Nemesis Nick at Brean Leisure Park 23 July 2016

Date: Saturday 23 July 2016
Venue: Brean Theme Park
Who Went: Just me

N.B. Any use of "today" or "Saturday" in this report means Saturday 23 July 2016.

Rationale for Trip

Having attended the RCCGB Summer Bash at Brean Leisure Park early September 2011, and gone there alone in September 2012, June 2013, June 2014 and July 2015, I was equally determined to go there again this year. I originally favoured going one Saturday in June, but for various reasons it took me until Saturday 23 July to go there.

Getting to Brean Leisure Park

I awoke at 5:40 to get ready in time to catch the 7:35 bus from Bath Bus Station to Bristol Bus Station, whereupon I caught the 8:45 bus to Weston-super-Mare. Having left that bus outside Weston-super-Mare Tesco, I walked to nearby Neva Road where I caught the 10:13 bus to Brean. I finally reached Brean at 10:48.

Brean Leisure Park

Morning Coffee

Having reached Brean I fancied a coffee before riding, so I went to Subway where I had a regular coffee and cookie.

Morning Riding

Admission

After leaving Subway, I walked straight to Brean Theme Park and immediately bought myself a wristband. Just like in 2015, wristbands purchased in the morning were valid until ride closing time, which today was after 21:00. Furthermore a free firework display was due to take place after dark today. Unfortunately I couldn't have stayed until 21:00 even if I'd wanted to as the last bus back to Weston was at 19:39. Once fitted with my wristband I was eager to start riding. When I passed Crazy Loop, I saw a sign stating it was closed for maintenance. Thankfully Astro Storm was already running, so I began the day on Astro Storm.

Astro Storm

This Zierer Four Man Bob is the former Space Invader 2 from Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Late July 2011 it began operating at Brean Theme Park as Astro Storm. The 3-seater train, which resembles a space ship, goes through the doors, turns right and climbs the lift hill. The lift hill lighting has been changed since last year. Whereas there used to be lights which changed between red and green, there are now pink / purple lights as well as flashing lights. Personally I think they're superfluous really. At the top there's a thrusting sound and the train winds its way along the course of the track. Along the way you pass tiny lights, which presumably resemble stars. Strong air currents add to the fun, though I question their significance considering there is no air in Space! Finally there are more bizarre lighting effects in the home straight before the train stops at the exit platform. I enjoyed six goes on this: Si7 front, Si3 front, Si7 centre, Si5 front, Si7 back, Si7 front.

Magic Mouse

Now for the mouse coaster Magic Mouse. This Reverchon Spinning Coaster has been operating at Brean since 2007. The ride car leaves the station, climbs the lift hill and works its way along a series of straight bits and U-bends. I enjoyed three goes: car 6, car 2, car 2.

Caterpillar Coaster

This D.P.V. Rides Minicoaster Apple has been operating at Brean since 2001. Unlike the other three coasters, one ride consists of two laps of the track. Not a particularly exciting coaster but to me riding this was as important as the other bigger coasters. I had three goes: third from back row, back row, third row.

So far I had ridden three of the four coasters. I considered going on Crazy Loop next, but since it was still closed for maintenance, I went on a few non-coaster rides next.

Wipeout

A Freak-Out / Afterburner type ride which swings and spins. Each set of four seats faces inwards. The ride was great fun, but once again it seemed longer than average. Although I enjoyed this ride, by the time it finished I felt I'd been on there long enough. Having left Wipeout I admitted to someone else that there's no way on Earth I could have two goes straight off on this type of ride. In fact my one go now was my only go on Wipeout all day.

Sizzler

Just about everyone in the RCCGB must have been on this sort of ride at least once somewhere; you may have seen it called Twister or perhaps Cyclone. For some strange reason Brean Theme Park call theirs Sizzler, I'm not sure why. Another fun ride, and still one of my favourite non-coaster rides. For now I just had one go.

Sky Diver

A drop tower. The ring of outward facing seats rose and fell several times. A fun ride, better than Trauma Tower at Woodlands or Jumping Bean at Paultons, but tame compared to Ice Blast at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. My one go now, in seat 8, was my final ride before lunch.

Lunch at Subway

Since I was now feeling peckish, I left Brean Theme Park at 12:55 to get some lunch at nearby Subway. When I got there I had to wait a few minutes to be served. When it was my turn I chose a 6 inch turkey and ham Sub and Sprite (as a £3 Meal Deal).

