Adventure Island

Adventure Island sits on the seafront at Southend-on-Sea on the English coast, spanning both sides of the land surrounding Southend Pier. As seaside amusement parks go, Adventure Island is amongst the largest and most high quality. It features a multitude of rides, several of which have been designed and built by the in-house engineering team, which provides some unique experiences.

Alongside the other rides are five rollercoasters headlined by Rage, a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter brightly painted in a luminous pink and yellow colour scheme. Green Scream features a train so long that the front of the train reaches the top of the lift hill just as the rear is touching the bottom, while Mighty Mini Mega gives a much better ride than its diminutive proportions would suggest. Barnstormer has a nicely themed aeroplane at the front of its train, and also gives a great ride. Kiddi Koasta is the newest of Adventure Island's rollercoaster lineup and is a kid-friendly mine train.

Also worth mentioning is Over the Hill, Adventure Island's major dark ride. Designed by the in-house crew, it provides a unique take on the traditional haunted house genre, and is a worthy successor of the park's previous Beelzee Bob's Trail which sat in the same building.

The park is free to enter, with a wristband system in place for those who want to ride. With the recent addition of an indoor area, it makes a great seaside destination for families and thrillseekers whatever the British weather.

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• Trip: Eastern UK Weekend (7 May to 8 May 2016)