Diggerland is a chain of

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

s where members of the public can operate heavy machinery such as

diggers The Diggers were a group of religious and political dissidents in England, associated with a political ideology and programme resembling what would later be called agrarian socialism.; ; ; Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard (Digger), Will ...

and JCBs. There are four theme parks in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and one in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Diggerland is part of the H.E Services Group and Allsafety Limited.

Locations

There are four Diggerland theme parks in the Uk located in

Strood Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. Strood forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Kent, Chatham, Rochester, Kent, Rochester, Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham and Rainham, Kent, Rainham. It ...

in Kent (opened in 2000), Langley Park, County Durham (opened in 2001),

Cullompton Cullompton () is a town and civil parish in the district of Mid Devon and the county of Devon, England. It is north-east of Exeter and lies on the River Culm. In 2021, the parish as a whole had a population of 10,071, while the built-up area o ...

in Devon (opened in 2001, closed in 2020, and reopened in 2022) and

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

in West Yorkshire (opened in 2007). In 2015 it was announced that Diggerland would open their fifth UK park in

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...

, Worcestershire, but this was delayed indefinitely in 2017. Diggerland had a temporary park in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

during the summer of 2005. Their 2006 plan to expand to

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

, in the United States was stalled out by the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

. Diggerland expanded into the United States and opened a park in

West Berlin, New Jersey West Berlin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Berlin Township in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 08091. As of the 2000 ...

, in 2014. In 2021 a waterpark was added to the U.S. diggerland. In January 2024 the U.S. park was sold to Innovative Attraction Management who had also acquired

Enchanted Forest Water Safari The Enchanted Forest — Water Safari (originally known as The Enchanted Forest of the Adirondacks and often called the Enchanted Forest and Water Safari) is an amusement park/water park. It is the largest water park in New York, United States, ...

the previous year. It was later announced that season passes to Enchanted Forest Water Safari and the U.S. Diggerland would allow unlimited admission to both parks.

Events

Racing events happen between March and October, because they need to be completed in daylight hours. Dumper Racing is held on a monthly basis. Diggerland also has a team, The Dancing Diggers, which operates every other year and features large diggers doing stunts. In 2017, they performed at several county fairs, including the Royal Bath and West Country Show.

References

{{reflist

External links

Diggerland UK

Diggerland USA
Amusement parks in England Tourist attractions in County Durham Tourist attractions in Devon Tourist attractions in Kent Tourist attractions in West Yorkshire 2000 establishments in England Amusement parks in New Jersey Tourist attractions in Camden County, New Jersey Berlin Township, New Jersey