THEME PARKS & ATTRACTIONS THOMAS LAND DESTINATIONS Intraining


Looking for a theme park experience gentle enough for a toddler? Try Thomas Land, writes Joanna Booth


“I


’m driving the train, Mummy!” Happily for


everyone in the vicinity, my son Dexter is mistaken. We’re really just sitting in the front seat of Skarloey, the red engine, and pretending to steer as this gentle roundabout ride revolves. But in this two-year-old’s delighted imagination, he’s a train driver. Blue Mountain Engines was


the first ride we tried at Thomas Land, the park dedicated to a certain blue tank engine. Sitting


at the heart of Staffordshire theme park Drayton Manor, it’s a dream come true for young fans, with rides, play areas and live shows dedicated to Thomas and his many friends.


 EXPRESS SERVICE We should really have started at Winston’s Whistlestop Tours – this slow circuit on a raised track is a great opportunity to earmark the other rides you want to try, and to get a sense of the layout.


Many of the rides are branded


versions of old favourites. Dexter loved spinning around on Diesel’s Locomotive Mayhem, a take on a teacup ride, and the rather pedestrian but charming Lady’s Carousel. For a bit more of a thrill, there’s Rocky Bulstrode, a version of the classic swinging pirate ship. You’ll find planes and automo- biles here as well as trains, not to mention fire engines and boats. As Thomas fans will know, stories include a range of vehicle char-


acters. At the park, Jeremy Jet and Harold Helicopter rides lift little ones gently into the air, and there’s the long, winding track of Sodor Classic Cars. This was an- other favourite with Dexter, where he felt even more like a real-life driver while turning the wheel of a Model T Ford-style vintage car. Kids really can steer themselves on the diminutive tractors at Terence’s Driving School, and at Flynn’s Fire Rescue they can get involved by squirting water


28 March 2019travelweekly.co.uk49


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