The Christmas Adventure is an amusement park in West Yorkshire, located close to Wetherby and Harrogate in the grounds of Stockeld Park.

Owned by Peter and Susan Grant, the amusement park began life simply as a spinoff of the Grants’ Christmas tree business in 2006 as a way of enticing more customers in to buy Christmas trees.

The amusement park only opens for 3 months each year starting in October but in the 3 years since its formation, over 100,000 people have visited. Back in 2006, the amusement park just consisted of an ice skating rink, a gift shop, a café and Santa’s Grotto but 4 further attractions have since been added.

The ‘Enchanted Wood’ in the amusement park is a combination of fantasy and theatre where amazing lighting effects create a spectacular display of illuminated forest wildlife. The amusement park grows yew trees as well as Christmas trees so they have been put to good use to create a Christmas Maze with 12 different gates representing the 12 days of Christmas. These can be opened in a number of different permutations which means that you’ll never find the same entry and exit point. Designed in the shape of a snowflake, the amusement park’s maze is lit by a stunning display of LED lights.

For lovers of Nordic skiing, the amusement park also features a 1200 metre synthetic ski trail so you can enjoy cross country skiing around the woods. 

The amusement park’s eco-friendly ice rink has also been enlarged and there’s still the gift shop selling a wonderful array of Christmas gifts and decorations, the ‘Ice Bar’ café and, Santa’s Grotto, of course. 

And coming full circle, you can end the day in the amusement park by buying your Christmas trees which are all ‘non-needle drop’, all of which are grown on the Stockeld Park Estate.

See also:
Amusement Parks: PortAventura - a Potted History
Amusement Parks: Pleasure Island Family Theme Park - a Potted History
Amusement Parks: The Movie Park - a Potted History