Richard Bannister

On Saturday last, an e-mail went round the European Coaster Club mailing list inviting people to visit Oakwood Theme Park on the 6th April for some early rides on their new coaster, Speed. It goes without saying that arranging a trip to Wales on five days notice is stretching the realms of possibility even for those who don't have to arrange time off work. Given these requirements, I made the altogether sensible decision not to go, banking on the fact that Oakwood would not be going anywhere and that there would be plenty of time to ride the new coaster at a later date.

Then, during my lunch break yesterday, my phone rang with the offer of a lift from Cardiff Airport. After brief consideration, I sought the day off work. When clearance for this came through, about 5:30pm, I had a look at booking flights. A cheap deal turned up with Air Wales, presumably trying to cut their losses before terminating scheduled services altogether in three weeks time. Four hours later, I was squeezed into the most modern of aircraft, an ATR-48, bouncing through turbulent weather towards the UK.

The weather in Oakwood as we arrived was superb by Welsh standards. Locals will know that this means, of course, that this expression simply means that it wasn't in the middle of a torrential downpour. Quite the opposite in fact; we were blessed with a clear blue sky. The photographers among us were of course delighted, as a clear blue sky only happens about once a decade in Pembrokeshire. An additional benefit was a largely empty park, with only the occasional overweight mancunian dentist to get in the way of a clear photograph.

Given that the park was well into preparations for opening it was hardly surprising to see assorted rides around the park being tested. However, we had been warned in advance that the only ride available to us would be Speed (#679). As we approached we could see the engineers from Gerstlauer fitting new wheels to the single train on the course. The park has purchased four in total, but the other three were not on site yet, having being caught up in the ongoing French general strike.

It might seem usual that a car would be tested with water dummies after such a fundamental change as new wheels, but once the engineers were satisfied with their work the human dummies were summoned and invited to board the car - by ladder no less. After loading, one of the engineers spent quite a bit of time wiping down the segment of track in front of us with grease, apparently in an attempt to stop the wheels squeaking too much. With that out of the way, the car was dispatched.

Speed may be only nine metres taller than the previous model, but it looks and feels much bigger. Nowhere is this more evident than during the vertical ascent. Riders in the front row can see the track; those in the back have no visual reference whatsoever as to how high they are or how much more there is to go.

As the car crests the hill all hell breaks loose. This is, of course, a cliché, but in this case it is absolutely genuine. The first drop is exactly as anyone might expect, but the hill immediately following is not; the train crests it at a phenomenal speed, introducing all riders to the upper portion of their restraints with a force that makes one feel that a low earth orbit would be a distinct possibility were they not present. This is followed by a banked turn and a classic Schwarzkopf-style forceful loop, and a block brake to allow riders to get their breath back. The second half begins with what is in my view the weakest element, though I should clarify my comment by saying that I am not generally a fan of heartline rolls/inline twists. My dislike stems from their overuse in a well known record breaker which rides like a shopping trolley over cobblestones. But I digress. With the crap out of the way, the ride enters its finale, a powerful and strong helix that, by my fifth consecutive ride, had caused my stomach to start misbehaving.

There is no doubt that Oakwood has a winner on their hands with this ride. My dislike of inline twists not withstanding, the pacing of this coaster is as close to perfect as anything I could have asked for. The park deserves a substantial attendance boost from this attraction, and hopefully it will encourage more visitors to make the trip despite the barrier of its location (succinctly summarised as the back end of nowhere).

Ten consecutive rides was the limit of what I could manage, which is very unusual for me. I chose to grab a healthy salad in the staff canteen before making the most of my camera.