Wicksteed Park celebrates 100th anniversary of heritage Water Chute ride

The Water Chute, created in 1926 by philanthropist Charles Wicksteed, was protected by Historic England by being made Grade II Listed ten years ago.

Visitors to the park were able to celebrate the ride without splashing out as customers paid just 100 pennies – £1 – to mark 100 years since the chute’s installation.

Open from the early hours to allow 100 special visitors from BBC Northampton to roll down the track and into the lake in a wooden boat – taking his place was mayor of Kettering Cllr Ben Jameson.

Honoured to be at the front of the boat for the first 100th anniversary plunge, he said: “It’s a really fantastic way to celebrate such a historical heritage attraction here in Kettering.

"I was at the front mainly because my legs wouldn’t fit it in the middle row. It was a really exciting experience. My grandmother commented that she went on it 80 years ago.

“The Water Chute helps put Kettering on the map – its the oldest operational ride in the country.”

Visitors are seated in a wooden boat which slowly releases and rolls down a track into the lake. The ride then uses a rope-pulley mechanism which is attached to the rear of the boat to pull itself back to the top, ready for the next group.

It is not known if Mr Wicksteed rode the Water Chute ride, but he did invite his staff to bring their children along and test the ride.

The ride’s design by the park’s founder reflected his skills as a ‘brilliant’ engineer, combining his interest in railway engineering and metal bars.

Ruth Rignall, Wicksteed Park community and volunteer support officer, said: “He was a fantastically creative person and it really sprung from his ideas that people needed to have that moment of thrill and excitement in their life and it should be accessible to everyone.

"He really felt that if they had that moment of fun in their lives it would really help them in a community and social way.

"It means continuity. There are people who have come today who are the third or fourth generation. The simple fun and the fact you can share it with your family members means a lot.”

Over the years thousands of families have climbed the narrow metal steps to enjoy the ride. Visiting the park with her granddaughter Sharni was Georgina Laurie – both from Thrapston.

Georgina said: “I used to love the ride. We used to come on school and church trips.”

Sharni took part in lieu of her gran in the anniversary experience and got a bit of a soaking on her behalf.

The iconic Kettering park attraction, which is believed to be the oldest UK ride of its kind, took gold at the 2022 UK Theme Park Awards after being named the nation’s best historic ride.

Matt Taylor, heritage manager at North Northants Council, said: “The heritage in Kettering is vitally important. The story behind Charles Wicksteed and what he wanted to do. Anyone can come to this park and enjoy the scenery, relax and have that space – and have the opportunity to go on really exciting rides.”

Launching people down the ramp was Wicksteed Park employee Gary Enfield who has been working the ride for four years and has enjoyed more than two dozen Water Chute rides.

Gary said: “It’s a good ride, people enjoy it and the splashes are good. They are surprised about how much they get wet. It depends where you sit.

"People also like the view from up here.”

And the top tip from Gary for people who don’t want a soaking is ‘sit at the front’.

Wicksteed Park is open for the season – for tickets and information go to https://wicksteedpark.org/.

The Water Chute tower remains almost as originally built, except that in 1931 the original flat roof was replaced with a sweeping hipped roof to match the ‘house style’ of contemporary structures in the park.