Black Pearl

Lightwater Valley
Location	Ripon, North Yorkshire, England, UK
Section	Skeleton Cove
Status	Defunct
Operated	2011 to 2020
Rider height	140 cm minimum

Loudoun Castle
Name	Black Pearl
Location	Galston, East Ayrshire, Scotland, UK
Owner	Parkware Ltd (UK)
Park section	Pirate Cove
Operated	2004 to September 2010

Pluton Park (loan)
Name	Mary Rose
Location	Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain
Owner	Bembom Rides
Operated	2000 to 2002

Loudoun Castle (loan)
Name	Wallace Sword
Location	Galston, East Ayrshire, Scotland, UK
Owner	Bembom Rides (UK)
Operated	1996 to 1998
Replaced by	Evolution

Dreamland Margate
Name	Mary Rose
Location	Margate, Kent, England, UK
Owner	Bembom Rides (UK)
Operated	March 1983 to 1995
Replaced by	Skymaster

Statistics

Manufacturer

Weber

Product

Traum Boot

Type

Ranger

Capacity

40 per cycle

Black Pearl was a Ranger built by German manufacturer Weber previously located at Lightwater Valley in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England, UK. It operated in the Skeleton Cove area of the park from 2011 to 2020, alongside a number of other ex-Loudoun Castle rides.

History

The ride originally opened in 1983 at Dreamland Margate as Mary Rose.^[1] It operated under the ownership of the Bembom Rides company, which operated a number of amusement parks across Europe, as well as leasing many of their attractions to other operators. The ride operated until the end of the 1995 season when the Bembom Brothers sold the park to operator Jimmy Godden and all of their attractions were returned to them.

The ride’s next known location was at Loudoun Castle in Galston, Scotland. The park had only opened in 1995, and its owner Lands Improvement Holdings rented a number of attractions from Bembom Rides to help fill up the park. The ride was rethemed to Wallace Sword, themed after Scottish legend Sir William Wallace's sword and opened in 1996, joining the Thunder Loop Express from Dreamland Margate, and Calypso Waltzer and Waveswinger from Pleasurewood Hills.^[2]^[3] Wallace Sword's stay at the park was a short 3 seasons as the park owners sold-up at the end of 1998 to showman Raymond Codona, and all of the machines rented from Bembom Rides were returned to them.^[4]

The ride's next location was Pluton Park in Vigo, Spain. The park rented a few attractions from Bembom Rides to help fill up the park. At Pluton Park, the ride was once again reverted to the Mary Rose name and theming it had at Dreamland Margate along with a repaint. This time, the Mary Rose was joined by the Looping Star roller coaster (previously on loan at Parque de Atracciones de Madrid and Pleasureland Southport), along with the Carousel, Phoenix and once again Waveswinger from Pleasurewood Hills. The park closed permanently in July 2002 due to financial problems and all of these rides, including Mary Rose were subsequently returned back to Bembom Rides in the UK.^[5]

In 2004, the ride returned to Loudoun Castle. However, this time the park was owned by the Bembom family, rather than the ride being on loan to another operator. The ride was renamed to Black Pearl and given a new sign, but it remained mostly unchanged from its stint at Pluton Park. It remained at the park right up until the park closed permanently in September 2010.^[6]

After Loudoun Castle closed, Black Pearl, along with a few other rides from the park, were sold to Lightwater Valley in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. The ride was then subsequently dismantled and removed from the site in Scotland.^[7] The rides from Loudoun Castle were installed as part of a new pirate-themed area known as Skeleton Cove. Black Pearl was completely refurbished and repainted. The ride opened with the Skeleton Cove area in 2011.^[8]^[9]

On 1 February 2021, the park announced via its website that Black Pearl would be removed as the park repositioned itself as an attraction for younger families.^[10] The ride would remain standing but not operating throughout the 2021 season. It was removed from the park before the 2022 season started.^[11] Its current location is unknown.