Flambards Theme Park was an amusement park on the southern outskirts of the town of Helston in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1976 as the Cornwall Aero Park by Lieutenant Commander John Leeson and Douglas Kingsford Hale MBE. The park's final season was 2024, with the closure announced on 4 November 2024.

History

Flambards Theme Park first opened in 1976 under the name of 'Cornwall Aero Park'. Owned by Lieutenant Commander John Leeson and Douglas Kingsford Hale MBE, the park slowly built up an array of aircraft, models and exhibitions.

In 1984, "Britain in the Blitz," a mockup of a bomb-hit street during World War II, was opened.

By 1990, the park had grown and was renamed "The Flambards Experience." Early rides featured at the theme park included the Dragon Coaster, the Canyon River Log Flume, Paddle Boats, and the hype glide.

For the 2007 season, three rides were added: The Rocking Tug, The Carousel, and The Space Shuttle. These rides were purchased from the defunct American Adventure Theme Park in Heanor, Derbyshire after it closed the previous year.

For the 2008 season, the Cornish Mine Train ride was added and the War of the Worlds paintball game was introduced. 2009 saw no major additions to the park, however the field housing the Helipad was sold late in the season to Sainsburys. The museum exhibitions are open year-round, but the rides and play areas are open seasonally.

In 2010, the Skyraker 001 opened and claimed the title of the UK's first twisting drop tower. As well as this addition, the park was renamed to Flambards Theme Park.

On 6 December 2013, the park was bought by Livingston Leisure Ltd, an investor in the park.

In 2015, Livingston Leisure opened a new ride called the 'Sky Swinger', added screens fronted to like a picture frame to the Victorian Village.

In March 2016, Jurassic Journey, a permanent exhibition where visitors can follow in the footsteps of dinosaurs, opened at the Park.

March 2017 brought the announcement of further investment in the form of a new HUSS Frisbee ride, which was purchased and transported from the defunct Pleasure Island park in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire after it closed, where it was formerly known as Pendulus. It was renamed as Sky-Force to fit in with the current Sky High thrill rides promotion. The ride took the former place of the Ladybird Coin Operated Boats, Coin Operated Trucks and Kids pirate-themed play area and climbing frame.

The winter of 2017-2018 saw an improvement in facilities and a major redecoration, which led to a much cleaner and brighter feel for the 2018 season.

The 2018-2019 winter closure, saw minor renovations around the park, including the redecoration of some of the indoor exhibits. It also saw the addition of a coin-operated, 'Faulty Repair Shop' shooting gallery, manufactured by Pan Amusements. The unit is located next to the entrance of the indoor attractions. Access to the Avro Shackleton cockpit was also removed over radiation fears.

The winter of 2019-2020 saw minor improvements around the park. These included the removal of trees around the Hornet Coaster, a new canopy on the Carousel, and improvements to park and ride lighting.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Flambards Theme Park was closed for a brief period of time in early 2020. The site was reopened in July of the same year after government guidance was changed.

The park was forced to close for a brief period, at the beginning of the 2021 season, fully reopening in May. A new ride was announced prior to opening, 'The Western Mine Train’, and officially opened on 26 May 2021. Other work that took place over the 2020-2021 winter season included the demolition of the Indoor Stage and 'Kingsford Hale' Bar. This has now been replaced with an outdoor seating area. The Victorian village had a partial replacement of lighting, with the introduction of LED bulbs in certain areas. Minor repairs have been made in 'Britain in the Blitz,’ further improving the exhibition. The outdoor play area has also had a completely new set of play equipment.

The 2021-2022 winter closure saw lots of redecoration around the park, including areas that had not been touched for several years. The Village cafe was completely revamped, with new seating, and a repaint. The Science Exploratorium was demolished, and replaced with an outdoor seating area. Additionally, the former Remote Controlled Pirate Ship area has been demolished and reverted to a pond. Trees around 'Ferdi's Funland' have been removed, and the Miniature Pirate Ship in this area has been replaced with a Miniature Carousel.

Between the 2022, and 2023 seasons, the 'Balloon Race' ride was replaced with the newer 'Samba Balloons' ride, which is aimed at a slightly younger audience. 'Ferdi's Indoor Play' (previously known as One2Eleven – a separate attraction) was combined with the park admission, to allow younger visitors to stay and play inside, while the older visitors ride. The 'Space Race' ride was removed, along with the smaller indoor play area, 'Cool Zone'. Various landscaping tasks also took place over the winter closure, including filling in the former 'Remote Control Pirate Ships' pond, to create a welcoming garden space, and the trees surrounding the 'Cyclecopters' and 'Ferdi's Indoor Play' were removed.

Early in 2024, Flambards Theme Park announced the arrival of a new ride, 'ThunderDome', a waltzer ride. This was opened at the start of the park's 2024 season. In addition to this, the indoor exhibits received a spruce up, and a new display cabinet, featuring Gus Honeybun was installed. The 'Space Orbiters' were also retired.

