Puy du Fou’s proposed £600 million UK theme park near Bicester in Oxfordshire would allow guests to “travel through time”, says CEO.
In 2023, Puy du Fou started looking for its first UK site within a 40-mile radius of Oxford. It later said it plans to build the new attraction in Cherwell by the M40, and then held a period of public engagement in July 2024.
Olivier Strebelle, Puy du Fou’s chief executive officer, said the park would look similar to Kew Gardens “with very beautiful trees, water, plants”.
He told the Times: “We want our guests to be disconnected from the 21st century.
“We have our guests travel through time, out of [the] Roman period and into the 20th century period of the great wars, and the best segue between them is nature because it’s always been there.”
To create a UK park, Puy du Fou would work with a group of British historians to decide what periods to focus on, Strebelle said.
“The British people love their history and love live shows as well,” he added.
“We have a checklist: you need spectacular technology, you need people and animals, some pace, and the local person from the period to create a bond with the visitors – we have the conceptual elements and then local historians tell us what is important and could match.”
“The British people love their history”
Puy du Fou’s vision for its planned park is as follows: “A British Puy du Fou will be a place where visitors can walk in a beautiful wooded park with stunning landscaped gardens, where they can immerse themselves in British history with carefully curated period villages; and where they can experience a series of world-class live shows based on the country’s history, which will amaze the whole family.”
Instead of rides and roller coasters, Puy du Fou’s historical destinations provide shows, immersive experiences and period villages.
The group has two permanent locations, one in France and the other in Spain, as well as Saga City of Light, its first attraction in China.
Puy du Fou’s new ‘Le Grand Tour’ rail experience, an immersive tour of France, is set to launch this year.
Images courtesy of Puy du Fou
