The Staines Colossus

Entering Thorpe Park is quite an adventure, from the car park and admissions area the park seems cut-off across an expanse of water. The only way to get there is across a magical bridge and even then you're not truly in the park, you have to pass through a dome containing underwater themeing and a bazaar of arcades, a cafe, bar and shops

It's an extremely compact park however the sheer concentration allows the richly detailed themed areas to feel more absorbing and real. The superbly affective amity cove area, could possibly be one of the best themed areas ever created with its effective landscaping and surreal radio station area soundtrack, it makes the story sunken city quite believable, turning a very generic chutes ride, Tidal Wave, into something quite special

Nemesis Inferno is the spawn of the legendary Alton Towers coaster, bearing the same inversion however in a slightly different to the original (yet more standard of a B&M inverter) order. The ride begins with a whimsical dive underneath the raised station platform, swerving from left to right through the foggy interior of a fiery lit tunnel before entering the lift hill, which I feel has been a really good touch and help to make the ride more of an enjoyable and more of a repeatable ride

There's also a large collection of nicely dressed fairground rides, all with original soundtracks and lush almost tropical landscaping making more of an adventure out of the generic carnival experiences

Loggers Leap really is one of the few classic Thorpe Park experiences remaining, leaving the station, which is usually accompanied by the delightful sounds of Dolly Parton, behind the logs float along a rather scenic route away from the main park area.

If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the main park hop aboard the Canada Creek railway to Thorpe Farm, which always provides a welcomed breather truly away from the action. Make sure you take the railway back form the farm, as around the back of the log flume it passes through a tree-lined canyon, made form real stones, it certainly is very scenic, quite the opposite to the modern machinery of Samurai, Slammer and Vortex

Colossus is a literally monumental coaster, the record breaker that dramatically helped change Thorpe's target audience to a thrill-seeking park. The detailed landscaping and reclaimed themed setting together with the unique soundtrack and close interaction with spectators anchor the ride superbly making what could have been a sterile off the shelf coaster into a very unique thrilling experience

The little touches of detail to the themeing, the landscaping and the soundtracks around Thorpe Park really come together to create a very atmospheric park.

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