Mr P

"If you throw up at the top of Oblivion's Drop, you'll catch up with it and it'll hit you" Although it's specifies Oblivion, I'm sure any Dive Machine would fit the bill...

Found in the planning office Judging from the description, this is the reason Apple Bobber is moving. And from the name "Red Lion" I'm guessing this is a link to the iconice British Railways "Lion & Wheel" emblem. With the park taking less of a heritage route in recent times, it's nice to see this being built so close to the Transport Museum.

Ok, so it's been a while since the last update (in park terms, it's been 3 seasons!) and the park is looking very different. It has been purchased by an entertainment company (Pointon Amusements) who currently run 3 attractions across the country, although Bradnop is by far the biggest! They specialise in taking attractions with great potential and making the most out of the site. So far, they have invested a lot of money in the park, with further investments to follow it's set to be an interesting time for the park. The biggest change is the re-brand of the park from Bradnop Discovery Centre to Discovery Kingdom - Bradnop, which I think shows that they are taking it to more of a tourist spot than an educational attraction. Anyway, on to the Nut Room! Update! Ah, the Entrance! A re paint and new logos fitted to the sign. You can see that all ties with Merlin have gone with the arena being re-branded as "The Grand" The Digital signs and park map have not been replaced. This, combined with the rather cheap change at the front have lead people to believe that a new entrance are may be on the cards at some point. The Transport museum remains unchanged, which I for one am glad about. Forest Quads is also unchanged. The old Logo has been replaced right across the park to establish the new name and brand. With the rather quick and cheap replacement of logos, one wonders whether these attractions will last in their current form much longer. The relatively new Education Suite, was under construction still during my last visit. Now, changes seem to be afoot on the farm, with this rather large area behind Apple Bobber fenced off, rumours suggest the ride is moving next to the Snack Shack in the Orchard Slight deviation on route to the farm, but here's The Grand, looking rather smart in it's new colour scheme. Barnstormer's entrance is on the move, you might be able to see it hidden in the trees behind the current one. And here's the new entrance, under construction. It's opposite the Snack Shack in the Orchard. It seems this area, while retaining all of it's attractions, is having a down-size. Next to the Snack Shack, this is the rumoured site for Apple Bobber's move. And then we continue down a new path... ...further and further, to the new area... Water Island! This massive investment see's a Dolphin Show, Bar, Trampoline and a fantastic interactive coaster all brought to the park. Also here is a new station on the Steam Railway route, finally making this a transport system. The Entrance to Aqua Flight. The queueline and simple station. This is located on top of a hill looking over the area. View from the station to the first lift. And to the higher second lift, painted black to help it blend in with the surrounding area due to it's visibility from the village of Bradnop. The ride takes you through water... And swooping over pathways. Each rider has control of a water tank, and can drop it on guests under them as they fly though the air. The Beach Hut Bar takes the area beneath the second lift hill and is a lovely area to sit and chill out, and the rather novel water feature in the lake is an interesting focal point. Next, Bamboo Bounce, a simple pay-per-play attraction giving guests the opportunity (after parting with money) the chance to bounce around. I feel such a beautiful area deserves a better supporting ride, but I suppose this will do, and it does seem popular. Something I think brings this area to back to the park's original plan, Dolphin Showtime is a great attraction, with live animals and water effects. It also has a very attractive waiting structure. Quick overview of the area, showing what a site this actually covers. It really is a great start to the growth of this park, I just hope that the original mantra of an Educational day out isn't forgotten. I hope you all enjoyed the update!

The One train operation on G-Force is full capacity, they only ever bought the one train. The park has looked terrible for years but they've really spent a lot on refurbishment in recent years, giving practically the entire park a total repaint! I was also quite impressed when I visited recently! I have to say though, the interior of Shockwave's station really lets it down, it's dull, dark and cramped.

