H2 Wo! Butlin’s Bognor Regis new water ride is first of its kind

Stalwart of the UK holiday landscape Butlin’s has taken two concepts, the traditional seaside helter skelter and the waterslide, and smashed them together to create the “world’s first helter skelter water ride”.

The awkwardly described attraction – I would’ve gone for something like Hel or High Water or H2 Wo! – is part of Butlin’s Bognor Regis Resort’s new GBP 40m swimming pool on the south coast and stands at vertigo inducing  7.4 metres tall.

The new seaside-inspired swimming pool is believed to be one of the largest UK coastal investments in 2019 and this is the first time a traditional seaside helter skelter has been turned into a water slide.

Designed by the Dutch masters of water slide design and manufacture Van Egdom, the new swimming is on target for an April opening, when the ‘helter skelter water ride’, along with the pool’s stick-of-rock slides, rapids and wave machine, should be very enticing to families staying on-site over the Easter holidays.

“We wanted to make sure it was innovative, fun, safe and secure”

With family group’s as Butlin’s prime market, the company has also used research from parenting website Mumsnet to build a ‘changing village’, featuring underfloor heating and large changing rooms suitable for small and large broods. Indeed, the whole changing village is in excess of 800 sqm and boasts more than 700 lockers.

Resort director Jeremy Pardey said: “Guests repeatedly tell us that a brilliant swimming pool is one of their top three reasons for taking a break at Butlin’s. When we decided to build a new one, we wanted to make sure it was innovative, fun, safe and secure; and provided facilities for changing, viewing and refreshments that ensured the whole family could enjoy as much quality time together as they wanted.

We believe our new pool will do that, and we believe it will be the best of its kind in the country, and quite possibly in Europe”.