New ‘alpine’ coaster with 550ft vertical drop to open in the UK this year
A NEW ride is set to open later this year as part of a new leisure attraction currently being constructed in the UK.
What will be Scotland‘s first “alpine coaster” is being finished at the Midlothian Snowsports Centre in the Pentland Hills Regional Park, which sits in Hillend, a small Hamlet not far from Edinburgh.
Alpine coasters are rides that use both the natural elevation of the land and gravity to take riders down the side of a steep hill or mountain.
However, unlike more commonly seen rollercoasters, they also have manual brakes, allowing riders to control their speed on the way down.
When it is finished, the track will be 3215ft in length, and will have its own 550ft vertical drop, as well as a helix, a type of turn on a rollercoaster that forms a radius of more than 360-degrees.
Its maximum speed will be 28mph.
Work on the ride is ongoing, with video footage available of people testing out the new track.
However, despite it looking almost finished, Midlothian Council is yet to announce an opening date for the new attraction.
In an update on its website, the council said: “Work continues on the coaster to ready it for opening.
“We have not released an opening date yet, with several aspects of the ride still to be completed before this is announced.”
The centre is also set for further development to “safeguard its future“.
The council is also in the process of building what it describes as “a year-round, family-orientated, multi-activity leisure attraction” to expand on what is currently on offer.
The project, titled Destination Hillend, includes a 425ft “fun slope” – a skiing and snowboarding run including three different types of pitches, jumps and other features, which has already opened.
There’s also tubing, which the centre’s website claims is “an exhilarating slide down the hill and fun for all the family”.
Guests sit in inflatable rings that slide downhill along a custom-built tubing course.
For more traditional winter sport fans, the centre offers skiing and snowboarding lessons, some of which started over the weekend.
The UK's best indoor attractions
The UK's unpredictable weather means finding indoor activities is essential for parents treating their kids to a day out.
Here’s a list of some of the best attractions found firmly underneath a roof in the country.
Empire of the Sea Dragon Indoor Zone
This play area claims to be the biggest indoor play park in the UK.
The entertainment hub is home to five floors, with slides, rope bridges, swings, net towers and rides.
There’s also the Trauma Tower, which Empire of the Sea claim is the “best indoor ride in Devon” because of its huge 50ft drop.
Other indoor rides at the Devonshire-based indoor play area include a Ferris Wheel and a Submarine Ride.
Play Factore
This indoor play zone claims to have been designed especially “to provide families with a state of the art active indoor play arena to play in together”.
Included in its attractions are the tallest standing indoor slide in the UK, as well as a full indoor laser tag arena, interactive trampolines and zip wires.
In addition to the UK’s tallest indoor slide, it also has the country’s largest indoor play frame, made up of a network of tunnels, slides and obstacles, including giant bubble balls, spider nets and rollers.
What’s more, for kids more into playing ball sports, it has a football pitch and a basketball court built into the play frame.
Gravity Max
Gravity Max has sites in both the north and south of the UK, including in Liverpool, Castleford and Wandsworth.
It also recently opened a brand new one in East London at the Westfield Shopping Centre.
The main draw of the site is its E-karting super track, which runs on two separate tracks across multiple levels, offering various different racing experiences.
It also has Tokyo-style arcades covering almost an entire floor of their own upstairs.
There’s also a nine-hole Coca-Cola minigolf course, which requires players to tap their club in before starting, so each shot can be counted digitally, meaning no cheating is able to take place.
Meanwhile, upstairs, the Heineken sports bar is found, which has private booths to allow those who have booked them to have their own choice of music, as well as their own TV screens to watch their choice of sport.
Several classes are available and will run through until December.
The new project also includes a freestyle slope, a soft play and indoor climbing facilities.
Retail space and infrastructure are additional parts of the project.
Midlothian Council claim that the centre will contribute as much as £3.8m per annum to the local economy once it’s fully up and running.
Meanwhile, this abandoned ski slope is being turned into a major new karting and e-sports attraction.
And these five ski staycations in the UK have indoor slopes, kids lessons and nearby hotels.