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Abandoned much-loved theme park given chilling new lease of life

The former Magical Kingdom of Camelot in Lancashire closed in 2012 and has since hosted spine-chilling horror events, with developers now proposing 350 homes on the 140-acre site

[Inside abandoned Camelot Theme Park]

Creepy rotting dolls lie without eyes(Image: Liverpool Echo)

A spine-chilling, abandoned theme park has been granted an appropriately eerie new purpose, with further plans on the horizon.

Constructed in 1983 and drawing inspiration from Arthurian legend, the Magical Kingdom of Camelot attracted a remarkable 500,000 visitors each year at its peak.

Renowned for its distinctive white castle gateway, the site boasted countless exhilarating attractions and roller coasters including Whirlwind and Excalibur.

The Knightmare roller coaster, which debuted at the location in late 2006, allegedly required 3 million to build and swiftly emerged as the park's star attraction. However, as years went by, Camelot's popularity started to wane.

By 2005, the Lancashire destination in Chorley was attracting merely 336,000 yearly visitors. In 2012, it closed its doors for good, reports the Mirror.

[A fake army man stands with a gun in front of the theme park]

It turned into an 'immersive, drive-in zombie experience'(Image: James Maloney/Lancs Live)

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The theme park covers an enormous 140 acres and was valued at approximately 800million, according to experts at Together Money.

In 2017, urban explorer Matthew Holmes ventured to Camelot. He remarked: "I went to the theme park when I was 13 years old and most adults have been. I thought, let's go a have a look and see what's there.

"I went inside and instantly all these memories came back from when I was a child."

It was quite sad to walk around, it is very dilapidated. All that excitement and fun to be replaced by empty space. It's frozen in time. All these rides are still there.

[The rusty rides]

Rollercoasters are keft treacherous by rust (Image: Matthew Holmes / SWNS)

In 2024, the derelict park played host to the infamous Scare City event, providing a spine-chilling experience for horror enthusiasts. The North West's spine-tingling event guaranteed visitors would leave 'believing in pure evil'.

The celebrated horror attraction featured 11 terrifying zones across the crumbling theme park site. Attendees could anticipate the return of some familiar faces as part of the sinister Carni Valley experience, according to Manchester Evening News.

The unrelenting path of terror combines intricate sets and live actors throughout multiple zones, certain to scare even the boldest visitors.

[Bluebell Botton building now abandoned at Camelot theme park]

Now rusting roller coasters are choked by overgrown vines(Image: Matthew Holmes / SWNS)

The line-up includes a selection of nightmarish zones such as the Slaughter House, home to Camelot's local cannibal readying himself for his annual banquet, plus Junkyard and the chilling Reaper's Reach.

Guests were cautioned about the introduction of their newest zone 'Arakhne', where attendees must face the terrifying ordeal of venturing into the spider queen's domain and encountering sinister creatures along their route.

Amongst the screams and terror, courageous guests could find refuge in the 'Resurrection Zone', where drinks will be available at the midway point.

[Zombies and monsters are on the loose at the former Camelot theme park,]

Zombies and monsters are on the loose at the former Camelot theme park(Image: James Maloney/Lancs Live)

More latterly, the abandoned site has attracted the attention of property developers, notably Story Homes who are hoping to construct a major housing development on the land.

The company put forward plans to flatten the theme park and deliver similar schemes in 2017 and 2019, though both were turned down owing to worries about greenbelt land use. Developers have submitted fresh plans to Chorley Council outlining proposals for a major residential development.

The scheme includes up to 350 homes (with 50 per cent earmarked as affordable housing), a 186.9 square metre community space, plus 'associated habitat creation, landscaping, open space, parking, footpaths, cycleways, drainage and other infrastructure'.

[Former Camelot Theme Park site near Chorley, Lancashire.]

The beloved theme park tragically shut its doors(Image: Lancs Live)

"The vision for the site is to deliver a development that provides an exceptional quality of place, underpinned by the highest standards of design and sensitive placemaking," the planning documents state.

"The proposed development will deliver the homes that people need, responding to the acute housing and affordability crisis in the Borough by delivering the type, tenure and quality of market and affordable housing, alongside community infrastructure, that will create and support a new community.

[White entrance into Camelot Theme Park]

The ill-fated site is covered in graffiti(Image: Matthew Holmes / SWNS)

"The vision for the site is supported by a generous landscape led masterplan that respects the wider Green Belt and woodland context and provides new green spaces, green infrastructure and habitats as a fundamental element of a new landscape framework."

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