A Norfolk amusement park has become the only attraction in the UK to feature a scenic wooden railway rollercoaster.
The now one-of-a-kind ride can be found at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach on the east coast.
The title was bestowed after Dreamland Margate announced, at the end of January, that its own scenic railway ride, which dates back to 1920, has retired.
Margate’s version was thought to be the UK’s oldest rollercoaster, but some 106 years since its construction, park owners deemed it no longer fit to function.
Jamie Jones, executive director at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, has described how having the UK’s last remaining ride of its kind is a “great honour”.
He told The Independent that the 70-foot-tall ride is the park’s prized possession and remains “most popular attraction by far on site”.
“Enthusiasts come from all over the country and sometimes even from other parts of the world,” he said.
“We get grandmas and granddads bringing grandchildren, telling them the story of when they used to visit themselves. So there are some great memories to be had and a lot of history.”
Mr Jones, who is the fourth-generation director of the family business, runs the Pleasure Beach alongside his father. He explained that they have a large maintenance team to replace the tracks and keeps it in top shape.
Now that the park owns the only extant version in the country, he said that he hopes even more thrill seekers will visit.
“It certainly entices people to come and ride something that no other park has got to offer.
“We’d hope to see rising numbers in footfall on other rides as well.
“It’ll be interesting to see the impact it’s had,” he added.
The grade-II listed wooden rollercoaster opened in 1932 on the Norfolk coast but was built several years earlier in France.
