by Graham Speak, Speak Consulting
1994 was declared ‘The Year of the Roller Coaster’ in the UK with the opening of three iconic, industry-changing rides: Nemesis at Alton Towers, The Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and Shockwave at Drayton Manor. Together, these three rides put the country firmly back on the map as a destination for roller coaster lovers from around the world.
Thirty years later, we’re excitedly waiting to see the UK roller coaster scene transform again. Nemesis (my personal worldwide favourite) will be ‘re-born’ at Alton Towers, Hyperia will become the UK’s tallest coaster at Thorpe Park and Drayton Manor will re-imagine Shockwave for a new audience of junior thrill seekers – along with adding a brand new Intamin launch and lift coaster.
Meanwhile, Legoland Windsor will add a new racing family boomerang, and Blackpool continue to preserve the iconic Big One. It’s an exciting time to be a roller coaster fan!
Whilst we wait to experience these new additions at UK parks, I wanted to share my current view of the top 10 roller coasters in the country. This can be a subjective topic. So, before we start, a few disclaimers. Firstly, I’m a big roller coaster fan. I’ve ridden over 450 coasters across the globe – but this pales in comparison to some!
Secondly, I love tall, fast, intense coasters. However, with my professional background, I can’t help but also appreciate how parks build for their specific locations and audiences and work to creatively bring to life brands, stories and experiences. Thirdly, I have two little girls who love a roller coaster. One of my scientific measures when pulling together this piece has been how much each makes us smile!
Top 10 roller coasters the UK should be proud of
1 Wicker Man – Alton Towers
Opening in 2018, Wicker Man was a long-awaited new wooden roller coaster for the UK (the first for over 20 years). Wooden coasters with their dense structures often rely on the ride experience alone – and so this ride from Great Coasters International really ups the ante with its immersive theming and storyline, including the huge, flaming Wicker Man centre stage. Who’d have thought of combining fire effects and a wooden roller coaster?
Set in the stunning Staffordshire park, and immersing guests in the story of the Beornen and the Wicker Man, this is a fun, smooth, re-rideable coaster experience that generations of thrill seekers can enjoy together.
2 Icon – Blackpool Pleasure Beach
It’s amazing how the teams at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Mack Rides managed to create a coaster like Icon and fit it in around all the existing classic rides. Being launched under the Big One’s structure, and diving around the Big Dipper and other great rides at the Pleasure Beach makes this smooth, dual-launch coaster truly unique.
Giving a nice long ride for a UK coaster, the drop down into the second launch and hanging over the top of the non-inverting loop is the highlight for me. Seeing the beach, a stone’s throw away, from that angle, is pretty spectacular!
This isn’t the most intense coaster in the UK. However, you can’t help laughing all the way round and jumping straight back in line. It’s no wonder this regularly polls as a UK favourite of many enthusiasts.
3 Scenic Railway – Dreamland Margate
An absolute classic – and the oldest roller coaster in the UK, originally opening in 1920. There are so many things to love about this ride, but perhaps the most noticeable (and unique) is the on-ride brakeman, who controls the speed of the train. Globally, there are very few of these rides left operating, so we are very lucky to have two examples in the UK (Roller Coaster at Great Yarmouth being the other).
Don’t be fooled by its age and ‘old school’ technology. A backseat ride delivers plenty of airtime and packs a nice punch, leaving most grinning as they exit the coaster to go back around for another ride.
The setting for the Scenic Railway is special too. It can be found at the heart of a fantastic classic, seaside amusement park. Over the years Dreamland has evolved whilst also staying true to its core, becoming a venue regularly used for TV and movie filming, hosting huge music concerts and showcasing art installations. It’s a place everyone should make the journey to experience.
4 The Swarm – Thorpe Park
An apocalyptic battle may not be the most cheery theming for a roller coaster – but luckily this B&M coaster is so much fun, there are plenty of smiles to be seen wandering around the park beneath it. The near-misses with impressive set pieces and interactions with guest areas make this one fun to ride and watch (especially the slow inline twist directly over the station).
See also: Thorpe Park shares Hyperia coaster construction update
5 Megafobia – Oakwood
Turning 28 years old in 2024, and having last year undergone a $2m re-track and re-profiling program, Megafobia is now back and as smooth and thrilling as ever.
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From the impressive first drop, cutting through the structure of the ride, to the endless ‘out of the seat’ moments all the way to the brakes – this coaster doesn’t let up. Set in the beautiful Pembrokeshire countryside, amongst the trees and lake, there couldn’t be a much better setting for this well-loved coaster.
6 Mandrill Mayhem – Chessington
This B&M coaster has to be given credit for taking elements from big intense rides, and making them accessible for a younger, junior thrill-seeking audience: Be that the ‘wing-coaster’ style, the launches (initially backwards out of the station), or the forwards/backwards inversion. Layer on some ‘weird’ manoeuvres, like the spiral around the 55ft jaguar shrine – and you’re left with a fun, family thrill coaster.
