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ON FIRE
We try Alton Towers’ brand new Wicker Man wooden roller coaster that bursts into flames – with a Go Pro headset on
THE Sun rode the new Alton Towers Wicker Man roller coaster – with a Go Pro headset on to film the whole terrifying ride.
The wooden roller coaster bursts into flames as people ride it – making it quite the intense experience.
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But if you're afraid of fire then this might not be the ride for you - although the flames can't actually harm the wooden roller coaster.
Once the roller coaster starts, you hear the words “let the ceremony commence” – a rather bleak message before the ride sets off...
But as it gets going it’s all thrills – especially when the roller coaster passes through a smoky, flame-engulfed tunnel.
The Wicker Man is the first wooden roller coaster to be built in the UK for 21 years and looks more like an art installation than a thrill-seeker paradise.
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That is, until, a carriage of screaming people whip past at over 40mph, and fire bursts from the shoulders of the haunting rams-head effigy towering at 57 ft tall.
The brainchild of Merlin Magic Makers creative director Bradley Wynne, combines fire and wood with a creepy backstory to create a fully immersive experience.
As I’m led through a winding queue path, festival music and rune messages of "the Beornen" - paganistic people created by Wynne - become more disjointed, awkward and threatening.
Then, as I enter a darkened ritual room, I’m told that it’s my time to be sacrificed in fire to appease the Wicker Man that rules over the land.
Sat at the front of the 12-car train, I am strapped in by safety marshals dressed and acting as Beornen - their costume and eerie muteness adding to the adrenaline rush.
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We proceed towards our fiery destiny, twisting and turning through dark chambers and into the open air.
While the ride isn’t particularly fast, the rumbling of the carts against the tracks is thrilling.
The climb to the peak is slow, giving me a chance to look around and appreciate the artistry of the 7,500 tonnes worth of wooden planks used on this three-and-a-half-year project before taking the plunge.
Nothing like the traditional rickety wooden coasters, seems to drift over a frame that gives the impression it could fall apart at any moment.
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We hurtle through the flaming Wicker Man three times, the only element of the ride to be constructed from steel and concrete rather than wood.
But before I know it, we’re plunged into complete darkness to find ourselves back where we started.
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As I’m released by the Beornen, an overhead booming voice warns me to escape.
I ride again, and again - and every time I notice something different about the movement of this ride that seems to keep on giving.
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If you’re looking for pure thrill, the Wicker Man might be tame in speed - but there’s something different and exciting about this carefully engineered wooden frame.
Wicker Man will officially
Commenting on the launch, John Wardley – the rollercoaster developer behind rides like Nemesis, Oblivion and The Smiler said: “What Alton Towers have done is created a fabulous, fast-paced, smooth, thrilling, exhilarating ride which is beautifully and imaginatively presented to a standard far higher than probably any other woodie in the world.”
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