Wicksteed Park Northamptonshire Review

Reviewed by Debbie Talbot

My daughter, her dad, myself and a couple of her friends decided to go to Wicksteed Park in Kettering, Northamptonshire for the day. I have found memories of visiting the park when I was a teenager. We are based in Luton, so getting there was a simple route of taking the A6 north. We did drive through the centre of Bedford, but the route to Kettering was well signposted. When we got nearer to our destination, the attraction was well signposted. We arrived in good time to find a generously sized car park. After parking the car, in the shade under a tree, we headed off into the attraction.

Wicksteed Park was founded in 1921 and is very proud of its heritage as the home of children’s play. Spread out over 147 acres it has rides, rollercoasters, camping site and a historic park.

Staff were really helpful, friendly and knowledgeable. The great thing about Wicksteed Park is that if you don’t fancy the rides, but just want to enjoy the surroundings, you don’t need to pay for tickets or a wristband. While we were there, we saw plenty of people out running or walking their dog. Whilst collecting our wristbands, we asked about Rush, which is available at an extra charge. There’s a zip wire, bag jump and climbing wall. The girls spent the day deciding which of these options they wanted to try out.

After collecting their wristbands, the girls wandered off to try all the rides. They literally went on everything they could. Queue times were short, allowing them to make the most out of their day. We just checked back in with them at various times throughout the day.

Particular ride favourites were the Pinfari roller-coaster, Rocky River Falls and the Sway Rider. Click here for a list of all the rides. My favourite is the years old water chute, which I remember going on again and again as a teenager.

The girls decided to do the zip wire and the bag jump. Whilst some of them were a bit nervous, they thoroughly enjoyed this challenge and it was a lovely experience to have as a group of friends. The prices (£7.50pp), whilst charged extra from the wristband, were reasonable. The staff were friendly, knowledgeable and encouraging. It was great fun to watch the girls whizzing down the zip wire at great speed.

With the bag jump, they had 3 jumps to potentially do. After doing the smallest jump with the correct technique, they were allowed to do the next jump up. After doing that jump correctly, they were allowed to do the highest jump. This was great and very safety conscious.

We bought lunch while we were there. The area was kept clean and tidy and there was lots of choice. The prices were reasonable. We opted for the fish and chips outlet (there are other cafés and kiosks throughout the park).

The toilet facilities were clean, no long queues and well stocked.

Our last port of call of the day was the free children’s playground. After persuading the girls to leave, we paid the reasonable parking fee (between £3 and £6 depending on how long you want to stay) and returned home after a lovely day full of family memories.

If you would visit several times a year, do check out the charges for an annual pass (from £36 to £70), they are very reasonable.

We all had a great, fun day out and thoroughly enjoyed what Wicksteed Park has to offer. I rate it 5 out of 5 for price, fun and cleanliness.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets prices: £16 (adult 17+) / £19 (child) – book online for discounts.

For more information or to book tickets online visit wicksteedpark.org.

Wicksteed Park, Barton Road, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN15 6NJ | 01536 512475