Partnering with Sony Pictures, the Jumanji IP inspires some nice themed elements – like the atmospheric station, the Mandrill-shaped trains, and the jaguar shrine. Showing a good attention to detail, the retail, games and F&B have been impressively themed into this area of the park too.
7 Nemesis Inferno – Thorpe Park
With the original Nemesis at Alton Towers being re-imagined, its sister at Thorpe Park steps up to the spot as the UK’s best inverted coaster. The place to ride is the front row, as you leave the Volcano station and swoop through a smoke-filled tunnel before even climbing the first lift hill.
The smoothness of the action, and placement over pathways, water features and queue lines make for a fun (and very popular) ride.
8 The Dragon – Legoland Windsor
This is perhaps a controversial choice. There are certainly newer and more technologically impressive coasters than The Dragon. But I don’t think it’s all about that. The Dragon is a great coaster for the whole family, combining dark ride sections, impressive giant Lego animated sculptures, and a race around the trees of the castle grounds. Excitement builds in the park for young thrill seekers as they queue around the castle walls, even before sitting down in the Lego-themed Dragon train.
What better way to experience Lego than getting on board it for an adventure. This is a great example of building an engaging, authentic branded experience.
It is not ground-breaking and is unlikely to be on many coaster enthusiasts’ top lists. But The Dragon is probably the best family, themed, ‘story coaster’ we currently have in the UK.  It’s also critical we have roller coasters like this to bring on board a new generation of thrill-seekers!
9 Sik – Flamingo Land
As the most intense roller coaster on the list, Sik opened at Flamingo Land in 2022 and features 10 inversions over its course. Being very similar in layout to Colossus at Thorpe Park; and trumped by the world-record-holding The Smiler at Alton Towers for number of loops, this Intamin coaster has lap-bar style restraints that, for me, make the ride experience more comfortable and enjoyable.
At the crest of the lift hill, you are treated to stunning views over the North Yorkshire countryside before being flung into the relentless, high-speed layout.
Sik joins a nice collection of coasters at the often-forgotten park – including Kumali (possibly the world’s smoothest Vekoma SLC), Mumbo Jumbo (once the world’s steepest roller coaster) and a Vekoma Motorbike launch coaster.
10 Millennium – Fantasy Island
Millennium is one of two custom Vekoma roller coasters at this seaside amusement park – both offering smooth, re-rideable experiences and impressive views out towards the North Sea coast.
As one of the only looping coasters in the UK with a 1.2 metre height restriction, it’s a great first ‘big’ coaster for junior thrill seekers – and lots of fun for bigger kids too. The first drop sees it head down towards the market stalls beneath it; interacting with Odyssey’s support structure, and diving around, just feet over the heads of other guests below.
A few honourable mentions
Munich (or Olympia) Looping may not be permanently in the UK. However, it has called London’s Winter Wonderland home each year since 2016. This Anton Schwarzkopf classic is the largest transportable roller coaster in the world, with over 50 trucks needed to move it. It has five inversions and stunning views of Hyde Park and the London skyline. Helping roller coaster enthusiasts through the closed season, it is one of the UK’s must-ride coasters!
The Green Dragon at Greenwood Park
The Green Dragon at Greenwood Park is the world’s only ‘human-powered’ coaster. Using a unique funicular system, its passengers help transport the roller coaster train to the summit of the lift hill. This makes it the most environmentally friendly coaster anywhere in the world!
Blue Flyer at Blackpool Pleasure Beach
This opened in 1934 and with no height restriction, is the perfect, classic first roller coaster for kids. It’s a special one for me, as the first coaster for both of my girls. At 15 feet tall, credit has to be given to the teams at Blackpool for keeping this traditional wooden coaster operating, allowing many children the opportunity to have their first taste of a classic coaster.
So, what types of roller coasters are we missing in the UK?
Whilst we are lucky to have a great collection of roller coasters in the UK, I’d love to see an impressive indoor, immersive coaster. If the rumour sites hold true, we’re looking at you Alton Towers…and Universal Studios a few years down the line).
From my travels, and also having reviewed Vince Kadlubek’s list of top coasters in the USA, we’re also missing a great big RMC hybrid coaster. Now, where could one of those fit nicely?
It’s about to get better!
I realise there are many people’s favourites missing from this list, including The Big One, The Smiler, and Stealth. There are also many that are unique or changed the face of coasters in the UK. For example, Steeplechase or The Revolution. This goes to show just how many special coasters we have on these shores.
Hopefully, it’s about to get even better! With only a couple of months before we can all get on some of the new coaster creations, I can’t wait to update this article with my thoughts.
