A Viking-themed adventure golf attraction, a rollercoaster and huge observation wheel are coming to Merseyside.
Southport Pleasureland has announced a number of changes coming in 2022, including an illuminated observation wheel with breathtaking views.
The ‘Big Wheel Southport’ will be 34-metre high and will be the highest accessible vantage-point near the seafront and will offer long-ranging, wide-vista views to passengers in its series of fully accessible six-person glass pods.
READ MORE: New 'first of its kind' Shebang restaurant opens in city centre
Construction is also underway on a new Viking themed 18-hole adventure golf attraction with an associated ‘longhouse’ themed pub and restaurant.
Visitors will be able to enjoy the Viking-themed golf and its associated ‘longhouse’ themed pub and restaurant, as well as dedicated parking. People will be able to enjoy a circular outdoor barbecue area with a ‘firepit’ in the centre of the building with terraced seating around a feature fire.
New for 2022, the historic Southport Pleasureland Miniature Railway will soon boast a new station terminal, fish and chips café and ice cream parlour.
Built in 1911, the miniature railway is the oldest continuously running 15-inch gauge railway in the world.
Plans are also being progressed to build a new 35 metre-high and 260 metre-long roller coaster ride along the Marine Drive coast road, which is on course to open in a couple of years’ time.
Norman Wallis, Southport Pleasureland CEO, said: “My aim is to create enough variety and mass to encourage tourism all the year round and not depend on the short season we have at the moment.
“This will then create long term careers to enable people to stay, to work and live in Southport. We are doing a lot of work at the park now. Everything is looking really good for 2022.
“The new Viking Adventure Golf attraction is progressing smoothly and will be a stand-out attraction going forward. We are all busy getting the park ready for a new season that will bring more people to the town.
“We are doing a lot of testing, and a lot of maintenance too. People perhaps don’t realise how much work is involved when the park is closed during these winter months, but it’s high value work both for the attraction and the town.
“We are working to enhance Southport as a whole and encourage even more people to come and visit. All of this helps the local economy and supports other local businesses in our town, and of course we are providing scores of jobs for local people within our community.”
Mr Wallis has been committed to further developing and enhancing the park each year with thrilling new experiences for visitors. He is also eager to play his part in attracting visitors throughout the year, giving a welcome boost to local hotels, guest houses, shops, bars and restaurants.
The work at the park was set back by the havoc caused by Storm Arwen in November which closed schools, felled trees and damaged buildings across the town.
Southport Pleasureland is now using the incident as an opportunity for improvement, in an environmentally friendly way.
Mr Wallis added: “The storm was the worst I have seen. We have harvested some of the wood from the trees that fell during the storm, from Formby Golf Club and elsewhere. They sit at the heart of a very environmentally friendly project.
“We are debarking the wood from the trees here on site, as the Vikings would have done hundreds of years ago. There is nothing else like this new Viking adventure golf course in the country, it’s a real first for our town and the wider UK.
“We are looking at around Easter for this one opening.”
Southport Pleasureland is due to open for the 2022 season on Saturday,March 26.
Tickets will go on sale at the end of January and can be booked here .
Get the top stories straight to your inbox by signing up for one of our free newsletters
