These roller-coasters should satisfy anyone with a need for speed – featuring some of the biggest and fastest in the world!
Some are based around seaside attractions, whereas others can be found in the middle of the British countryside, but if there’s one thing we Brits are good at it’s building world class roller-coasters.
So in reverse order of speed, here are the top 10 fastest roller-coasters in Britain:
1) Shockwave at Drayton Manor is Europe’s only stand up roller-coaster, where riders stand for the entire experience rather than being strapped down. At 53mph, Shockwave isn’t the quickest by any means, but it still pulls an impressive G force of 4, with the whole ride taking around 1 min 34 seconds.
2) Velocity in Flamingo Land Theme Park is another slightly unusual design combining a fairly traditional roller-coaster track design with individual seats, in this case designed to look like Superbikes. It only reaches 54 mph, but does this in a breathtaking 2.8 seconds.
3) Kumali is another from Flamingo Land Theme Park but this time the riders are suspended below the track with legs hanging in mid-air. During the ride, the passengers are subjected to four inversions including going round an 87 foot tall loop. Max speed is 56 mph and total G Force is around 4.7.
4) The Millennium Roller Coaster at Fantasy Island in Lincolnshire is equal in speed to the Kumali and only has three inversions, but also includes a huge loop. However passengers sit in a more traditional dolly on the track which might appeal to those who prefer not to be hanging by the seat of their pants.
5) Speed: No Limits at Oakwood Theme Park, Pembrokeshire, is actually limited to 59 mph, but it has one of the steepest drops of any coaster in the world. The 97 degree drop (beyond vertical) makes this the fastest, steepest and tallest roller-coaster in Wales. The drop angle also outdoes some of the newer and more famous coasters.
6) Rita – Queen of Speed from Alton Towers is the first coaster from this world famous theme park, who have brought us some of the best innovations in roller-coaster design ever seen. Rita is one of the more traditional types of roller-coaster and only does 61.1 mph, but it can generate G Forces of 4.7G in just 2.2 seconds.
7) Jubilee Odyssey at Fantasy Island in Staffordshire cost a massive £28 million to build, possibly largely due to the way the passengers hang under the track with the very tight twists and turns. It runs at a respectable 63 mph and generates a G Force of up to 4.8G which is very strong especially when you’re not sitting down.
8. Oblivion at Alton Towers is probably one of the most famous roller-coasters around, which billed itself as the world’s first vertical roller-coaster (although Oakwood Theme Park might have had something to say about that). Never the less, the coaster generates huge amounts of interest as it plunges at 88 degrees, running around 68 mph with a G Force rating of 4.5 into a black cavern.
9) The Pepsi Max Big One in Blackpool was at the time of construction the tallest and steepest roller-coaster in the world (1994), standing at 213 feet at its tallest point. The Big One relies on a long drag up where the passengers can simply see sky, then then over the top to a very long fast drop. This coaster reaches a very impressive 74mph pulling up to 3.5G, although it probably does this for a longer time than most other roller-coasters.
10) Stealth at Thorpe Park still holds the record for the fastest coaster going with a staggering 80 mph which it achieves in a mind blowing 1.8 seconds generating a G Force around 4.8G. The coaster is essentially a more extreme version of the Big One with a long very steep drag up and then almost vertical drop the other side. It isn’t quite as tall as the Big One at only 205 feet, but does give some impressive views over London and Windsor.
11) If you want scary rides, then you could try the new Th13teen ride from Alton Towers which promises to generate more thrills than any other ride in history. We haven’t been able to find any statistics on its speed, but travelling through the “Dark Forest” of Alton Towers we suspect it might not quality for the list in that way.
More resources:
Things to see and do around the UK
Hotels in Britain
Self-catering cottages and apartments in Britain
