Camelot Theme Park

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 (0.57 km²; 0.22 sq mi) site near the village of Charnock Richard, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Chorley.

One of the rollercoasters can be seen from the M6 near the Charnock Richard Services. 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.

The park was featured in an episode of Sooty & Co., in which presenter Matthew Corbett takes Sooty, Sweep and Soo there. The theme park has been closed since November 2012.

History

The park opened in 1983, and was operating seasonally until late 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 the largest lake in England Martin Mere, which was first drained in 1692 by Thomas Fleetwood of Bank Hall in Bretherton. (The story is 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, by 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.

Amusement park

An amusement park (sometimes referred to as a funfair) or theme park is a group of entertainment attractions, rides, and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people. Amusement parks have a fixed location, as opposed to travelling funfairs and traveling carnivals, and are more elaborate than simple city parks or playgrounds, usually providing attractions meant to cater specifically to certain age groups, as well as some that are aimed towards all ages. Theme parks, a specific type of amusement park, are usually much more intricately themed to a certain subject or group of subjects than normal amusement parks.

Amusement parks evolved from European fairs and pleasure gardens, which were created for people's recreation. World's fairs and expositions were another influence on the development of the amusement park industry.

In common language, the terms theme park and amusement park are often synonymous. However, a theme park can be regarded as a distinct style of amusement park. A theme park has landscaping, buildings, and attractions that are based on one or more specific themes or stories. Despite many older parks adding themed rides and areas, qualifying the park as a theme park, the first park built with the original intention of promoting a specific theme, Santa Claus Land, in Santa Claus, Indiana, did not open until 1946.Disneyland, located in Anaheim, California, built around the concept of encapsulating multiple theme parks into a single amusement park is often mistakenly cited as the first themed amusement park, but is instead the park that made the idea popular.

BMX Bandits (band)

BMX Bandits are a Scottish 1960s-influenced guitar pop band who have been making music from 1986 to the present day. They have shared members with other Bellshill bands Teenage Fanclub and The Soup Dragons.

History

BMX Bandits were formed by songwriter and lead vocalist Duglas T. Stewart out of the ashes of The Pretty Flowers, a group that featured Stewart alongside Frances McKee (later of The Vaselines), Sean Dickson and Norman Blake. The group have had many line up changes throughout the years.

Their songs mix melodic qualities and humor with, at times, raw and heartbreaking pathos. Stewart has written many of the group's works solo including "Your Class", "The Sailor's Song" and "Doorways" but also has collaborated with many of the other members. Stewart's most regular songwriting partners have been Francis MacDonald, Norman Blake and, more recently, David Scott of The Pearlfishers.

The group's most celebrated song is the autobiographical "Serious Drugs", recorded in 1991 but not released until 1993. The song featured in the movie This Year's Love and was covered by American stadium power pop group Gigolo Aunts. Oasis did their first UK tour dates supporting the Bandits as a favour from Stewart to Creation label boss Alan McGee. BMX Bandits admirers included Kurt Cobain, who was photographed wearing a BMX Bandits T shirt. Cobain claimed on a New York radio show that if he could be in any band it would be BMX Bandits.

Theme Park (video game)

Theme Park is a construction and management simulation game designed by Bullfrog Productions and originally released in 1994, in which the player designs and operates an amusement park.

Theme Hospital is Bullfrog's thematic successor to the game, while Chris Sawyer's RollerCoaster Tycoon series has evolved the concept to offer a far more realistic selection of rides.

Gameplay

Starting with a free plot of land in the United Kingdom and few hundred thousand pounds, the player must build a profitable amusement park. Money is spent on building rides and shops and on staff, and is earned through sale of entry tickets, merchandise and refreshments. The goal is to increase the park's value and available cash so that the park can be sold and a new lot can be bought from another part of the world and start building a new theme park. Newer products can be bought after researching them. Once enough money has been made the player can move on to newer plots. Plots are located all over the world and have many different factors that affect gameplay, including the economy, weather, terrain and land value.