FOUND below one of the UK’s highest mountain ranges is a theme park with a human-powered rollercoaster and a solar-powered splash.
While GreenWood family park located in Y Felinheli, below Mount Snowdon in North Wales , does not feature high-tech rides you’d expect to find at Thorpe Park, the little-known attraction claims to have “something for everyone”.
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Whilst it sounds impossible, this includes the Green Dragon Rollercoaster – the world’s only human-powered coaster.
Visitors must head on a funicular that takes them to a lower station, but in turn the weight of the cabin full of passengers brings the empty rollercoaster up to a higher station.
The riders will then walk from the lower funicular station, back up the hill to the rollercoaster that then uses gravity to propel itself along the 250 metre track and 360-degree horizontal loop.
The park also has the first solar-powered ride in the UK, which features a two-chute water slide around 60 metres long.
Solar panels that generate electricity are used to power the water pumps for this ride.
Unusual attractions in the park don’t stop there though – the park has the Enchanted River Ride as well, where riders propel themselves along a river using ropes and paddle, seeing mystical creatures as they go.
For a sensory experience there is the BareFoot Trail, dubbed to be the first of its kind in Wales .
Visitors walk barefoot through different terrains including sand, straw, timber and water.
Elsewhere at the TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Award 2025 attraction, visitors can also head on a dry version of sledging, TreeTop Towers with netted walkways and tube slides and the Forest Glider – a 75 metre ‘slide’ in rubber rings.
Smaller children can enjoy the Tunnel Warren, Dragon Maze, mini diggers and tractors and a giant jumping pillow as well.
At Cwtch Corner, families can interact with farm animals and learn about their habitats, including goats, ducks, pigs, guinea pigs and rabbits.
New for this year, the park also has some alpacas that families can opt to go on a walk with through the 17 acre forest park, by booking in advance.
Don’t miss the Snowdon View Point either, with panoramic views of Wales ‘ largest mountain range.
And if the weather isn’t ideal, then the park has an indoor Enchanted WoodBarn with soft play and a special area for children under the age of three.
You do need to pay a fee to access the soft play, which is £3.50 per adult and £6 per child.
Inside the WoodBarn is a cafe as well, selling family favourites like Welsh beef burgers for £11.80 and jacket potatoes from £7.25.
For parents wanting a brew whilst the kids play, coffee and tea aren’t expensive, ranging between £3.20 and £4.20.
If out and about in the park, there are food shacks as well, like Snowdon Snacks that serves a range of hot food including hot dogs and has a covered seating area.
Or you could head to the Forest and Solar Treat Shacks for sweet treats including ice cream.
Until the end of August the family park is running the ‘Festival of Fun’ with live music and entertainment such as circus skills workshops and arts and crafts sessions – all included in the ticket price.
Make sure to check out a show, including magic acts, at the Forest Theatre too.
Admission costs £25 for guests over one metre tall and £10 for those under a metre tall.
Though, if you book through Picniq, you can grab tickets for £20 for visitors over a metre tall, and £7.50 for those under a metre tall.
Or you could purchase a group of four tickets, for guests all over one metre tall, for £74.
One visitor recently said on TripAdvisor: “[There’s] something for everyone, from toddlers to teens (and adults too!)
Another added: “It’s a fun, affordable, and genuinely enriching day out for all ages, and we’ll definitely be back if we are in the area.”
A third noted: “We didn’t really queue for anything.”
The main park is open between 10am and 5pm each day.
Visitors can also extend their stay at the park, by staying at the GreenWood Tipi Glamping .
The site features hot showers and a fully-equipped communal kitchen.
Inside the tipis, guests will find a log burner and real beds.
Then outside each tipi is a barbeque and a seating area.
Four of the tipis sleep up to six people and the remaining two sleep up to four people and a one-night stay starts from £95.
There’s no need to leave your four-legged friend at home either, as each family is allowed “two well-behaved dogs” for a fee of £30 per dog.
Using GreenWood as a base, there are plenty of other areas to explore nearby including Mount Snowdon itself, Zip World and Conwy Castle.
The nearby village of Y Felinheli, sits on the Menai Strait submerged valley and has some pubs and cafes to explore as well.
Wales is a great holiday destination with great family attractions for all types of British weather.
Plus, Wales is home to the UK’s biggest underground ‘theme park’ in caves – and it’s twice the size of St Paul’s.
