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Plans to build huge new £600m theme park in British countryside

by DD Staff

December 25, 2024

Chariot race at Puy du Fou historical theme park

key takeaways

Last year, the creators of the French theme park Puy du Fou set up shop in Oxfordshire, close to the M40. They have plans to create a third location there, along with one in Spain, close to the town of Bicester.

The French location won World's Best Park at the Thea Classic Awards in Los Angeles earlier this year, and tourists hailed it as the best historical theme park in the world. However, it is more of a historical theme park than what we would typically recognize as a rollercoaster-filled amusement center, despite its rather misleading name.

The Puy du Fou in western France, owned by the de Villiers family, offers 20 live shows and immersive experiences in jawdropping settings including a recreated Roman amphitheatre, a Viking ship and a 23-hectare stage in front of a Middle Age fortress.

It also attracts over two million visitors each year, making it one of the most popular theme parks in France - and the first British branch can be expected to echo its self-described "spectacular historic shows and immersive experiences".

According to planning documents, the UK site would comprise a £600 million network of theatres, back-of-house facilities, hotels, restaurants, conference facilities and parking space on a stretch of land adjacent to the M40 in Oxfordshire.

Olivier Strebelle, chief executive of the French park, said the new British site would be unlike any other theme park in the country and create up to 700 new jobs in the area.

"We do not have any rides or rollercoasters; there are no neon flashing lights," he said.

"Instead, we create an authentic, natural and historical environment set within beautiful gardens, which become the setting for world-class shows and immersive cultural and historical experiences for the whole family to enjoy.

"With Britain's rich history, and with so many British people already visiting us in France and Spain, we have been looking for a site in the country for many years and we have now identified the perfect location."

Subject to planning approval and conditions, the immersive site could be built in the English countryside by 2028.

Visitors to the French park have heralded it as "worth every penny" and "an absolutely amazing experience [that] exceeds all expectations" on TripAdvisor.

"So much to see and do in a beautiful park that doesn't feel like a theme park," one person wrote. "This hands down beats Disneyland Paris for us. Really unique and interesting."

"This is a very special place," another added. "The shows are incredible, of course, with amazing special effects, extraordinary performances and every conceivable performing animal!"