelandevent.co.uk/
http://www.edencamp.co.uk/

We'll report back next week (Jane's already excited about the food at Eden Camp, so we hope it lives up to expectations!!).

In other news, work continues right across the park as we prepare for the new season and RTC continue to work on Raptor Attack.