CAMELOT THEME PARK
Since closing over a decade ago, the site has fallen into disrepair and many of its rides have been demolished left to decay.
Camelot Theme Park was a resort and theme park located in the English county of Lancashire. The park's theme was the well-known legend of Camelot, and the park decor incorporated pseudo-medieval elements. It was located on a 140-acre (57 ha; 0.22 sq mi) site near the village of Charnock Richard, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Chorley. The site was owned by The Story Group and was operated by Knights Leisure. The park featured many rides, taking a target audience of families and younger children; however, the park also boasted numerous thrill rides and roller coasters, including Whirlwind (a Maurer Söhne spinning coaster), Knightmare and Excalibur. On 4 November 2012, Knight’s Leisure announced that they would not be reopening for the season of 2013.
The site was used for a zombie horror experience attraction, Camelot Rises between February and April 2022.
In March 2022, the Best Western Park Hall Hotel, formerly the Camelot Theme Park Hotel, permanently closed down. This has since left the entire Park Hall site empty and derelict.
The park opened in 1983 and was operating seasonally until the end of 2012. The park was based on the story of 'Camelot, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table'. The local area was once covered by Martin Mere, sometimes described as the largest body of fresh water in England, which was first drained in 1692 by Thomas Fleetwood of Bank Hall in Bretherton.
The story was that Sir Lancelot's parents King Ban of Benwick and his queen Elaine escaped to Lancashire from their enemies in France. Elaine went to help King Ban who had fallen and put Lancelot down on the shore of the lake, where he was abducted by nymph Vivian who vanished into the waters of the lake with him. Vivian brought up Lancelot, and when he went to King Arthur's court, he was knighted as 'Sir Lancelot of the Lake'. Martin Mere has been locally known as the 'Lost Lake of Sir Lancelot' following the myth.
In 1986, the park was taken over by the Granada Group and operated by them alongside its now-defunct sister parks American Adventure and Granada Studios Tour. In June 1998, the park was subject to a management buyout, in which the park went to Prime Resorts Ltd. Camelot had seen a downturn in attendance in later years, in 1995, Camelot's attendance was 500,000 visitors throughout the season.
The park was featured in a 1994 episode of Sooty & Co., in which presenter Matthew Corbett takes Sooty, Sweep and Soo there.
One of the roller coasters could be seen from the M6 near the Charnock Richard Services. However, as of February 2020 said rollercoaster "The Knightmare" has been demolished after SBNO (Standing But Not Operating) for eight years.
In 2005, Camelot's attendance was only 336,204 visitors.
In August 2006, in a survey of healthy food available at leading tourist attractions in the United Kingdom, Camelot came joint bottom, scoring only one point.
In February 2009, Prime Resorts announced that the park was in receivership, and would not reopen for the 2009 season. The hotel was bought by Lavender Hotels in March 2009, and in April 2009, it was announced that a buyer had been found for the park and that it would reopen in May 2009. The theme park was purchased by Story Group, a construction company based in Carlisle, and leased to Knight's Leisure who ran the park.
The closure of the park was announced by its operator, Knights Leisure, on 4 November 2012, the managing director blaming poor summer weather and events such as London 2012 and the Diamond Jubilee for declining visitor numbers. Some roller coasters were sold, for example, the Whirlwind was relocated to Skyline Park in Germany, but others remained in the abandoned park.
The site's future was uncertain, as the new owner was planning to redevelop the site. The then indications were that it would be a housing development.
Research published in 2019 suggested that the site of Park Hall Road in Charnock Richard is projected to be able to fit 6,294 new homes across its 140-acre site. It is reported to have a potential value, in terms of development, of around £790 million.
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