{"id":2263,"date":"2013-04-10T20:04:38","date_gmt":"2013-04-10T20:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.proj3ctm4yh3m.com\/urbex\/?p=2263"},"modified":"2017-05-13T10:55:50","modified_gmt":"2017-05-13T10:55:50","slug":"urbex-camelot-theme-park-chorley-united-kingdom-march-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.proj3ctm4yh3m.com\/urbex\/2013\/04\/10\/urbex-camelot-theme-park-chorley-united-kingdom-march-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Urbex: Camelot Theme Park, Chorley, Lancashire, United Kingdom – March 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Camelot<\/a>
Camelot Theme Park – Knightmare<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before we get onto the history and photos check out this video of me climbing the\u00a0abandoned Knightmare roller coaster:<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

History<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Camelot Theme Park is now abandoned. The theme park first opened its doors in 1983 and has operated seasonally ever since. The park is based on the story of Camelot, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. In 1986 the park was taken over by the Granada Group which\u00a0operated\u00a0it along side the sister parks The American Adventure (Closed in 2007) and Granada Studios (Closed 1999). In 1995 attendance was hovering around 500,000 visitors per year and 3 years later in 1998 Prime Resorts Ltd arranged a management buyout of the park. Attendance then took a swift downturn with only 336,204 visitors recorded in 2005.<\/p>\n

February 2009 saw the park go into\u00a0receivership\u00a0along with an announcement that it would not be reopening for the 2009 season. \u00a0In April 2009 the Story Group a construction company based out of Carlisle announced that they would be purchasing the park which would then be leased to the Knights Leisure Group which meant that the park did reopen in May 2009. The park continued to\u00a0operate\u00a0until the end of the end of the 2012 season when it closed its gates for the last time.<\/p>\n

The site’s future remains uncertain as the new owner is planning to redevelop the site. Current indications are that this will be a\u00a0housing development.<\/p>\n

The closure of the park was announced by its operator, Knights Leisure, in November 2012, the managing director blaming poor summer weather and events such as London 2012 and the Queen’s Jubilee for declining visitor numbers.<\/p>\n

Our Visit<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Visited with Sam ‘The Mule’, Travis, Leigh, Travis, Chard Remains and Dystopia, As you can see we got an early start and a few night shots of the coaster before we had a mooch around the rest of the park :).\u00a0Definitely\u00a0one of my favourite explores to date.\u00a0I’ve\u00a0always wanted to see an abandoned theme park and this one\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0a disappointment. Electricity was on in some parts, we\u00a0didn’t\u00a0test the rides but I assume they will have been disconnected. One of the\u00a0roller coasters,\u00a0the yellow one has already been removed. Known ad the Whirlwind\u00a0the ride is now relocated to Skyline Park in Germany. Thankfully the Knightmare remained so that I was able climb up and get a few high photographs of the park.<\/p>\n

The Knightmare Roller Coaster Ride<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Knightmare\u00a0is a Schwarzkopf\/Zierer custom\u00a0roller-coaster\u00a0situated at\u00a0Camelot Theme Park\u00a0in the UK. It was originally built in Kobe, Japan in a theme park called ‘Portopialand’\u00a0(Now Defunct) under the name ‘BMRX’\/’Bavarian Mountain Railroad’\u00a0and was mainly indoors with a huge mountain structure created around the ride. After the park closed, the rollercoaster was dismantled and shipped over to the UK, arriving in late 2006. In early 2007 construction began at Camelot, with the ride opening to the public in the Summer of 2007 as Knightmare. Originally the ride had featured five different coloured trains. When relaunched at Camelot the park chose to refurbish three of the trains. Some of the steam train theme was removed such as the funnel and headlights from the front of the train. The three trains were painted\u00a0differently\u00a0with one being partly maroon, one partly purple and the other partly green. It cost \u00a33 million to build, takes you through sharp turns, multiple\u00a0helix’s\u00a0and a near vertical bend (commonly known as “the psycho drop”) halfway through the ride where you experience approximately 5G, reaching speeds of about 40 mph.<\/p>\n

The trains are big enough to fit 14 people, taking them up a semi-spiral lift up to 80\u00a0ft tall and then dropping them into an over-banked curve, the ride has a height restriction of 1.3 metres. It is located in the ‘Land of the Brave’ area of Camelot, situated on the site of the former looping\u00a0roller coaster\u00a0 The Gauntlet and The Tower of Terror prior to this. Knightmare is a unique roller-coaster<\/p>\n

On with the Photos:<\/p>\n

\"Camelot<\/a>
Camelot Theme Park – Knightmare Roller Coaster Ride<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Camelot<\/a>
Camelot Theme Park – Knightmare Roller Coaster Ride<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Camelot<\/a>
Camelot Theme Park – Knightmare Roller Coaster Ride<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Camelot<\/a>
Camelot Theme Park – Knightmare Roller Coaster Ride<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Camelot<\/a>
Camelot Theme Park – Knightmare Roller Coaster Ride<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Camelot<\/a>
Camelot Theme Park – Knightmare Roller Coaster Ride<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n