I'm back with a new park! Been working on a few parks for a while, but I feel this has the most potential, so I'm going to stick with it! As I normally do, there's no real timescale so I don't limit myself to the future of the park. Anyway, on to business! ________ Bradnop Farm was once a busy place, livestock and crops could be seen for miles. But in the late 70's, the land had been overworked. With the farmer being a huge fan of steam engines, he decided to scrap the farming and build himself a railway on his land. Over the years, the site developed, once again livestock were kept on site, although not the cows and sheep of yesteryear, but horses and ostriches for visitors to view. Then came the Quad Bikes in a small patch of woodland just behind the railway station. As the site got more and more popular, it became a thriving business for the man who was once just a farmer. He saw the amount of people who came to ride the rides, and decided that a Roller Coaster was the next thing for him. "Barnstormer" was born, an arrow looper using inspiration from the areas history as it's theme, this was followed closely by "Apple Bobber", a small Frog Hopper located in the same area. In the last couple of years, vast amounts of money have been spent focusing the aims of the park as primarily a museum and animal park. This has included the rebranding from "Bradnop Farm" to the "Bradnop Discovery Centre", installation of a large Transport Museum and Workshops for the operational railway locomotives, construction of a large cinema and industrial history museum, an aviary, a special grotto used during December to house Santa and most recently a large entertainments venue. The latter was built in conjunction with the Merlin group. Anyway, enough story time, lets move on to a visit to the park. The Entrance, The Merlin Entertainment's Arena certainly has made it's mark here. As soon as you enter, you are greeted by the Steam Railway's station. Also at the entrance, on the fence of the station, is an electronic board showing what attractions are available (Today, it's all of them, although some days only the animal or heritage attractions are open) A look at the park map gives us a vague idea as to the layout of everything, although it's not very accurate really. Seeing as it's right by the entrance, I headed to the Transport museum for a look around first. You can get a good idea of the exhibits before you enter. It's packed full of Trams, Trains & Cars. At the back of the Museum, there's the workshop for the operational Trains. There are two sets used, one of which is here in the workshop. If you look closely, out the back you can an old Severn-Lambe diesel train that was used as a spare before the second steam set was purchased. It's been out of use for many years and is unlikely to return. Built on to the right of the Transport Museum is a Burger Bar. The only restaurant in the centre, the meals can be a bit pricey but they are very tasty. Now, into the main courtyard and located just behind the Station we have "Forest Quads" This was the first non-educational attraction at the park. Bradnope Farm Bird Barn (The name giving a nod to the site's former use) houses an array of exotic birds. Inside, there is a Snack Shack offering soft drinks. The two wooden structures inside become the entrance and exit to Santa's Grotto during December, as the whole Bird Barn is given a makeover and become part of the festive offering. Back out of the Bird Barn, we head across the tracks to The Orchard, where we find the centre's star attraction... "Barnstormer", the Arrow Looper. The station shows this ride's age well, being simplistic yet practical. Opposite the coaster's entrance is the cute, yet well themed, froghopper "Apple Bobber". Within Barnstormer's ride area we have a small, but genuine, orchard, where apple trees grow. With the coaster looming over, you can pick up a drink or an ice cream here at the Snack Shack. Now, located between the orchard and the transport museum, we have The Arena. Although within the Centre, it is operated by the Merlin Group, and plays host to many shows. I'm not quite sure what show was on today, it didn't appear to correlate with any of the posters outside... I moved swiftly on after that, and headed back across the central courtyard to the Animal Paddocks and Industrial Museum, in the newly created "Discovery Zone" You may have noticed that right next to the entrance to this area, there is a bit of construction taking place. This is the to be the Education Centre, the final phase of the huge redevelopment of the site. Crossing the line, we see the large "Industrial History" centre, featuring a cinema playing a film about how the industrial revolution affected local life. Within the centre, there is a large space which is normally full of exhibits telling the story of the area's industrial past. On the day of my visit, it was undergoing a refurbishment and changing the exhibits, so looked a bit bare. The cinema playing the film. It really is quite fascinating. Across the way from the Industrial centre, we find the two animal paddocks. This is the horses... ...and this is the ostriches. Opposite the Ostrich paddock we find another Snack Shack. I'm assuming this is the Woodland Walk that's on the map, it's right next to the Industrial History building, although it doesn't look very open to me. Infact, it doesn't look like it's ever opened. And finally, I leave you with a shot of the Steam Train about to depart on it's loop around the park and beyond. The site is huge, and offers a lot of potential. Only riding the Railway do you get a full idea of the unused space that surrounds what we see as the centre. There are many rumours about the future of this place, but that's all they are at the moment, rumours. Although, if only one or two of them come to light, this may become a real tourist destination. ________ Out of story now, this is an overview of the site. Bear in mind that only the actually site of the park is landscaped at the moment, I just wanted to show the site in a bit more clarity than the dodgy photoshop map!

Coaster Expedition get's my vote, because you get the atmosphere of the whole park, and get to see some of the awesomely themed flats that some parks has. Coasters in the RAW is a good series, just doesn't show off some of the massive effort that goes into the rest of the park.

That is one amazing location for a Coaster! I don't think there are any other coasters in the world which have such a spectacular backdrop!

