Formerly known as The Ultimate Beast – The T-Rex of Rollercoasters, The Ultimate is Lightwater Valley’s signature ride. The Ultimate is a sheer thrill from start to finish as the terrain coaster is very unique with its banking, speed and airtime. The ride can be quite rough which has mixed views upon people but it really depends how you like your coasters.

The Ultimate has 2 lift hills of 102ft and 107ft respectively which both offer great airtime, they can be slow but quite cleverly build up the tension. After the first drop, you are given a taster of what is installed for you, and remember smile for the camera! Dashing up to the start of the 2nd lift hill you enjoy a few bunny hops along with some straight speedy sections of track.

The long trek up the lift hill and corner allows passengers to catch their breath and take it all in. Just when you have recovered you are dropped back down into the woodlands of Lightwater Valley! Racing through trees and some crazy banking this is simply the best part of the ride. Quick turns and sudden drops offer a lot of excitement.

The train careers along the track through 2 tunnels and back into the station. Congratulations, you have just survived Europe’s longest rollercoaster!

Overall The Ultimate is by far one of the best rollercoasters in the UK and deserves the title of 'The T-Rex of Rollercoasters!'

The Ultimate was designed by Big County Motioneering and the park’s original owner Robert Staveley. Construction began in early 1990 taken 18 months to complete.

The ride was constructed by in-house workers and British Rail who used track supplied from Tubular Engineering, after BCM were sacked due to track problems. The project was over a year behind schedule due to track alterations and trouble with train wheels.

The ride finally opened on 17th July 1991 as the world’s longest rollercoaster at 1 ½ miles, taking over 5 minutes to ride and costing £5.2 million! The Ultimate has 4 trains in all named after park staff! They are called, Tony’s Tornado, Ron’s Rocket, Mick’s Meteor and Jim’s Jet.

However, only the latter 2 trains are used in present day. The trains also used to have over the shoulder restraints until 1992 when they were removed for being far too painful!

• The Ultimate was once the world’s longest rollercoaster and is now Europe's longest coaster!
• The Ultimate was given its name following a competition on BBC Radio One!
• Frank Bruno MBE officially opened the ride!
• The site occupies 44 acres of land, that’s 20 football pitches!
• The trains were originally designed to be only half the length of the current ones!
• A couple have married whilst riding The Ultimate!