After-Lunch Walk

Knowing it would be unwise to return to riding immediately after lunch, I went for a short walk before returning to riding. I walked along the path opposite Brean Leisure Park to the beach. When I got there, I walked around part of it for a few minutes and had a few pictures taken of me there. One can see Brean Down and Steepholm from the beach. Eventually I walked back to Brean Leisure Park.

Afternoon Riding

At 14:11 I returned to Brean Theme Park. I was going to start with the Bumpy Slide, and waited a moment by its entrance, only to spot a sign "No adults on Bumpy Slide". Initially I was mystified, as I was able to go on it each of my last five visits to Brean, so I enquired. The attendant said this was a new rule which was introduced at the start of the 2016 season, there's now a 1.4 metre maximum height limit on the Bumpy Slide, but he didn't know why this rule had been introduced.

Xtreme

My first ride after lunch was Xtreme, which is similar to Hydro Max at Pleasure Island Cleethorpes. This has two pairs of seats back to back at one end of the boom, with another identical set at the other end. I sat at one end, and the ride set off. As the ride picked up speed, it felt like riding a big wheel, but much better. The motion gave the sensation of flying through the air, up, backwards over the top and down again. Sometimes the set unit flipped over at the top; when that happened it seemed strange momentarily seeing the sky below me. When the ride ended I was stuck at the top, whilst the attendant changed riders at the other end. Finally the boom turned half a revolution so I could leave and more riders could get on at the end where I was. A fun ride, but I felt glad one go didn't last any longer. Once was enough for me for now, and I ended up not returning to this later.

X Factory

This KMG ride looks and works like a Miami. Its row of seats beneath two vertical arms goes up, sideways and down. The ride also has water jets, but they aren't always used; they weren't used on this particular go. Going up, across and down was extremely exciting; at one point the seat row tilted forwards slightly whilst high up. My one go now ended up being my only go on this all day.

At this point I noticed the Wild Water log flume was closed for maintenance. Suddenly I regretted not riding it earlier when it was open, and hoped it would reopen later. For now I went on the Crazy Boats.

Crazy Boats

These are electric bumper boats similar to the Aqua Blasters at Devon's Crealy. Each boat has two buttons. One is the power button which you must press and hold in to make the boat go, and release to stop. The other is the squirt button, which you press to squirt other users. When I joined the queue (which was quite short) another group was already on the lake. As soon as they had finished I was one of the next batch of riders to get on the lake. The attendant told me which boat to get into. When everyone was told to go, everyone including me was able to steer their boat around the lake wherever there was space. At one point I was squirted by another rider. I tried squirting back, without success. Thereafter I tried staying away from the others as I didn't want to get too wet as a result of squirting. After a few minutes the attendant called everyone in simultaneously, I ended up being the last person to dock. My one go now was my only go on these boats all day. Having left the ride my T-shirt was a bit damp; I regretted not putting my cagoule on before getting into a boat.

Afternoon Coffee

At this point I felt like having a coffee somewhere. I ended up going to The Tavern where I enjoyed a standard white coffee.

Crazy Loop

At last the looping coaster Crazy Loop was open, so I decided to ride this next. This Pinfari preZyklon TL59 originally operated as Crazy Loop at Flamingo Land (Malton) and Pleasure Island Cleethorpes. From 2004 to 2014 it operated at Brean under the name Shockwave. Since 2015, Brean Theme Park has called this Crazy Loop, presumably a restoration of its original Flamingo Land name. The lift hill, first drop, vertical loop and other elements made for a fun ride, albeit a bit rough. I would now describe this ride as a bone-shaker. Although not my favourite looping coaster, I nonetheless enjoyed two goes.

Wave Swinger

Having meandered around the Park a bit, I decided to ride Wave Swinger next. Just like any other Wave Swinger, the central unit rose up and tilted as it spun around. Another fun ride, but once was enough for me for now. In fact, this was my only go on Wave Swinger all day.

Astro Storm

Now for a few more goes on the indoor dark coaster Astro Storm. I ended up having six goes as follows: Si5 back, Si7 front, Si5 centre, Si5 front, Si3 front, Si3 back. Just before my second go, I put on my pink "Coaster Crazy Kid on Tour!" hi-vis waistcoat, and kept it on for my remaining goes. The ultra violet lighting towards the end of the ride created a somewhat weird reflection off it.

