Once we’d finished with Alton, we hit the road, heading to Hereford and the Three Horseshoes Inn. On the way, we got caught up in some heavy traffic following an accident, which made us quite late to the Inn, but the staff were fantastic. They kept the kitchen open for us so we could have a something proper to eat, which we both had Steak and Ale Pie which was out of this world!
The following morning we were on the road early as we’d got a 3 hour drive to visit Oakwood Theme park over in Wales. The staff at the Inn packed us up a breakfast sandwich which was very kind of them and off we went.
We arrived at Oakwood at around 9:15 which gave me plenty of time to get the drone in the air to have a look around before we got in queue to enter the park. Park opened at 10 and the train wasn’t running due to Covid restrictions so we walked into the park and queued up to enter Spooky Street and have a ride on Creepy Crawler first.
Not much to say about Creepy Crawler, it was a decent little coaster, not too rough and ready, not too fast but quite pleasant. Though we were surprised to find it had a camera for on ride photos which was great to see!
After that we had a go on Witches Brew, a tea cups ride themed to witches cauldrons, and then onto Spooky 3D, which was interesting to say the least. I can’t be too harsh on it as it is 21 years old and looks to be running technology and theming from around the time, even though it was revamped in 2003. Certainly an experience but not the best dark ride out there!
Next we had a look in Megaphobia’s shop and found the ride parts section and bought a digipass. We found this to be good value at £20 for as many photos as you like, all day long. We then got in queue for Megaphobia.
This is what I thought a wooden coaster should be. It was rough around the edges, decently intense and a proper thrill to ride! We both agreed that even after riding it only once that its the best wooden coaster in the UK, just edging out Wickerman at Alton Towers.
Following on from Megaphobia, we had a wander around and eventually found Treetops, which is another fun junior coaster, with a camera! Decently forceful, and has plenty of hang time too!
After that we had a go on the shooting range which was an up-charge attraction, but a first time for both of us shooting air rifles at paper targets. Well worth the money for 40 shots. Next it was time for a go on Speed: No limits.
Personally I feel that Speed: No Limits is the best Euro fighter model in the UK for what it offers and how it rides. Saw the ride is much better themed and more intense which just puts it ahead for me but I still think Speed is the better ride, if you take away Saw’s theming. This was also Tracy’s first beyond vertical drop, and though she was terrified, she ended up trying other euro fighters later on in the trip!
We then decided to have a sit down and something to eat, in this case a burger meal from the main food court in the centre of the park. The food was good, plenty of choice and extras, and not too expensive either, we’d happily recommend the food here! There were plenty of areas to sit down and eat, we picked a nice bit of grass under a tree behind the restaurant, it was lovely and pleasant!
Once we’d finished our dinner, we had a wander about, taking photos and the like, before having a go on Waterfall, a water ride thats gaining fame for its unique idea. You climb the tower to board a ‘tea tray’ that is then dropped down a chute and the idea is that you then skim across the water trying not to fall in before then end.
When we were there, it was quite popular and there was always someone not making it to the end and falling in. Its a real crowd pleaser and an excellent little attraction for Oakwood to have. On my go I made it no problem, Tracy on the other hand toppled over about three quarters of the way across to fits of laughter from myself!
Once we’d gotten dried and changed, we had a round of mini golf, which was in a pretty poor state, but it was only £1 so I’m not complaining! We then started to queue for the Bobsled, the parks oldest ride. The queue took a very long time and there wasn’t much cover from the sun in the queue line. The ride itself is quite fun, but I didn’t feel the queue time was worth the ride itself. Get on this one early if you can.
To round off our visit, we had a go on the boating lake before a second ride on Megafobia and a trip to the parks shops. I would just like to mention at this point that you can buy old, used ride parts in the Megaphobia shop and they are very well priced. I ended up with a gear mechanism from Megaphobia for £25, an absolute bargain in my eyes!
I should also mention that Oakwood does have a very good area for younger families, we had a look around but ultimately didn’t have quite enough time to ride some of the rides there, but it looked like it’ll be more fun to have at Oakwood! A second visit will certainly be coming!
Once we’d packed the car up, we headed off for an overnight stay in Bristol for a quiet day off, before a visit to Bovington Tank Museum!
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