This cherished UK family theme park is getting four new rides

Pleasurewood Hills has been a prime spot for family fun in East Suffolk for more than four decades. Since it opened its gates in 1983, countless local thrillseekers and out-of-town holidaymakers have trodden its grounds and been thrilled by its rides.

Recently, however, it’s fair to say that parts of Pleasurewood Hills have been showing their age. Just weeks ago its owners announced that the much-loved Cannonball Express ride will not run for the 2026 season. The ride, which first opened at the Lowestoft attraction in 1995, is a top attraction among adrenaline-junkies, but the need for new trains and a lick of paint means it’ll be out of action for at least this year.

The Cannonball Express’ temporary closure is part of a wider plan by the new owners of Pleasurewood Hills, who purchased the park last October and want to restore the place to its former glory.

‘It’s lost the spark that it once had that everybody speaks about,’ Freddie Stokes, one of the three brothers who manage the park, told BBC News. ‘It’s a little bit shabby round the edges – the rides, the performance level, I just feel like it’s not as it should be.’

But Pleasurewood Hills stans shouldn’t spend too much time in mourning, because plans are also underway to introduce four new attractions to the beloved family theme park.

If proposals submitted to East Suffolk Council get the green light, visitors could soon be taking a turn on the Star Flyer, the Spinning Coaster, the Apple Coaster or the Big Wheel.

The Star Flyer will be a 30-metre-tall ‘high-profile thrill ride’, while the others are all on the family-friendly side. The 36-metre Big Wheel will apparently offer a ‘gentler experience’. 

Plans for the new rides still need to be approved by the local council, so a timeline for when they might open hasn't been revealed yet.

Did you see that a brand-new historical theme park is opening in the UK this summer?