This is a park that has had mixed fortunes over recent times. It's not been unusual to here rumours of it's imminent closure, but it's also installed a new major signature ride in the form of Knightmare. The latest news is it's doing reasonably well, with a rise in visitor numbers. There are still rumours though of the land being redeveloped, but hopefully the parks future is secure at least for the mid term.

The theming of the park is interesting. It's an idea I've seen used a lot in America, where a park picks one theme and bases the whole park around it. In theory it's a good idea, especially for a smaller park wishing to distinguish itself. Sadly here a lot of the theming feels like a token effort, consisting of a funny name, and putting a logo or two on the rides. There are even a few rides which don't fit in at all, like the pirate ship , which unless they're recreating an episode of the TV show deadliest warrior (here's the you tube link) has nothing to do with a medieval theme.

Ride wise it has a great signature coaster for a family park in the form of Knightmare. This is well supported by Whirlwind and the Dragon Flyer giving the park a respectable collection of family coasters. After that on paper it would seem there is a weakness as there aren't that many notable rides to back them up, and even the filler style rides aren't that numerous. The park would benefit if it reduced the excessive number of carnival games and moved some of the kiddie rides off the main thoroughfare to bring in some more noteworthy attractions. In reality though this wasn't something we found to be a problem when we visited. By the time we'd done all the rides we wanted to do, seen a show and visited the farm we'd used up a big chunk of the day, and the signature attractions were all appealing enough that we wanted some more goes on them. I could see this becoming more of a problem on repeat visits, but I can't see it becoming a problem where you could say your not getting your moneys worth.

Overall it's not the most polished park in the world, but it still has some good stuff on offer. It's one that could become very good with the addition of the right rides, and some TLC to the overall presentation. As it stands Knightmare and Whirlwind aren't enough to make it a must do park, but given it's location close to quite a few other major UK parks it's not one you need to go that out of your way for. It is then a park worth making a visit to if your in the area, to spend either half a day to try the signature rides, or a full day so you can do everything at the park.