Location Y Felinheli Previous names The GreenWood Centre | Opened 1993 Visitors per annum 150,000 | |
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Owner Stephen and Andrea Bristow | ||
GreenWood Forest Park (Welsh: Gelli Gyffwrdd), formerly The GreenWood Centre, is a theme park at Y Felinheli in Gwynedd, Wales. The park was opened by Stephen and Andrea Bristow in 1993 and attracts around 150,000 visitors a year.
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History
After studying at Bangor University in the 1980s and working on tree conservation projects in Africa, Stephen and Andrea Bristow decided to establish an "environment education project to tell people about trees and forests from all over the world and raise awareness of the importance of forests" in Wales. They purchased 17 acres of land, opening in 1993 with walks and guided tours. Receiving 30,000 visitors a year, the couple could not financially sustain the project, especially during the winter. After raising money to build a slide, which opened in 2001, the park gained in popularity, with over 60,000 visitors that year.
In 2016 the park had over 100 employees and attracted around 150,000 visitors a year.
Rides and attractions
The park contains adventure playgrounds, longbow shooting, slides, and a number of rides, among other attractions. The Green Dragon ride at the park is the world's first "people-powered" roller coaster, powered only by the weight of the people on the ride.
In May 2015 the park received £200,000 in funding from the Welsh Government for a new water ride and solar panels to generate 80% of the park's power requirements; the solar panels were unveiled in September and the ride, named SolarSplash, began construction in February 2016, opening in March.
SwampFlyer ride
In April 2011 GreenWood opened a 145m zip wire ride called the SwampFlyer. Less than a week after the ride opened, an 11-year-old boy fell to his death after being wrongly attached to the rope. In 2013 an inquest declared the death accidental. In 2015 managing director Stephen Bristow appeared in court accused of not carrying out sufficient risk assessments for the ride. Greenwood Forest Park admitted breaching health and safety regulations in January 2016 and was subsequently fined £45,000.
The boy's death sparked calls for more regulations and guidance regarding zip wire rides.
Awards
The park has received a number of environmental awards for its efforts to reduce resource use, improve the local environment, and support local community projects. It was also ranked 9th out of all theme parks in the United Kingdom on Trip Advisor in 2014, and 8th in 2016. Stephen Bristow, managing director of the park, received an MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours for services to the tourist industry in North Wales.