LIGHTWATER Valley, the Ripon theme park, starts its 2011 season on April 9 with a clutch of new awards and celebrations.

The 175 acres of North Yorkshire parkland with 40 rides and attractions has just been named the UK’s Best Value Theme Park, The Ultimate has been voted the second best rollercoaster in Europe and Raptor Attack, featuring dinosaur-like creatures in an abandoned mineshaft, is the highest performing new attraction in Europe.

UK Park News looked at the pricing of ten of the largest theme parks in the UK, comparing gate price, online prices for adults, children and infants, best family deals and parking charges. Lightwater came top for value for money with a cost of £63.80 to the family purse.

This year sees the opening of Skeleton Cove, a themed pirate land as well as the celebration of the 20th anniversary The Ultimate rollercoaster, at 2.4 km, the longest in Europe.

Towers Times Forum, (TTF) an Alton Towers blog which supplies an alternative point of view for the theme park world, carries out an annual poll aiming to discover which rides and attractions are top of the pile each year.

The TTF European Rollercoaster Poll excludes the Alton Towers Resort, with voting taking place over a three-month period. The 2010 poll received 1,200 votes.

The Ultimate received 28 per cent in the final, coming a close second to Black Mamba at Phantasialand which received 31 per cent.

Ashley Young, marketing manager at Lightwater Valley said: “This is a big year for the park. We have invested in a new themed land Skeleton Cove, building five new rides, and will be celebrating the 20th year of the Ultimate.

“These awards will help set things up for the year and is a great boost to us.”