Huge new £200m UK water park being built with swimming pools, slides and attractions

Whilepublic lidos are a mainstay of the UK, an indoor water park is the ultimate way to beat the heat wave. Luckily a new indoor park is set to open in Bicester and it’s packed with family-friendly attractions.

With water parks scattered across Canada and the US, Great Wolf Lodge is behind North America’s largest family of indoor resorts. Nearly thirty years after opening its first resort in Wisconsin, Great Wolf Lodge is finally opening their first European resort in Bicester.

Bicester was selected for the inaugural European site because of its proximity to London and other major cities. It also conveniently links to the motorways, making it as easy as possible - for as many families as possible - to make the trek. It comes after an exciting heatwave forecast with maps reveals the exact date a 39C heat plume will scorch the UK.

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The new Great Wolf Lodge promises to provide “a one-of-a-kind family resort experience”. It will be set on an old golf course in Chesterton near Bicester.

The parkwill include “an incredible array of attractions, entertainment offerings and dining options” but is currently still under construction. According to Great Wolf Lodge, the resort should be “completed by the end of the summer” although it was originally planned to be complete in “late 2024”.

Great Wolf Lodge says they worked closely with Chesterton Parish Council, Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council to prepare the now-approved scheme. The new resort is expected to cost approximately £200 million to complete and, according to the company, will create 1,000 jobs during the construction phase and roughly 600 jobs when the resort is up and running.

In addition to the Bicester resort, the company also has plans for two other proposed UK water parks: in Derbyshire and Hampshire. Both the proposed Great Wolf Lodge Derbyshire and Great Wolf Lodge Hampshire will have approximately 500 guest rooms “designed specifically for families and are available in a variety of themes and sizes”.

The resort will be 50,000m² and will include the indoor water park, an adventure park and dining facilities. The guest suites will be situated at the centre of the site for optimal views and access.

Families will have the option of staying on site for an extended holiday or purchasing a one-day pass. That said, there are currently no dates for construction work to begin on the Derbyshireor Hampshiresites.

Great Wolf Lodge has only confirmed that the proposed entrance and exit for the Derbyshire site is on the A619 (Worksop Road) and will be located between Barlborough and Whitwell, around a mile from the centre of Clowne.

Great Wolf Lodge Hampshire's proposed entrance and exit is via the Worting Road roundabout and will be located between Basingstoke Leisure Park and Moniton Trading Estate.