Big wheel offers 'never-seen-before' views of city

The Ripon Big Sky Wheel will be in the market square until 27 April

A new 108ft (33m) tall Ferris wheel is offering visitors "never-seen-before" views of a North Yorkshire cathedral city.

The Ripon Big Sky Wheel opened to the public on Saturday and will remain in the square until 27 April.

Even before it opened the attraction was creating a "real buzz" among residents and businesses.

North Yorkshire Council said it hoped the wheel would boost footfall in the city and offer visitors a new angle on Ripon Cathedral, Fountains Abbey and the surrounding hills.

The wheel offers views of Ripon Cathedral, Fountains Abbey and the White Horse at Kilburn

One of the first to board the new attraction was Tim Dabell, events officer for the parks and grounds team at the council.

"It took three months to plan. To bring it here, we had to assess space, weight bearing of the ground and the best location for it to be," he said.

"We've had it in Harrogate as part of the Christmas market offerings, so we thought, why can't we use it all around the district?"

As the gondola neared the top of the wheel, Mr Dabell pointed out the surrounding sights, including Fountains Abbey and the White Horse at Kilburn.

"In the east, we can see the cathedral, which we will be taller than when we reach the top.

"We can see the roof of the cathedral, something we've never seen before."

'Helps drive footfall'

Dane Greathead, from Coffee at No10, hopes the wheel will help to drive footfall

Lilla Bathurst, manager at Ripon BID, believes the big wheel will be "absolutely brilliant" for businesses in the city.

"You can see the wheel for miles around and we are marketing it the whole length of the A1," she said

"The response on social media has been phenomenal, people are really excited about it."

Close to the wheel is Coffee at No10, an independently-run café.

Behind the counter is Dane Greathead, who said the attraction was a "brilliant addition" to the market place.

"Anything that helps drive footfall to a city is great.

"I think it will help to get new people to come visit Ripon and hopefully enjoy all of the independent shops that we have here."

'Best selfie' challenge

Appletons Butchers plan to create a social media challenge to mark the wheel's arrival

Hayley Metcalfe, manager at Appletons Butchers, said she was hoping for a busy day, having prepared plenty of pies and sausage rolls for visitors.

"We've had a lot of road closures so we're excited that everybody will be coming to see the big wheel," she said.

The butchers are also keen to start a social media challenge to celebrate the new attraction.

"We want to see the best selfie with an Appletons pie at the top of the wheel," Ms Metcalfe added

'Fair price'

Pat and George Guilfoyle are visiting from Liverpool, where they have their own big wheel

Visitors to the city said at £7 for customers over 1.4m tall (4ft 7in) and £5 for those under the ticket price was reasonable.

Mother and daughter Vikki and Harriet, visiting from Harrogate for some shopping said despite it being "a bit high" the cost seemed "quite fair".

Pat and George, from Liverpool, were also not put off by the price.

"I think I will have a go but I don't think George will, he doesn't like heights," Pat said.

"We've got one in Liverpool which is around about the same price. The views will be amazing, you'll be able to see the cathedral and everything."

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