NEW MINI DAY Official Sponsors
Wollaston MINI - AC Schnitzer - Pirelli  Wicksteed
Park, Kettering
Wicksteed Park, as well as having rides and
attractions, is also an English Heritage Grade II Listed Park and Garden. Visitors can walk into the Park 365 days a
year, free of charge, and the vehicle gates are only closed on Christmas Day. The grounds and
gardens of Wicksteed Park cover 147 acres, and include: - 3 areas of Rides and Attractions
- The Arena
- The Lakeside
- The Fairground
- The Wicksteed Railway
- Large Free Playground
- Smaller
free playground and sandpit area
- The Pavilion (largest events venue in the county)
- Sunken Memorial Garden (location of Charles Wicksteed memorial)
- Tree lined walks
- Nature Trail & Arboretum
- Orienteering course
- Fishing
Lake
- BBQ & Picnic Areas
Each year the Gardening
team plant 12,000 bedding plants, 1,000 new shrubs and 25 trees of native origin - just watering all of these during the summer
months is a full time job! Probably the oldest inhabitant of the Park is the 200 year old Oak
Tree located close to the Playground area. In honour of this tree, we named the catering outlet next to it the 'Oaktree
Takeaway!' In terms of wildlife, you could see Canada Geese, Mallards, Shoveller Duck, Grey
Lag Geese, Feral Common Peafowl, Kingfishers, Treecreeper, Weasels, Mink, Squirrels, Grass snakes, Frogs, Toads and Newts
as well as a wide variety of colourful birds in our aviaries.
 The Free Playground Wicksteed Park has one of the biggest and
best FREE playgrounds in Europe! You can walk into the Park and use this playground 365 days a year. The Playground was first developed by Charles Wicksteed in 1917 when he decided that he would use his engineering
company to manufacture park seats and playground equipment. The manufacture of the Park seats and equipment proved to
be so popular that he went on to provide this equipment to Parks all over the world - in doing so making the Wicksteed name of
Kettering famous. In recent years over £250,000 has been invested on a huge variety of themed
play areas - swings, see-saws, climbing frames, adventure modules and activities - all designed to keep the kids happily and
safely entertained for hours! Located on the Free Playground is the Sandcastle refreshment
kiosk, where you can get hot and cold drinks and wrapped snacks to keep your energy up!
 Its Fun at The Fairground The Fairground is sited at the
top of the Park and offers a range of attractions that are targeted specifically at families with young children up
to the age of 13 / 14 years old. The area includes a range of tradional fairground rides: - Roundabout
- Double Pirate Ship
- Coconut Shy
- Cups & Saucers
- Carousel
- Mini Jets
- Chairoplanes
- Crazy Golf
- Putting Green
- Dodgems
- Astroglide
And the more modern: - Rockin' Tug
- Lighthouse ride
- Wicky's Inflatable
- Laser Tag
- A range of games
The
Fairground is also the home of our Family Amusement Arcade and Arcade Refreshment Room, which offers the latest Arcade games,
pinball and fruit machines.
 The Action Attraction! The Arena Area contains most of
the park's larger rides - like the Paratrooper, Ladybird Coaster, the Roller Coaster and the main NEW thriller -
ROCKY RIVER FALLS!!! Running around the outskirts of the Arena Area are our exhilarating Le-Mans
style Twin-Seater Racing Cars - capable of top speeds of fifteen miles per hour.
For the
younger rider there are just as many 'pint-sized' thrills available - like our Honey Pot Bears ride and The Labybird
Roller Coaster. Arena Attractions include - Roller Coaster
- Rocky River Falls - our new
log flume!
- Ladybird Coaster
- Racing Cars
- Honey Pot Bears
- Paratrooper
- A range
of games
 The Lakeside Not surprisingly, most of the Lakeside's attractions
feature water in one form or another! Here you'll find our large man-made 30 acre lake complete
with family rowing boats, the Small Lake children's boats and hugely popular Bumper Boats. In
keeping with the 'watery' theme, we have the Waterchute and the Nautic Jets - the Waterchute is the very same one
that the Park Founder, Charles Wicksteed, 'made a splash' with way back in 1926. Did you know - That when the Waterchute was built, it was one of the first water based rides in the world and there
are only 3 still remaining to this day, with the Wicksteed Park version the only one still in regular operation. For those with plenty of energy, our Monorail Cycle Track should provide a challenge, whilst the kids' Mini Car
ride will give parents the chance to get their breath back before moving on to the next set of attractions... Lakeside Attractions include - Waterchute
- Nautic Jets
- Bumper Boats
- Large & Small Lake Boats
- Splashing Seals
- Monorail
- Mr Wicksteed's Veteran
Cars
- Small Playground
- Sandpit otherwise known as 'Wicksteed
on Sea'
- Funny-Foto Stand
- The Arboretum
- Aviaries
 The Wicksteed Park Railway is one of the most iconic features of the Park today.
Over 15 million people have taken to its rails since it first opened in 1931. It was the last feature of the Park to
be added during the lifetime of the Park's founder, Charles Wicksteed, who sadly died just two weeks before it opened
to the public.
Today, 200,000 people a year enjoy the relaxing train ride around
the lower half of Wicksteed Park. It is said to be the busiest narrow-gauge railway in the country!
The Railway takes you to the furthest reaches of the Park, around the lake’s shore and through the Lakeside
and Arena attractions areas.
The Railway is supported by the Friends
of the Wicksteed Park Railway, who's efforts go towards maintaining the heritage of our Railway and continually adding
to the theming of the wonderful station platforms.
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