On 3 June 2024, Flambards Theme Park announced that several of its thrill rides, were out of operation. 5 June 2024, saw the official announcement from Flambards, that 4 of its thrill rides had permanently closed, and would be leaving the park during an additional closure period during June 2024. This meant that 'The Thunderbolt', 'Sky Swinger', 'Sky Force', and 'Hornet Coaster' would be removed from the park ahead of reopening in July. In light of this, Flambards significantly dropped the entry price, and added 2 new rides for the 2024 season, Flying Planes, and a set of Dodgems. During the additional closure period, 2 of the closed rides, 'Thunderbolt' and 'Sky Swinger' were removed from the park, and a general spruce up took place. This included painting and decorating, new signage for the indoor exhibits, and new park furniture.

In an unexpected move, Flambards Theme Park announced on 22 August 2024, that they had been working hard behind the scenes to overcome a supply issue, and by successfully replacing the main motor, Sky Force had returned to operation. As of 8 September 2024, The Hornet Coaster remained on site, but out of operation, and the other 2 rides closed in June had been removed. Sky Force was back in operation.

On Monday 4 November 2024, Flambards Theme Park officially announced it was immediately and permanently closing after 48 year of operations. Local MP Andrew George commented that the closure was "awful news" and that he had been assured that redundancies would be kept to a minimum. In mid November 2024, many of the rides were put up for sale through Martin Mejer Used Amusement Sales.

Ferdi's Indoor Funland, the indoor play area, reopened as a standalone attraction on 17 November 2024. It now operates as the sole remaining attraction on the site.

Dispersal

In December 2024, a family who had donated a wartime nurse's uniform for display at the theme park requested its return after the park permanently closed. Flambards indicated a willingness to return family heirlooms but raised concerns about "opening the floodgates" to additional claims. In a BBC Radio Cornwall interview, Ian Cunningham, CEO of Livingstone Leisure—the company behind Flambards—provided updates on the future of the closed park. He emphasized their commitment to keeping the Victorian Village and Indoor Displays collection together, stating that all options were being explored to ensure their preservation, though he acknowledged that this task would become more challenging over time. Regarding the rest of the park, Cunningham shared that most of the rides had been sold, and no decisions had yet been made about the future of the brownfield site.

Lay's Auctioneers of Penzance announced 'The Flambards Sale' in February 2025, a three day auction to sell off Flambards Theme Park's assets. Lay's stated that they had been on-site since December 2024, cataloguing the thousands of extraordinary items that were to be sold. The complete catalogue was unveiled on 21 February 2025, including most of the items from the indoor exhibitions, such as the Victorian Village, Britain in the Blitz, War Gallery, and Aviation Gallery, along with catering equipment and various general items from around the park.

The announcement of the auction led to numerous attempts by various parties to save the collection. On 13 March, Lay's revealed that the Victorian Village had been sold in its entirety to Kynren, who plans to relocate and preserve the exhibition, transforming it "into a spectacular new show at the attraction set to open in 2026." Lay's auctioned the remaining 700 lots on 26 and 27 March 2025, which prominently featured the Britain in the Blitz Collection, the Concorde Experience, and the Shackleton Cockpit, amongst other items from around the park.

Attractions

Final attractions

The main rides and attractions located at Flambards Theme Park prior to the permanent closure were as follows.

Attraction Age range Year opened Opening time Notes & FateColorado Log Flume Family 1990s 10:00 Made by Zamperla. Scrapped.Samba Balloons Family 2023 10:00 Balloons spin around a centerpiece. Made by Zamperla. Sold to Marsh Farm.Cyclocopters Children/Family 1990s 10:00 Pedal powered monorail with cars themed as helicopters. Scrapped.Thunderdome Thrill 2024 10:00 A waltzer ride on loan from John Armitage. Returned to John Armitage at start of December 2024.Rocking Tug Family 2007 10:00 Made by Zamperla. Formerly owned by The American Adventure Theme Park. Fate unknown.Carousel Family 2007 10:00 Made by Chance Rides. Formerly owned by The American Adventure Theme Park. Sold to Marsh Farm.Skyraker Family/Thrill 2010 10:00 It is the tallest ride in the park, with views of the surrounding area. Manufactured by SBF Visa. Dismantled in December 2025 with its fate currently unknown.Sky Force Family/Thrill 2017 10:00 A HUSS Frisbee ride, originally located at Pleasure Island in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire until its closure in 2016, where it was known as Pendulus. Failed to operate during the latter half of the 2023 season, due to a delay on parts. In June 2024, Flambards permanently retired the ride, however changed their decision in August 2024, and announced the ride's reopening. It was initially offered for sale with Martin Meijer after the park's closure, but it was later demolished and scrapped in August 2025.Dodgems Family 2024 10:00 Traditional dodgem on loan from Ryan Lowe. Returned to Ryan Lowe after the park's closure.The Western Mine Train Family 2022 10:00 A short train ride, through a Western Mining Town. Fate of the train unknown, Buildings sold at the Flambards auction.Flying Planes Family 2024 10:00 Suspended flying plane kiddie whip style attraction similar to a Race-O-Rama. Currently for sale with Evan Moran Jr.Flambards Formula Circuit Family (New Fleet in 2017) 10:00 20 go karts (10 single and 10 double seaters) on a figure of 8 track. A pay for attraction. Fate unknown.Demon Drop Family 1990s 10:00 Cornwall's Tallest Drop Slide. Demolished in December 2025.Mini Golf Family 2018 10:00 Free to play Crazy Golf. Pre-Historic Landscape Themed. Golf Clubs sold at the Flambards auction.

Ferdi's Funland An area at Flambards that was devoted to younger guests.