Water chute celebrates centenary with 100 riders

A hundred visitors will ride a century‑old water chute at a theme park to mark the attraction's 100th anniversary.

On Thursday, participants chosen for their memories of the ride will go on the attraction at Wicksteed Park in Kettering, between 09:00 BST and 10:00.

The chute, designed by park founder Charles Wicksteed, is Grade II listed and won best historic ride at the 2022 Theme Park Awards.

Speaking on BBC Radio Northampton, Kelly Richardson, the managing director of Wicksteed Park said: "Essentially the ride is exactly the same as it was in 1926. I remember going on it as a child myself, and it's as much fun today as it was 40 years ago."

The attraction's tower remains almost as originally built, except that in 1931 the flat roof was replaced with a sweeping roof to match the "house style" of other structures in the park.

Visitors are seated in a wooden boat, which slowly releases and rolls down a track into the lake, creating a large splash.

The ride then uses a rope-pulley mechanism, which is attached to the rear of the boat to pull the carriage back to the top, ready for the next group of visitors.

James Garland from Love Kettering added: "When I came back to Kettering, I found an old photo of me and my dad out on the boating lake and that brought back a ton of memories, including the peacocks. It's great to have it on our doorstep."

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