Rutland Water aqua park in Whitwell opens with new sea dragon obstacle

An inflatable obstacle course at Rutland Water is back with a splash this year.

Aqua Park Rutland, which has been welcoming visitors to the shores of the Anglian Water reservoir since 2016, reopened on Saturday (May 20).

It was a busy weekend at the aqua park, helped by the sunny weather, and acted as a test run ahead of the late May bank holiday weekend.

There were plenty of epic fails and total wipeouts, as well as people showing off their obstacle course skills.

This year the park features the Rutland sea dragon as part of its water obstacle course.

The inflatable dragon is a nod to the discovery by Joe Davis, who works at Rutland Water Nature Reserve, in 2021 of a perfectly preserved Ichthyosaur.

Believed to be UK’s largest sea dragon, the fossil was approximately 180 million years old and measured 10 metres.

Joe is booked in to tackle the obstacle, which features a climb, ball-shaped obstacles and a slide into the reservoir.

Connor James, founder of Aqua Park Group, knew he had to bring the sea dragon to life as an inflatable attraction.

“We are really excited to be unveiling the ‘sea dragon’ this season, as we pay tribute to the recent discovery of the prehistoric Ichthyosaur.

“This fantastic new inflatable will offer guests a chance to play with history and learn more about life in the prehistoric age.

“Our new inflatable measures 10 metres in length just like the sea dragon and will be available alongside more than 40 other inflatables that make up the water park attraction.”

On the course there are a number of slides of varying sizes with the highest reaching 3.5 metres tall.

There are also monkey bars, climbing walls, ‘blast bags’, platforms to jump off, a trampoline and a range of obstacles.

The park is back open for the half-term holidays and can be enjoyed all summer long.