North Devon attraction Watermouth Castle up for sale

The iconic Watermouth Castle tourist attraction and theme park has gone up for sale for ‘an undisclosed amount’.

The quirky theme park between Ilfracombe and Combe Martin has been a mainstay of family fun for generations of visitors and locals alike over four decades.

The Grade II Listed Victorian estate is being sold by Savills and includes the castle, seven holiday apartments, then indoor and outdoor rides and attractions as well as extensive gardens.

The near derelict castle was purchased by the late Richard Haines and his family in 1977 and over the years his vision transformed it into a place of wonder for people of all ages and it became one of North Devon’s premier tourist attractions.

For many North Devon young people, it was also their first introduction to employment and many held seasonal jobs at the castle during their teenage years.

Justine Morris, associate director in the leisure and trade-related team at Savills, said: “This is a rare opportunity to acquire a popular and profitable visitor attraction that has been in the same family ownership for almost half a century.

“The opportunity now exists for new owners to continue to develop the substantial visitor attraction.”

The castle was originally built in 1825 by Arthur Davie Basset for his bride Harriet and the family apartments, kitchen and dairy show that around 40 domestics were employed in the running of the estate.

Richard Haines was an imaginative inventor who delighted in creating new things for the delight of other and the quirky attraction grew from his great passion.

He sadly passed away in 2015, aged 75, but even in later years could always be found tinkering away on his latest project in his beloved workshop.

The new owner will gain landscaped gardens with rides, activities, play areas and attractions, with the gardens currently divided into Gnome Land, Merry-Go-Land and Adventure Land.

Inside there is a wide variety of Victorian and Edwardian exhibits and artefacts, an ‘N gauge model railway’ and a working Decap Organ.

The basement, known as the Dungeon Labyrinths also has various fairy-tale animations, exhibits and attractions for visitors to explore.

The courtyard has an underground theatre which features the castle’s iconic water, music and light show attraction, plus the main café with indoor seating, gift shop, WCs and an animated show.

With an intriguing link to the modern attraction, Walter Basset (grandson of Arthur) was an engineer and built the first European fairground wheel designed by the American engineer Ferris.

He then went on to construct the Giant Ferris Wheel in the late 1890s which is still standing today in Prater Park, Vienna.

In 1916 the castle was used as a convalescent home for army officers wounded in the First World War, and during the Second World War it was the ehadquarters for PLUTO, the Pipe-Line-Under-The- Ocean.