We are the eastern region’s biggest and best-loved theme park, a magical 50-acre world of family fun and entertainment on the sunrise coast at Lowestoft, just 10 minutes south of Great Yarmouth.
The Park welcomes over 200,000 visitors each year and employs around 150 people every season, most of whom come from the local area, to help provide the whole family with a great experience and a day out to remember.
But who are the people behind the scenes who make it all happen? We take a look at two staff members who each bring their own mix of talents and enthusiasm to help ensure visitors have a great day out...
Tracy began working at Pleasurewood Hills over five years ago, she had a keen interest in working with animals and began by doing voluntary work at the Park, helping out whenever an opportunity was offered.
This enabled her to build up a huge amount of experience and expertise, and she is now employed as a full-time staff member, responsible for caring for and training the birds and sea-lions. She also presents the parrot and sea-lion shows.
A typical day for Tracy begins by weighing the birds – those that are too heavy cannot be used in the show – followed by cleaning the indoor enclosures and preparing food for all the animals.
During the peak summer season there are three sea-lion shows, and three parrot shows every day so Tracy has a very packed schedule! Much of the training takes place during the weeks and months when the Park is closed, but Tracy still finds time to do one or two hours training each day. ‘Training is fitted in between the shows’, Tracy says, ‘alongside any extra jobs such as repairing enclosures and cutting back branches.’
There are three sea-lions at the Park, all were bred in captivity and are currently aged 5, 6 and 20 years. ‘During the winter, adult males can eat up to 24 pounds of sprat mackerel and herring each day.’ Tracy explains, ‘in the summer, it’s far less, and they can fast for up to 6 weeks during the mating season’.
The sea-lions are ‘target trained’ to perform tricks such as balancing balls, doing high ball jumps and somersaults.
The parrots, who are aged between 2 and 55 years, are trained to entertain visitors through riding bicycles and doing magic tricks. They’ve also found fame and fortune themselves through appearances on Blue Peter, in Harry Potter films and a number of different TV advertisements!
Tracy herself was also a contestant on 'Britain's Got Talent'. ‘I did a counting trick with the birds and demonstrated how they can talk.’ She continues, ‘I got through to the live shows, but unfortunately I couldn’t go ahead because of other commitments’.
The parrot and sea-lion shows take place daily at Pleasurewood Hills and entry is included within the overall admission price for the Park.
Brian Walker was born and raised in London, and earned his living as an electrician. However, as Brian says ‘we always had holidays in Norfolk and Suffolk and enjoyed getting out and about in the area’. This love of the East Coast led to Brian and his wife relocating to a new home in Lowestoft when he retired at the age of 64.
But it seemed that retirement wasn’t quite right for Brian, as he soon found himself looking round for a job to supplement his pension income. And he found the perfect answer – train-driver at Pleasurewood Hills!
That was nine years ago, and Brian has been back at the Park for every summer since then. He enjoys working outside, and loves the ‘banter’ with the customers, promising that passengers will enjoy the ride and those who don’t can ‘give him a slap!’ Luckily for Brian, all his passengers have been satisfied so far!
The day begins at 9am when Brian walks the length of the train track to check all is OK and pick up any litter. He then fills the engines with fuel and does a test circuit to ensure the train is running smoothly.
Following that, there’s just time for a quick cuppa before the guests arrive. Lunch is taken with fellow train-driver, Derek, in the signal box at the main station.
For Brian, the best part of the job is seeing people having fun and enjoying their day out. With 6 grandchildren of his own, he knows how rewarding it can be to keep the children happy!
Brian hopes that he will be back at Pleasurewood Hills to enjoy the summer and meet the guests for many more years to come. And what does Brian do to occupy himself when the Park is closed? ‘The real work starts when I finish here at the end of the season’ Brian says ‘when I get home to find a very long list of jobs to be done over the winter!’
