Britain's Best Rollercoasters

BritEvents went in search of the UK's best rollercoasters and only the most exhilarating made the cut. Complete with rider testimonials, videos and facts about Britain's favourite rollercoasters, here is our top 10.

By Lucy Middleton

Theme parks are one of the most popular tourist destinations in Britain and it's plain to see why. With some of the biggest, fastest and most innovative roller coasters in the world; nothing beats the adrenaline rush as you rocket around a track at high speeds, your heart pumping and your legs wobbly.

It's fair to say roller coasters aren't for everyone and some can't take the heat, but the BritEvents team can't get enough of them! Here is our selection of Britain's best roller coasters.

10. Oblivion

The world's first vertical drop roller coaster and still the UK's third fastest ride, Oblivion may have been built thirteen years ago but it is still just as thrilling now as it was back then.

Rider's verdict:
It's one for suspense and no matter how many times you ride it, it never gets boring
Daniel Moore, Cheshire

9. Infusion

Infusion is the world's first inverted (where the train runs under the track with seats attached to the wheel carriage) roller coaster to be suspended entirely over water.

With five inversions (loops) and jets of water spurting out as you fly past, Infusion is a wet, wild and wondrous ride designed to 'immerse your senses'.

8. Air

Air is Alton Towers' ingenious roller coaster designed to make you feel as though you are literally flying. Swooping close to the ground and high above the trees,

Air has unusual seating with riders harnessed in with their bodies facing the ground to perfect the flying effect. Air is proof that roller coasters do not have to be taller and faster than the last to become one of the greats.

Rider's verdict:
There is no other ride like it and no other feeling like it, the way you're on your tummy one minute flying like a superhero and then flipped on to your back looking at the sky the next is amazing.
Tom Henesey, Derbyshire

7. Saw: The Ride

Saw: The Ride is the world's first horror movie themed roller coaster and a truly terrifying one at that! Along with movie props from the Saw series creating a psychological thrill, there's a beyond vertical drop of 100 degrees and 100 foot fall; this ride is truly amazing, but not for the faint-hearted.

Rider's verdict:
It was brilliant, the drop made my tummy flip and left me speechless. Really good fun!
Aimee Warburton, Essex

6. Nemesis Inferno

Nemesis Inferno is a thrilling inverted roller coaster themed around an erupting volcano. With phenomenal inversions including a zero-gravity roll, which causes extraordinary feelings of weightlessness, Nemesis Inferno is sure to get your adrenaline pumping.

5. Thirteen

Thirteen, the world's first vertical freefall drop roller coaster, is an intense, sensational ride where both the carriage and track drop down five metres in the dark of the spooky crypt. Full of twists and turns in the forest get your heart beating faster, dare you go down to the woods?

4. Colossus

The world's first ten-inversion roller coaster, Colossus, is themed after a lost Atlantan civilisation and is a mind-boggling, unforgettable experience.

3. Pepsi Max Big One

Once the world's fastest and tallest roller coasters, The Pepsi Max Big One at Pleasure Beach in Blackpool had to have warning beacons installed on its peaks to alert aeroplanes to its presence! Over a mile in length and a huge drop with excellent views before the plummet, the Big One is a firm favourite.

2. Stealth

Stealth at Thorpe Park is the UK's fastest roller coaster, reaching top speeds of 80mph! Powered by nitrogen boosters, Stealth is Europe's second fastest and third tallest coaster and definitely for the thrill-seekers and adrenaline junkies.

Rider's verdict:
It was intense, super intense. Definitely not for the faint-hearted! Damian Tanner, Bristol

1. Nemesis

It is no surprise that Nemesis has topped the BritEvents 'Britain's Top 10 Roller Coasters', anyone who has witnessed Nemesis' wrath first-hand will tell you it truly is in a league of its own. It was Europe's first inverted roller coaster and was rated in 2006 as the 3rd best roller coaster in the world. A huge drop swiftly followed by crazy inversions one after the other is what makes Nemesis, in our opinion, the best roller coaster in Britain.

Fun fact: Nemesis once held the world record for the most naked people to ride a roller coaster.

Rider's verdict:
It's addictive and one of my favourites because, even if you know and expect all the loops and turns, it still gets your adrenaline pumping and your heart beating faster... And the theming is some of the best theming I've ever seen!
Allex Burke, Shropshire

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