Crazy Loop

Next I queued for another go on Crazy Loop. Whilst queuing I felt rather tired and yawned quite loudly; I admitted to someone else in the queue that I'd been up since 5:40 in the morning. When it was my turn I got on to the train and enjoyed what ended up being my final go of the day on Crazy Loop. In fact, this ended up being my final roller coaster ride of the day. At the end of this go I removed my hi-vis waistcoat.

Wild Water

Having seen Wild Water log flume not running a couple of times during the afternoon, it was now working again, so I felt I'd better go on it now. Although it was a sunny afternoon, I put on my cagoule so as not to get wet. The waiting time for this was quite short. When it was my turn I got into the back of a log and set off. The layout of this is somewhat similar to Thunder Falls Log Flume at Cornwall's Crealy (now Camel Creek Adventure Park); the log went up the first lift hill, and down creating a splash. After that it went up the second (taller) lift hill, and down creating an even bigger splash. Finally the log returned to the station. Altogether a fun ride. Afterwards I had a second go, this time I sat in the front of the log. I took my cagoule off after my second go.

Sizzler

Although I was now quite tired, I nonetheless decided to have one go on Sizzler. At the end of this go I returned to the entrance and got straight on to the next run for a second go. At the end of the ride I left Sizzler.

Sky Diver

After that, I still had time for one more ride, that being on the drop tower Sky Diver. This time I sat in seat 12. This ended up being my last ride of the day.

At 18:00 I left the funfair for the last time, and returned to the bus stop.

Summary of day in order of activity

Astro Storm 6
Magic Mouse 3
Caterpillar Coaster 3
Wipeout 1
Sizzler (Cyclone) 1
Sky Diver 1

Lunch at Subway
Walk along beach

Xtreme 1
X Factory 1
Crazy Boats 1

Coffee at The Tavern

Crazy Loop 2
Wave Swinger 1
Astro Storm 6
Crazy Loop 1
Wild Water log flume 2
Sizzler (Cyclone) 2
Sky Diver 1

Cumulative Summary of Rides

Ride	Total
Astro Storm	12
Crazy Boats	1
Caterpillar Coaster	3
Crazy Loop	3
Magic Mouse	3
Sizzler	3
Sky Diver	2
Wave Swinger	1
Wild Water log flume	2
Wipeout	1
X Factory	1
Xtreme	1
TOTAL	33

Saturday Evening

Bus to Weston-super-Mare

Back at the bus stop I caught the 18:09 bus to Weston-super-Mare. I left the bus at Beach Road bus stop and walked northwards along the seafront in the direction of Grand Pier.

Takeaway

By the time I was close to Grand Pier, I felt ready for a meal. I went to Winston's Fish Bar, where I bought takeaway cod and large chips, and sat in the paved area across the road from the beach to eat them. Afterwards I had a whippy ice cream from an ice cream parlour; I ate my ice cream whilst walking southwards along the promenade. Fish and chips and an ice cream are two must-haves when you're at the seaside.

Journey Home

As I walked along eating my ice cream, a double decker bus was already standing at Marine Parade (stop MM) on the promenade ready to form the 19:25 service to Bristol. Very shortly after finishing my ice cream, I got on that bus. Having reached Bristol city centre I caught the 21:01 bus to Bath Bus Station. I finally reached Bath Bus Station at 21:58, and home a few minutes later.

Outro

Highlights

Adding Crazy Boats to my ride count.
Re-riding all four coasters and many other rides that I first rode September 2011.
Having six goes straight off on Astro Storm during the morning and another six goes straight off on it late afternoon.
High total ride count overall.

Lowlights

Crazy Loop not running in the morning (but thankfully it opened and I was able to ride it mid-afternoon).
Wild Water log flume not running certain times of the afternoon (but least I managed to go on it twice before I left).
Feeling tired by late afternoon.

Summing Up

Altogether a fun day out. This was my sixth visit to Brean to-date and my fifth solo visit there. Throughout the day most rides were walk-on, and thus I achieved a high ride count, even allowing for frequent rest breaks. It was great riding all four coasters (Astro Storm, Magic Mouse, Caterpillar Coaster, Crazy Loop) and other rides again. Just one point about the four coasters, they're all steel. Come on Brean, get some wood! The weather was good too; dry all day, and sunny most of the time I was at Brean.

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