The tiny UK theme park reopening next month which has seaside views and the oldest rollercoaster in the country
A THEME park in the UK that has the oldest rollercoaster in the country is reopening next month.
Opening its doors from April 1, Dreamland also has amazing views of the nearby seaside.
The theme park, found behind Margate train station in Kent, is also one of the oldest in the UK, after opening in 1880.
The only one older is Blackgang Chine in Isle of Wight which opened in 1843.
However, Dreamland is home to the oldest rollercoaster in the UK, the Scenic Railway, a wooden Grade II-listed coaster that opened more than 100 years ago.
And the park, which closed for winter, is reopening next month again for the summer season.
New rides include a new family coaster, plus new amusements such as Crazy Golf, a reimagined Mirror Maze and Pinball machines.
And this year, the park has a long list of events which you can book.
Some of the highlights include:
- Will Young – June 23
- Bastille – July 1
- McFly – July 7
- NDubz – July 8
- Tom Jones – July 28
- August 25 – Olly Murs
Other perfomers include Human League, Annie Mac and Primal Scream.
Dreamland is free to enter, but tickets to performances cost around £35.
If you just fancy visiting the theme park then there are lots of attractions to choose from.
There is the huge Big Wheel you can see as soon as you pull into Margate train station.
There is a Margate Mystic if you want to find out about your future, as well as smaller fairground rides, including waltzers, dodgems and ghost train.
For a bit of retro fun, there is also a huge indoor arcade and skate rink for roller discos, complete with great tunes, neon lights and disco ball.
While you can no longer visit it, the Dreamland cinema even featured in the new Sam Mendes film, Empire of Light, starring Olivia Colman.
Chris Britcher, who grew up in Kent, once said the park was “better than Disneyland“.
Yet despite the theme park being one of the oldest in the country, it closed a number of times over the years.
It most recently went into administration in 2016, but reopened the following year after a £25million renovation.
If you want to explore the rest of Margate, it was recently listed as having one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in the UK by Time Out.