Amusement Parks: Flamingo Land Resort - a Potted History Blooloop

Flamingo Land Resort is an amusement park in the Ryedale area of North Yorkshire with stunning views of the Yorkshire moors.

The amusement park began life back in 1959 when an old country club which had gone bankrupt was bought by an entrepreneur named Edwin Pentland Hick. He called the site the Yorkshire Zoological Gardens and it was initially only 9 acres, although today it’s set in 375 acres making it the largest amusement park in Northern England in terms of geographical area.

One of the first group of animals to be introduced by Edwin Pentland Hick was a colony of pink flamingos which became symbolic for the entire amusement park, hence how it got its name. Some of those original flamingos’ offspring still reside in the amusement park today and the colony remains the largest anywhere in the UK.

The amusement park today is one of the Top 20 UK attractions with over 1.1 million visitors each year. There are over 100 ‘white knuckle’ rides at the amusement park including Bullet, Terroriser, Top Gun, Corkscrew and Wild Mouse. The latest thrill ride to be introduced to the amusement park, costing over £4 million is called ‘Mumbo Jumbo’ an African themed ride. With its 112 degree drop from its highest point at 30 metres, producing a 4G force on the riders, it is set to go into the Guinness Book of Records for being the steepest roller coaster to be made from steel.

There is also a large zoo which is home to over 1, 000 species including lions, tigers, polar bears, camels, zebras, sea lions, penguins and reptiles. Many of the animals at the amusement park are endangered species.

Another attraction of the amusement park is its holiday village featuring static caravans and log cabins. It also features a leisure centre, swimming pool and a café. Just on the outskirts of the amusement park there is a 9 hole mini golf course and a stream close by, called Costa Beck, offers some great fly fishing which is free to use for those staying in the holiday village. You can catch trout, pike, salmon and other species of fish here.