With the blazing sun and raging heat wave, you will be forgiven for wanting to escape to a water park.
A staple of many hot vacations abroad, the various slides, slides, lazy rivers and wave pools provided by a water park usually provide hours and hours of water fun for the whole family.
But if you wanted to visit one in the UK, where exactly should you go?
There might be an organized pool or recreation center in your area, but for the biggest and best dedicated water parks in the country, here’s where you need to go.
What water parks are there in the UK?
Sandcastle Water Park
Location: Blackpool
What’s inside: Inside the UK’s largest indoor water park there’s plenty – including 18 slides of varying sizes, including the Masterblaster roller coaster slide (reportedly the world’s longest), the near-vertical Sidewinder and the dark fall of Aztec Falls.
You’ll find it’s rather balmy inside Sandcastle, as the water park is kept at around 29°C according to its website.
Learn more: Sandcastle Water Park
Ditching
Pitches: Poole in Dorset and another in Quaywest, Devon.
What’s inside (and outside): Both of these water parks have a lot to offer, with Quaywest officially taking the title of the UK’s largest outdoor water park.
It has eight waterslides – both ring, mat and equipment-free – including a Devil’s Drop, the Wild Kamikaze, the Twisty Corkscrew and a lovely pool for young children. It’s also right next to Goodrington Beach, which means you’ll have plenty to see after your allotted time.
Poole’s Splashdown, on the other hand, is both indoor and outdoor and has a grand total of 13 slides, as well as several dedicated splash zones for toddlers under five.
Learn more: Splashdown Water Parks
Alton Towers Water Park
Location: Stoke-on-Trent
What’s inside: This premier water park is open year-round and offers everything from a laid-back lazy river and hot bubble pool to a waterfall, water cannons and myriad slides.
The Master Blaster moves all around the water park, you sit in one of those donut rings to roll around, while the Flash Floods water channel takes you outside to the fresh air.
Their kids’ Wacky Waterworks treehouse also has 70 “interactive” features, and there’s the dedicated shallow pool called Little Leaks.
Learn more: Alton Towers Indoor Water Park
Thorpe Lakes Water Park
Location: Chertsey, Surrey
Kids and adults can enjoy this inflatable water course separately (although it’s mostly family oriented), climbing slides and jumping over bridges, obstacles and onto a trampoline.
Learn more: Thorpe Lakes
Let’s go Hydro!
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
What’s outside: Technically, there are two parks in this Belfast resort, all of which are outdoors and built with an inflatable play house and a huge obstacle course, namely the Puddle Park for children under eight years and the more adult water park.
Beyond the water park side, this site offers plenty of sports including paddleboarding, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, open water swimming, and kayaking, as well as paddle boats to try.
Learn more: Let’s go Hydro!
water world
Location: Stoke-on-Trent
What’s inside: Another park in Staffordshire is Waterworld, known for its 17mph Hurricane slide, the steep Thunderbolt drop and its incredibly spinning Stormchaser and Cyclone slides.
There’s also the rapids, aka the lazy river, and a Lily Pad pool for younger kids, who can also enjoy the family-friendly Black Hole and Python slides, despite their names.
Inside, the park is kept at 30°C, so expect it to get hot. Expect to find an adventure mini-golf course, with 18 holes, on site for even more fun.
Learn more: water world
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