Wicksteed Park water chute named Best Historic Ride at awards

The water chute, built in 1926, is the oldest in Britain, the park said

A water chute said to be one of the oldest water-based rides in the world has been named the Best Historic Ride at a national awards ceremony.

The chute at Wicksteed Park in Kettering, Northamptonshire, was built in 1926.

It pipped Blackpool Pleasure Beach's Ghost Train to take gold at the UK Theme Park awards.

In 2016 the chute was granted Grade II-listed building status by Historic England.

The chute was invented by philanthropist and park founder Charles Wicksteed and was a forerunner to many of the theme park rides now popular across the country.

The park was first opened to the public as a free space in 1921.

The ride culminates in a large splash at the bottom of the chute

The park was the idea of inventor and playground manufacturer Charles Wicksteed, pictured in the car

The national award was decided by a public vote after nominees were selected by competition judges.

Megan Wright, Wicksteed Park's head of sales and marketing, said: "We are both delighted and proud that the water chute has been voted the Best Historic Ride in the UK.

"It is a truly unique ride and, even after all this time, is still one of the most popular attractions at the park."

Its tower remains almost as originally built, except that in 1931 the flat roof was replaced with a sweeping roof to match the "house style" of other structures in the park.

Visitors are seated in a wooden boat which slowly releases and rolls down a track into the lake, creating a large splash.

The ride then uses a rope-pulley mechanism which is attached to the rear of the boat to pull itself back to the top, ready for the next group of visitors.