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Park Profile
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the castle that greets guests at Gulliver’s Land nextdoor.
The Big Green Tractor Ride,
A collection of stone and wood buildings, built using
by SBF
sustainable materials, surround a circular entrance
plaza. A natural cooling system is used inside these
buildings, which were designed by Duncan Philips
himself, a qualified urban designer.
In fact, there’s a lot here that has been done in-
house; it’s the Gulliver’s way. “Our manufacturing plant
at Matlock has been flat out all winter, we’ve got a very
talented team.”
A team talented enough to turn out the 30-plus life
sized dinosaurs and prehistoric figures that appear in
Eco-Park’s Evolution area, which itself has been split
into three subsections: Jurassic, Cretaceous and Ice
Age. Young explorers are told more about many of
these creatures during the Jurassic River Ride, which like
the other two boat rides in the park is solar-powered,
the first time Duncan is aware that any park has used
sun to drive an attraction of this kind. Other rides
include the Tree Tops viewing tower and a simulator.
Young guests can get their hands dirty rummaging in
the Mineral Wash, Fossil Dig and Bone Yard, three
panning-for-gold style attractions. Punctuated
throughout the park are various interactive exhibits and
‘feely boxes’ where visitors can touch and guess what’s
inside – from animal skin to insects.
In the Land area, guests learn about vegetables, and sea! Opening next year or the year after will be a
crops and recycling. All the waste from both Eco-Park fourth area, Energy.
and Gulliver’s Land is collected in the Recycling Centre Phase II plans for Eco-Park include a monorail linking
and sorted during a live show where the audience are the attraction to Gulliver’s Land, which is close enough
asked whether items should be re-used, reduced or to walk to at present. A hotel is also on the cards.
recycled. Another boat ride affords passengers a Currently Gulliver’s work with four hotel groups, and
glimpse of various crops growing, and children can their guests, who come largely at weekends, help
pretend to cook their own food in two kitchen areas. balance things out with the business travellers that stay
There’s a farm park flavour to some of the other locally in the week.
attractions here, including the Farm House Theatre, Big Although both parks could easily enough be done in
Red Play Barn, Singing Vegetable Patch, Big Green a day, Duncan hopes more visitors will now stay in the
Tractor Ride and Musical Farm (animated animals). The area overnight. “You wouldn’t really see the two parks
tractor ride, by SBF, together with some hand-powered properly if you did do them in the same day,” he tells
carts by Zamperla, are two of only a handful of us. “We expect that people will come to Gulliver’s and
attractions sourced from outside suppliers. then spend an hour or two in Eco-Park at the end of
Eco-Park’s final area – for now – is Water, where a their day, which will hopefully give them enough of a
picturesque lake and another boat ride are taste to come back in the future.”
complemented by Milton Keynes’ first beach, something A two-park ticket costs £15.25, with entrance to Eco-
of a novelty in a landlocked new town more famous for Park alone just £7.25 (€10.65/$14). This remarkably
its traffic islands and futuristic road system than sand low opening price has been discounted to entice
visitors, but that’s where the subsidies stop. “We’ve had
no government grants, all the investment is our own.
We want to prove that you can make money out of
green issues.”
Duncan describes Milton Keynes, his adopted home,
as a “very dynamic city.” The support of the business
community there was one of the things that made him
choose this location over the other two Gulliver’s sites
for Eco-Park. However, he doesn’t rule out extending
the franchise to Warrington or Matlock Bath when the
time is right.
For the time being the Phillips siblings, Duncan, Nick
and Julie, intend to incorporate some of energy and,
let’s face it, money-saving techniques employed at Eco-
Park into their other properties. “It’s been a voyage of
discovery for us all,” reflects Duncan.
Duncan Phillips, Gulliver’s design
and development director and
The Jurassic River Ride
www.gulliverseco-park.org
creator of Eco-Park
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