Urban Exploration - Camelot Theme Park

We are Urban Explorers, we are not vandals. We take nothing besides photographs and leave nothing but footprints.

I lasted visited Camelot around 2011 when it was fully operational. @dismayedworld loved it and wanted to ride the ‘Knightmare’, a huge roller coaster that was imported from Japan.

They wouldn’t let her as she was just a little too short. A shame really as I was quite up for it; we both loved coasters.

‘Camelot’ has been on my visit radar for some time now. In the Urban Exploration world, the place is quite a magnet and draws in the enthusiasts like jam attracts wasps.

It was only a matter of time when myself and @mender1 would make the 15-mile journey to this abandoned theme park for a mooch about.

Having done quite a bit of research I was fully aware that we would likely to be busted by security. ‘Security is hot’ say all the forums and a little research showed this fact to be true.

Burly blokes in high visibility jackets with pre-starved ferocious Urbex eating German Shepherd ex-police dogs roam the place endlessly and are paid commission for every trespasser that is eaten.

Sounds like a bad place to go? Bollocks to that, we were going! In the absence of a good lunatic asylum what is better than Camelot?

Gaining entry to Camelot was ludicrously easy, but other that saying, ‘Don’t go in the front door’, I will refrain on stating just how we got in.

Being winter, it was more than a little muddy and trying to keep from falling on your arse and having mud all over your jeans was challenging. After scrambling through gorse and muddy patches we were rewarded with our first sighting.

Keeping quiet was of the utmost importance so we used hand signals from this point, mostly one of us doing the zipping mouth motion to the others.

We passed a few outbuildings that had some graffiti work done to them. Being in the open was giving me the jitters. If security happened to walk around the corner it was over.

As you can see security are none too popular with the ‘new type’ of tourist that now visits Camelot.

Next it was a case of which direction to head in.? Should we head toward the entrance or directly into the middle of the theme park?. My intelligence told me to go for the latter option.

If caught, we would be escorted out and made walk the length of the park to the entrance. This may give us some photography experiences depending on how much of a wanker the security guard is.

A huge downhill slope full of extreme muddiness was our next challenge. We needed to try and slip down it while retaining our balances. Small trees were very helpful here, grab one and hold on, rinse and repeat.

We reached the housing area of the main park without incident. Again, I had this feeling that security was going to walk into us at some point so started snapping madly at whatever I could see.

The Dragon Flayer was not really a coaster but more of a scenic ride that went all around the park. The diesel engine has long gone but you can see the tracks above ‘Bluebell Botton’.

One of only two diesel powered roller coasters in the World. Manufactured by S.C. Italy, this attraction loops the lower section of the park, in 2013, the ride's train was relocated to Pleasureland Southport, however the track still stands rusting as of 2017. The second is located at Jannat Al-Ahlam in Oran, Algeria.

These smaller buildings were what was left of some of the cheesier aspects of the theme park. Shooting ranges, coconut shies and hoop game stalls. Many had been vandalised and dowsed with graffiti.

It was a case of which way to go again. Turn left to the ‘Knightmare’ or right toward the entrance? Knowing that the ‘Knightmare’ is the main attraction and has extreme security around it we turned right.

The jousting arena was a place I remember well. Being themed on King Arthur and the Knights, I remember the jousting horses on this worn-down area. The covered seating area was not full when I visited but many were watching the action as it unfolded.

I spotted the Magic Tricks hut where I took @dismayedworld to see a magician, he was decent too and entertained us both.

The advertising blurb for burgers and ice-cream were still plastered on this small building as well as another one warning me not to enter as it’s ‘dangerous’.

At this point in the corner of my eye I spotted a high-visibility vested bloke. He hadn’t appeared to spot us so I ushered @mender1 and his companion into one of the nearby buildings.

Had he seen us? I waited behind a wall in almost complete darkness with broken toilets for company, only to hear the sound of crunching boots approaching.

<<It was as if he could smell me’>>...

The guard came directly into the darkened room and seemed startled by my appearance.

‘Are you OK mate’, he said cautiously.

I knew the game was up and simply said, ‘Yeah I’m OK’.

<<I guess I don’t look like a typical Urban Explorer>>...

‘You’re not supposed to be here’...

<<No shit sherlock!>>...

‘Yes, I know’, I grated.

<<How had he found me so easily?>>...

‘Are there any more of you’, he said with a calm reserve.

At this point @mender1 and his companion appeared. The guard seemed more relaxed than I would have expected and asked if he could take our photograph.

‘It’s to send back to head office and is just precautionary and for insurance purposes’, he mumbled. We could have refused but what the hell. We smiled sweetly and allowed his photograph.

He gave us some spiel about trespassing and how we are not allowed to be here again before asking us to accompany him to the front gates.

‘Just wait a second, I’ll need to radio the front door guards to lock up the dogs’, he stated squarely.

What I noticed about all this was how matter of factly everything was done. It was as though ‘guard’ expected to find someone and what he was doing was routine.

He wasn’t over friendly but neither was he offensive. It was simply his job to get the likes of us out of Camelot.

Walking to the entrance proved a rather fruitful experience. ‘guard’ was perfectly OK with us taking our time for more photographs and now there was no requirement for subterfuge.

We passed Pendragons Plunge and I remembered queuing up besides those now rust covered railings.

Chunks of the castle turrets has simply been smashed by vandals as well as filled with graffiti.

The turret has seen better days and was suffering from crumbling and revealing the wire meshing. At this point we reached the grand entrance; except it wasn’t so grand anymore (cover shot).

The structure is intact but you can once again see all the crumbling on the tower turrets.

Another very burly looking guard joined us at this point. He didn’t look like he would take prisoners, so I was glad our original guard was tasked to take us out of the grounds on to what was the old car park.

I looked back and saw the non-too welcoming entrance. As I mentioned, the front gate is not the way in to Camelot anymore.

The original guard opened the fencing to let us out but not before I quizzed him a little.

‘Does anyone ever get permission visit to Camelot’, I queried.

‘Never’, was the response.

‘How many people like us do you escort out every day?’

He wasn’t prepared to give me a number but simply said, ‘several every day’

There have been some bad reports about the security at Camelot. I found them perfectly fine. I would say if you are an arsehole, then they will return the favour.

Will I go back to Camelot?

Of course! but not until the summer, when all that lovely foliage will camouflage me nicely. I still haven’t gotten to the ‘Knightmare’. That’s the next target!

All photographs were taken by myself.

Other articles in the ‘Urban Exploration’ series:

Albion Street Day Nursery
Allsprings House // The Latvian Consolute
Rose Bank Mill // Horncliffe Mansion Part One: The Car Graveyard
Horncliffe Mansion Part Two: The Mansion // Stand Athletic Football Club
A Trilogy of Failures II // Brodock Ltd, The Old Paper Mill (Failed)
Workhouse Farm // Hellifield Abandoned Train
Extwistle Hall // Huncoat Power Station (Demolished)
A Trilogy of Failures // Holdings Country Pottery

References:
https://www.theurbanexplorer.co.uk/
https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/
https://www.whateversleft.co.uk/
https://www.britainsdecays.com/
http://www.urbanxphotography.co.uk/urbex-faqs

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