The Ultimate has to have my vote. From the second lift hill was built by British Railways, and as they were building/designing it they didn't realise it was going to become the longest coaster in the world.

Best Indoor Waterpark Number 10 - Splash Landings, England. That's a Hotel. There is a waterpark attached to the hotel, simply called "Alton Towers Waterpark", but the 10th best waterpark as named by Golden Ticket Awards is a Hotel.

Second attempt. Not great, but I like it.

I think this sums up TPR...

Big news from the Park! Pointon Manor Park has released a promotional video! It's noted that not all the rides are shown as not all are complete yet. The rides shown are also not in a fully completed state, by the sounds of things, more theming is set to be put in place around most attractions. That said, things are looking great so far!

Hi, Marcus here. Now, lots of rumours have been floating around that the park is on for reopening, but nothing has been confirmed by the estate. So, I headed down there to see what I could see. The images I got are quite interesting... A crane, and what looks like new support structures. Seeing as the only way to gain access to the property itself is down through the car park access road, I headed there next. New fencing and barriers at the start of the road, and a large lorry parked behind. Interesting. One of the Monorail trains, repainted, and on the main circuit. It appears that the trains are getting refurbished. The Monorail Station, clad is scaffold and undergoing a repaint. What I saw suggested truth in the rumours about reopening, so I sent a letter to Lord Pointon asking about this. He wrote a lengthy reply back, thanking me for my interest e.t.c, but the part that really got me going was this: Clearly, something is going on, looks like we've just got to wait now...

Hello, My name is Marcus, and I'm fascinated with local history. One of the most interesting locations around here is Pointon Manor, a grand Manor house situated in acres of what was once grand gardens. The house in it present form was completed in 1879, but the gardens and lake pre-date this greatly. Lord Thomas Pointon, the resident of the house at the time, was obsessed with modern technology and railways, and when the Volks Electric Railway was opened in Brighton in 1883, he fell in love. So much so that he had his own private electric railway built around the lake in 1885. Originally operating just a single tram for him and his family, he was soon inundated with requests from many people wishing to ride on his train. So, in 1887, now with 6 trams and a brick tram shed, the line opened to the public. For a small fee, every weekend in august, people could enter the estate to ride the tram and enjoy the gardens. Lord Pointon also offered private tours of his wonderful house. Sadly, in 1907, Thomas Pointon died in a tragic accident on the line. Whilst showing off by riding on the roof of his tram, he learnt how conductive a top hat was. His eldest son took on his father's title, and Lord Kenneth Pointon kept the trams open for anybody who wished to ride them during summer. With the outbreal of war, the trams closed to the public, and remained so until 1992, when the (current) Lord Pointon, Joseph, decided to begin operating the Electric Railway for anybody who wished to ride. Having seen the success Alton Towers had been having with their Theme Park venture, Joseph decided that a Theme Park was the way to go. A new entrance plaza was created near to the Electric Railway's tram sheds, car parks were built, rides were purchased, construction on a rollercoaster was begun, and a Monorail was built to link the entrance with the carparks. But, alas, before the park was even close to opening, the money ran out. Poor Joseph was forced to close the doors on the park for good. Or was he? Recently, there has been talk of Lord Pointon's Cousin, another Thomas, wanting to invest in the Theme Park. Whether this is true, nobody has confirmed. But one thing for certain is that if nothing does come of it, then most of what's left inside the grounds of the house will have to be sold off. Seeing as this was possibly my only chance to see what's left of this beautiful dream, I took it on myself to do a bit of Urban Exploring. Bearing in mind that the Manor is still the Lord's home, it was a bit risky... The Entrance to the park. Under the left canopy you can see a small gate, this is how Lord Pointon get's home. View from the Top of the entrance street, you can see that the construction stopped very suddenly as scaffolding is still up on some of the buildings here. The Manor is across the other side of the lake. At the bottom of the street, to the left, there is a building that was never finished. This is just opposite the Electric Railway's Station. The Tram Sheds. The trams were once a glorious Umber and Cream, much like those on the Volks Railway. Now, they sit faded. One of the six cars went missing some years ago, it's presumed to have been scrapped. Quite why two trams sit outside the shed we do not know. Where the trams join the main circuit. From the Tram Sheds, we can see the Rollercoaster. The transfer, station, and lift areas. See the foundations for the rest of the lift. Ah, the glorious Manor. Still looking quite well kept, although as far as I'm aware only the wing in the left of this photo is still lived in. Still looking very imposing from the lower ground. Making my way out of the entrance, I thought it only right to get a look at the Monorail. This is the park station. To get to the other station and car parks, you have to head down this road. It was built purely to get to the car parks, and was sadly never used. The, rather grand, entrance and exit to the car parks. As you head down towards the car parks, you seen the Monorail sheds and transfer track on the left of the roads. All the trains are still here, only ever used for testing, and have never carried a single passenger. In the main Car Park, we see the second monorail station, and pieces of roller coaster track. Couldn't get any nearer to the other monorail station, as I was chased by a Security Guard. I headed in the woodland for cover, and found myself at the top of a hill overlooking most of the parkland. In the foreground you can see the horses and stables, this is where Thomas Pointon keeps and breeds his race . And that's all I could get. I hope something does come of this interest from Thomas, and that we do see a Theme Park here. For now though, all we have is a very interesting history, and a sad and deserted park.

