1989 was a rather quiet year for the UK theme park industry, with many of the nation's theme parks still in the early stages of their redevelopment process as they looked to move on from low-tech attractions to the modern age thrill ride. Across the Atlantic, huge American theme park chains were grabbing the headlines with their star studded attractions, all equipped with the latest cutting-edge technology. Overshadowed by this, the UK needed something unique, something that laid a landmark for the industry back home, something that could be considered the ultimate thrill ride of our own.

This was an opportunity which appealed to one man named Robert Staveley, owner of Lightwater Valley Theme Park in Ripon, North Yorkshire. Lightwater Valley had a growing reputation, evolving from a small strawberry farm into a popular tourist attraction home to some of the best amusement rides in the country. Although it had recently opened the underground Rat Ride and the UK's fastest, double-looping rollercoaster, Soopa Loopa, it was felt that the park needed more attractions that would get the blood pumping to help it compete with a growing number of regional and national rivals. One suggestion was to build three or four new rides costing up to £500,000 each. However, that didn't seem quite enough for Staveley, who rejected this idea in favour one record-breaking ride, a ride that would put Lightwater Valley on the world map.

This new ride needed to thrill passengers in a way that no other ride had been able to accomplish before. It needed to stay in touch with Lightwater Valley's countryside setting and tendency to build attractions into the landscape wherever possible. The ride needed to bring guests through the gates by their thousands. To do this, they needed a ride like no other.

Within this beautiful countryside park acres of land lay untouched by the wrath of a steel monster, its atmosphere absent of screaming passengers. A massive 44 acres was earmarked and set aside for this new ride, something Staveley was keen to capitalise on and use to its maximum potential. Armed with a marker, he walked around the site and laid down a route for the ride using the contours of the land wherever possible to reduce costs. Needing to find someone to turn the project from a vision into reality, Staveley began talks with numerous contractors, including legendary wooden rollercoaster designer, Curtis Summers. Unfortunately Summers priced himself out of the project, leaving Staveley to find a company both closer to home and within budget.

It was not until a few weeks later when the chequebook was out and the contract to the oversee the construction of the world's longest rollercoaster was signed by Big Country Motioneering. In comparison to today, awarding the contract to a company which had no credible experience in rollercoaster construction whatsoever would be seen as an irresponsible decision. However, blinded by his determination to keep costs as low as possible, Staveley and BCM set about building this new record-breaking rollercoaster. A decision that that would prove to be ill-fated.

Progress on the ride was slow, with the construction team having to wait for the next stage of the ride to be designed before work could continue. Even when sections of track had been laid, the problems only continued. Of the more serious of issues, constructors were once greeted with warped steel after having forgotten to leave an expansion gap, causing the track to buckle under the heat of the summer season. Members of the construction team had to continually walk the track to measure the ride to check that its foundations hadn't moved as the earth around them was subjected to changing weather conditions and heavy machinery. Serious miscalculations in train speed resulted in track alterations following stress damage, which was particularly severe in the immediate turnarounds following the second drop, as well as changes made to the number of carriages on each train as it struggled to complete a full circuit. Evidently, Big County Motioneering had not done their homework. Left with no other alternative, Staveley dismissed BCM, delaying the project even further. However, the team at Lightwater Valley were determined to complete the ride, even visiting the site on Boxing Day to clear snow so work could continue. It was shortly after in which Staveley hired British Rail to help oversee the remainder of the project.

Ten months late and costing four times the original budget of £1.2million, The Ultimate was born – a name chosen by the public following a competition on BBC Radio One. On July 17th 1991, world heavyweight boxing champion Frank Bruno MBE opened the ride in front of the national press. This was exactly the sort of attention Staveley had ordered. As Frank Bruno waved to the cameras as he joined The Ultimate on its maiden voyage, the press eagerly awaited his return. Alas, nearly six minutes later he returned and described the experience as "more frightening than fighting Mike Tyson!"

This wasn't the only thing which was frightening; The Ultimate had cost Staveley an astonishing £5.2million, money he did not anticipate spending, and money he simply did not have. It was a heavy price for which the park would pay for in the years that followed as investment dried up as Staveley attempted to balance the books. However, the expense did not end there. The beast may have been built, but it needed taming. Further track replacements were carried out to iron out issues with banking on some of the ride's many twists and turns, and over-the-shoulder restraints were soon replaced with lap bars following customer complaints regarding severe discomfort and minor injuries. It this continued expense in addition to the initial outlay which left Staveley and Lightwater Valley teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, leaving him with no choice but to offload the park to his two children years later.

Now we move on to present day and we're standing in Lightwater Valley. Technology has certainly moved on, and records have been smashed time and time again. The first thing that has to be said is that there are few rides in the world that look as "at home" as The Ultimate. Sitting snug at the back of the park and towering above guests, the ride looks like it belongs no place else. Whereas rides like The Big One revel in their imposing industrial presence, The Ultimate's natural look blends in with its countryside surroundings, and provides the perfect backdrop for this most picturesque of parks. Staveley set out to achieve a ride like no other, and the fact that nearly twenty years after opening it is still considered to be one of the most unique rides in the world is testament to the success of his vision all those years ago.

It is obvious Lightwater Valley is proud of the ride and credit to them. The Ultimate is a prime example of how smaller parks stand a fighting chance against those parks full of IP-lead attractions and the offspring of big name manufacturers. Whereas some parks may let their coasters fall into disrepair, it is quite evident that Lightwater Valley want to preserve The Ultimate for as long as it can possibly operate.

Being 'Europe's Longest Rollercoaster' is a huge title for any park, and stands as a reminder of how big an achievement it was for not only its time, but also in today's world. Not many UK theme parks have the space or intentions to build long rollercoasters, with almost all hell-bent on breaking height and speed records, thus giving The Ultimate a huge advantage over others, and a record that many will find difficult to beat.

Ironically, The Ultimate was planned as the launchpad to the big league, a plan which catastrophically backfired in the most dramatic turn of events. Lightwater Valley would suffer from years of underinvestment, a predicament which saw visitor numbers plummet, taking the park's original pioneer and visionary along with them.

However, if we can be sure of one thing, while The Ultimate remains open, there will always be life in that little country park.