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Theme park celebrates 75th birthday

James Bovill
BBC Midlands Today
BBC A woman with long blonde wavy hair is wearing a black top and black sunglasses. She is standing in front of a brick wall which has a bench in front of it. Beyond that is a lake and in the distance are rollercoasters and theme park ridesBBC
Victoria Lynn is the park's managing director

A popular West Midlands theme park is celebrating its 75th birthday on Friday.

Drayton Manor in Staffordshire started out as a modest family run park with simple rides, rowboats and a petting zoo.

Now, it is one of the region's top tourist attractions, and to celebrate the occasion, it opened a new museum to share the history of the park with its visitors, with other celebrations taking place across the summer.

The park's managing director Victoria Lynn said: "When we went back in through the archives we thought: "Why not open a museum and allow those memories to come back to our customers who have been coming here for decades and generations?"

"You do see grandparents walking around and they talk so fondly about when they were here in the park when it was just a lake and a couple of rides," she added.

The museum will display more than 200 archive photos, as well as artefacts and vintage memorabilia.

Other events include fireworks on the first Saturday of each month, and live music and entertainment events.

Drayton Manor An old colour photo of the park. There is a red and white helter skelter, a large carousel and a smaller one, and a red and white sign that reads "tickets". There are green trees and a green field behind them. People are walking around or queueing for the ridesDrayton Manor
The park opened in 1950

The park opened in 1950, and was founded by George and Vera Bryan.

It expanded over the decades, introducing thrill rides like Shockwave in 1994 - Europe's first stand-up rollercoaster - and Stormforce 10 in 1999.

In 2008, Thomas Land was introduced, and the site turned into a full resort in 2011, when its four-star hotel opened.

It is now part of the Looping Group, a company which is made up of 19 parks in Europe, and has 50 rides and attractions and a zoo.

Drayton Manor An older photo of the Stormforce 10 roller-coaster at night. The track ascends up an incline and travels around a large red and white navigation tower. The track then heads downwards towards water. In the foreground there is a lake, with light reflecting off it.Drayton Manor
Stormforce 10, a water rollercoaster with three drops, opened in 1999

Speaking of the new museum, Ms Lynn said: "I really wanted to pay tribute to George and Vera Bryan, I think they were pioneers in the theme park industry, particularly in the UK.

"I think they did some fantastic things, their vision was amazing... and the rumour is that they borrowed £6,000 to start this whole thing off.

"What an opportunity for us to share that and showcase that and appreciate where the park's come from."

Drayton Manor Thousands of people are standing in the theme park. There are green trees in the background. To the left is part of a fairground carousel and there is a small stand on the right which says "Tamworth Stage" and is selling ticketsDrayton Manor
This archive photo shows crowds at the park in the 1980's

Ms Lynn said the park's mission was to be a "true family park".

"In the 90s it was all about thrills the bigger the better…and since Looping have taken over, we've actually gone back to the roots and said: "We actually want to go for families with kids 12 and under, and grandparents, and things like that."

A man with short brown hair and brown facial hair. He is wearing a blue shirt. Behind him, blurred is a grey castle-like structure
Drayton Manor is a family affair for Ollie Carr, head of operations, who works at the park with his mum, mother-in-law and wife

Ollie Carr - head of operations - has an interesting connection with the park.

He began working there when he was 16, in the Troublesome Trucks photobooth, and has never left.

Now he, his mother, wife, and mother-in-law all work at the park.

"We all say…there's more Carr's at Drayton Manor than there's Kardashians in the Hamptons," he laughed.

In 1991, his mother-in-law went into labour on the Pirate Adventure ride, and went on to give birth to the woman who would become his wife many years later.

The pair got married at the park in 2018.

"We got wedding photos on the carousel," he said.

Drayton Manor A red cable car is travelling over the theme park. Below, there is a picnic area with blue and yellow picnic benches, red brick buildings and people standing around a VW camper vanDrayton Manor
The park will be celebrating the birthday all summer with events and fireworks

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