Just gonna throw this out there, but although the Books say Kings Cross, the film says Kings Cross, and the internal shots are Kings Cross, the external shots are of St Pancras Station...

Cheers man! And about the X-car, the first drop may of been slightly inspired by The Swarm, even has a little head-chopper at the base! Was going for it looking a bit like the one at Rainbow Magicland if I'm honest, but more compact like something that would be found at a smaller park, and the only way to get a decent first drop without a corner touching the lift was to do a large half loop.

Had a bit of a break from RCT3 recently, but I've come back with an even better park, although the park itself is only a part of it! I present to you... Starmouth Seafront! If you're visiting the town, you'll probably arrive in the main car park Located at the northern terminus of the Startmouth Trams, opposite one of the entrances to the Adventure Park and between the Sealife SEA-LIFE and the Cinema. Seeing as we're here, lets head into "Starmouth Adventure Park". The park is split into 2 sections: The original park was built within the wonderful "Roller" scenic railway ride... ...and the new section was built on the site of a former industrial area and railway yard. We'll start off in the original part of the park. Super Slide and The Dodgems are near the entrance, staple attractions in any sea-side resort. Also near the entrance is "Cheshire Cat's Secret Garden", a sort of outdoor darkride. The classic star-attraction has to be "Roller", a great ride that takes you around the perimeter of the "old" park. Opposite the Roller, we have "Little Roll". A small kiddie coaster. Next to that we have "Wild Mouse", a steel mouse coaster, and the "Thunder-bobs". Following the path from there, we reach the second part of the park, and we are greeted by... "The Mission", an X-Car coaster, with Nuclear waste... ...obviously, it's not real waste... Next to that, we have the park's modern woodie "Mountaineer" And then the big flatrides, "Fly By" and "RPM" We leave the park through the Railway side entrance and find the Cinema... ...and surprisingly enough, Starmouth North Railway Station. On to the Promenade now and we find "Atlantis Adventure SEALIFE" which not only features the aquariums, but also in the left-hand side of the building, a simulator named "Ocean Explorer - The Ride" that takes you on a journey to the depths of the sea. Across the street from the SEALIFE we have a staple attraction in any town, MacDonalds... Moving down the seafront, we find the pier featuring "The Starmouth Wheel" and a theatre at the end. Opposite the pier we also have another entrance to the park, beneath the lift of "Roller" Moving on, we have "Starmouth Tower", a victorian steel tower based on the one found in nearby Blackpool. Nextdoor to the Tower, we have... "Fort Aqua", a fantastic castle-themed indoor and outdoor waterpark! With 3 slides, interactive features and loads of water, it's a great way to cool off on those hot summer days. From the top of the Tower you get great views of the park! The rides look great from up here! Back down to earth now, and we make our way back up the promenade. And then off home. I hope you enjoyed your visit to Starmouth!

TH13RTEEN Openinig day. Waited for a Hour outside the park, then a further hour outside the entrance to the Dark Forest, then, after a stampede down to the ride entrance a further 45 minutes in the queue. Then I got depressed, Ultimate Rollercoaster my Bottom!

B&M Flyers are pretty odd, but people need to understand that those things are so stupidly safe. The only way you're getting out of that is if the whole world heats up to the melting point of steel (around 2500 Fahrenheit) and the steel locking bar melts. At which point you'd be on fire anyway so tbh you wouldn't really care...

Thanks tiger01! I can normally be found hosting on Air, although I do dabble in Nemesis occasionally...and the other week I was giving out leaflets whilst wearing a labcoat...odd, but true...

