Any decent waterparks in the north of England?

[ScotHill]

Worth taking in on a road trip with an 8 year old?

Had planned on heading to Alton Towers park and water park until I found out our Scottish half term coincides with the English half term, they usually don’t.

It’s either that or a camper van to Aviemore, which I guess could well be a waterpark in February…

[Radec]

The Sandcastle in Blackpool or if you were willing to go to Alton Towers then maybe Waterworld in Stoke.

Choices are limited compared to abroad.

[poosemon]

Is the trip solely for a "waterpark" or other things...the main three i can think of in the north west are;

- Alton Towers (as you mention already).
- Water world Stoke - https://www.waterworld.co.uk/
- Sand Castle Water Park Blackpool - https://www.sandcastle-waterpark.co.uk/

Only been to the top two, water world was a bit bigger, unless your really set on a waterpark I'm not sure i would be basing a trip entirely around any of them, but nice to do if you are in the area.

Don't know how much it is to get a daypass to center parcs if you drop by Cumbria or Sherwood Forrest but they are good waterparks.

[ScotHill]

Radec said:

The Sandcastle in Blackpool or if you were willing to go to Alton Towers then maybe Waterworld in Stoke.

Choices are limited compared to abroad.

You’re making me look up flights to Spain….

Yeah none of them seem to be a destination in themselves (crap weather means they can’t build outdoors?) but he’s only 8 and never been to one so won’t know the difference.

Might brave the crowds at Alton Towers but the pleasure beach is mostly shut at Blackpool in February so wouldn’t really make the most of it.

[ScotHill]

Yeah it would be amongst other things (e.g. try to find high ropes or quad biking along the way). Will look into Center Parcs at the lakes.

[poosemon]

Looks like i was beaten to it....

However, as "abroad" was mentioned by another poster...if you want something completely different on our summer road trip this year we passed through Munich and went to the Therme Erding - compared to the UK, this place is in a different league - was pretty awesome tbh. Has a mix of fun stuff and places to be able to relax.

So if you can find a cheap flight to Munich I would be more then happy to recommend that! Obvioulsly lots to do around there with BMW Museum/Munich itself etc etc. but thats probably starting to turn into a different trip then you had originally planned

[ChocolateFrog]

Radec said:

The Sandcastle in Blackpool or if you were willing to go to Alton Towers then maybe Waterworld in Stoke.

Choices are limited compared to abroad.

What I was going to say, the Sandcastle is the best.

The Alton Towers one is poor IMO, we were very underwhelmed.

[ChocolateFrog]

I'm surprised the UK doesn't have any decent waterparks.

We loved Rulantica, a proper destination indoor waterpark.

[poosemon]

ChocolateFrog said:

I'm surprised the UK doesn't have any decent waterparks.

We loved Rulantica, a proper destination indoor waterpark.

Theres a big one that is being proposed to be built near the trafford center in Manchester. That looks like it will be unlike anything else we have in the UK currently in terms of scale! Will be a few years away yet though! (think 2027 at the earliest)

[ChocolateFrog]

poosemon said:

ChocolateFrog said:

I'm surprised the UK doesn't have any decent waterparks.

We loved Rulantica, a proper destination indoor waterpark.

Theres a big one that is being proposed to be built near the trafford center in Manchester. That looks like it will be unlike anything else we have in the UK currently in terms of scale! Will be a few years away yet though! (think 2027 at the earliest)

Yes I've seen that but I'll believe it when I see it.

There's definitely a market. I'd much rather pay £60 for a full day at a properly good venue than £30 for a half day at somewhere like Sandcastle.

[poosemon]

ChocolateFrog said:

Yes I've seen that but I'll believe it when I see it.

There's definitely a market. I'd much rather pay £60 for a full day at a properly good venue than £30 for a half day at somewhere like Sandcastle.

The one in Erding was 52 EUR for a day, we just did 4 hours as we were heading into Munich in the afternoon so was 34 EUR.

For the size of it and time you could spend there, I thought was pretty good value for money. The swim up bars etc were even not too crazy.

[omniflow]

If you're after a decent waterpark then that totally rules out Alton Towers. Splash Landings is woeful. Really bad. Not worth the time or the money, even if you're visiting the theme park.

[ecsrobin]

ChocolateFrog said:

poosemon said:

ChocolateFrog said:

I'm surprised the UK doesn't have any decent waterparks.

We loved Rulantica, a proper destination indoor waterpark.

Theres a big one that is being proposed to be built near the trafford center in Manchester. That looks like it will be unlike anything else we have in the UK currently in terms of scale! Will be a few years away yet though! (think 2027 at the earliest)

Yes I've seen that but I'll believe it when I see it.

There's definitely a market. I'd much rather pay £60 for a full day at a properly good venue than £30 for a half day at somewhere like Sandcastle.

Construction has started.



Another +1 for Rulantica at europa park in rust and easy to get to by public transport from for those not road tripping. I think as a family we preferred it to the Orlando water parks.

[blue_haddock]

If your willing to fly the tropical islands is not far from Berlin and is meant to be amazing.

[ScotHill]

Thanks for the tips - did look at flights but given the weather ain't exactly amazing in Spain or Germany in February I'll stick to the UK, and it'll either be Alton Towers rides with a stop at the Blackpool water park en route, or muddy outdoor stuff in Aviemore and walking up a hill with snow on it.

[Radec]

Tenerife's around 20c odd around then and Siam park is very good if you can spring for a few days.

Your plan for UK based sounds a good one too.

[Big Pants]

Haven't been for a few years so perhaps check TripAdvisor reviews but Waterworld in Stoke was an absolute favourite of my two right up until teenage years.

It's pretty much the epitome of Stoke so don't expect classy, but you'll do a happy 4 hours there before leaving to find lunch in one of Stoke's fine eateries. Do NOT expect to be thrilled by the food on offer at Waterworld.

[blue_haddock]

Big Pants said:

Haven't been for a few years so perhaps check TripAdvisor reviews but Waterworld in Stoke was an absolute favourite of my two right up until teenage years.

It's pretty much the epitome of Stoke so don't expect classy, but you'll do a happy 4 hours there before leaving to find lunch in one of Stoke's fine eateries. Do NOT expect to be thrilled by the food on offer at Waterworld.

For 15 years i lived within spitting distance of Waterworld and i really couldnt think of somewhere even half decent for food nearby!

There are plenty of chain just up the road in hanley but apart from those its slim pickings so my suggestion would be to go and indulge in a sausage, cheese and black pudding oatcake!

[ecsrobin]

ScotHill said:

Thanks for the tips - did look at flights but given the weather ain't exactly amazing in Spain or Germany in February I'll stick to the UK, and it'll either be Alton Towers rides with a stop at the Blackpool water park en route, or muddy outdoor stuff in Aviemore and walking up a hill with snow on it.

Alton towers theme park closes for winter maintenance and will reopen around 15 March so that throws a spanner in the first plan.

[ScotHill]

Alton Towers is open for a few weeks around Feb half term, but that means half term crowds, we can probably head there a different time of year when the English schools are still going.

Edit - looks like it’s only some small kiddie bits that are open anyway, never mind.

Edited by ScotHill on Wednesday 6th November 17:00