Hi peeps! My Name's Tom, I work at Alton Towers as a Ride Host Been on here for a a few months now, had a few RCT3 parks on the forums but other than that I haven't really posted, so I thought I'd introduce myself properly! I've been a coaster geek since I was a kid, earliest coaster memories are of a Swarzkopf Jet Star 3 at Alton Towers and now I'm hooked! Anyway, enough oddness! I'm off to do other important things, like draw random pictures of elephants... ...there, I'm done!

On Air at Alton Towers, just a few days ago: Fool: "Why are the trains wet?" Me: "Because it's raining" Fool: *Do they get wet in the rain?" Me: *no comment*

I tried that initially, but they didn't look right going into the banked corners. ----Added---- I have considered it, but I haven't seen any that keep with the parks image. What sets of covers would you recommend? Thanks for the nice comments everybody!

I got it off Vodhin's site, not certain of the name of the set though! Onwards to the Update! ---- Hello, The park is now open for it's second season, and the new area "Daemonia Lane" has been very well received by those who have visited. No photo (Except the teaser of Ballington Beast's entrance) had been released of the area before opening day, so it was wonderful to see the joy on people's faces as they arrived on the Lane. The effort put in by all the staff to get the area ready for opening is a credit to them. We begin with photographs of the area just minutes before the park opened. The entrance to the area, just behind this is the former pad for Revolve. This is the view that hits you as you enter, the station for the Ballington Beast. The entrance is the first doorway, the second is a gift shop, and the third is the ride exit. The interior of the station. It is split into two sections, this is the offload/onload area, behind the camera is the holding area for the second train. Just to the right as you enter the area is this building, it will eventually become a restaurant. Next door to the future restaurant and opposite the Beast's station is the Lakeside Express's new entrance structure. The small food outlet has been connected to the main Beast building to add to the street scene. An overview of the whole area from the Beast's lift. You can see the area for the new coaster next year, and work has already begun. And this is where the area will continue onwards. The digger is roughly where the new coaster's station will be. Revolve in it's new lakeside location, viewed from it's queueline bridge. This shows the bridge and level crossing that have been built to allow Revolve to be located here. Zero hour arrives, and the gates are opened... The guests enter, and Ballington Bear is on hand to provide entertainment. The queue for the Lakeside Express to take people across the Daemonia Lane. As a train arrives at the Lane, guests head straight for the Beast! The entrance to the Beast, quite an imposing structure! The queueline is totally enclosed within the building. As guests ride the Beast, they get a fantastic look at the future coaster site. Meanwhile, over at Revolve, guests climb the stairs over the bridge to experience being flung above the lake! That brings this update to a close, we hope to have more information on events and attractions soon, and also vertical construction is due to start on the new coaster very soon so we may have some pictures of that as well! But for now I am going to leave you with a night shot of Daemonia Lane... Regards, Cyrill Hunt, Manager, Ballington Woods.

Thanks for the positive comments! It's very much appreciated Anyhoo, onwards to the land of updates! Hello, Alot has happened since my last update, and the park is now closed for the winter. This means that we have lots of pictures to catch up on. Just a few shots from the last day of the season first. Last Chance for riders to board the Ballington Beast through it's original station. The food outlet unit will also be rebuilt ready for next season. The fence stands where the Beast stage was during the festival, this area will be home to the new coaster in year 3. Revolve will be relocated for next season, it will begin to form a mini area with The Bug whick will receive a theme in year 3. Many happy guests leave the park after the final day of the season, it will be a very different park next year. Anyway, on to the construction updates! These next few photographs were taken 5 weeks after the season's end. Revolve has now been dismantled ready to for it's relocation. The paving has been removed and scaffold in position on Ballington Beast's station ready for it's new theme. A theme was on the cards for the Beast since it's initial design, but it was decided to spread the cost of a the area over 2-3 years. The Beast was part one, the Theme is part two, and the second coaster for the area will be part 3. As regards to the coaster type, I can reveal nothing yet except that it's no longer really in production, but it still is... Hope that confuses you! Anyway, I have here the press release for the new area: "Deamonia Lane" I also have for you the poster used to promote the new area: These next images are the most recent construction updates, taken about 4 months after the end of season. They both show Revolve's new brick pad partially built into the lake, the lake needed to be drained to allow for construction of it. You can see the queue will go over the Lakeside Express via a bridge, while the exit will be a simple level crossing. I cannot show you much of Daemonia Lane yet, but here's a sneak peak at the Ballington Beast's entrance... (The scaffold is not part of the theme) The station and queueline will be completely enclosed, but that's all for now! Hope you're as excited about this as I am! Regards, Cyrill Hunt, Manager, Ballington Woods.