Guides → Roller coasters in the UK
The best roller coasters in the UK, ranked by thrill
TL;DR: Achtbaan’s catalogue has twelve UK roller coasters, more than any other European country, in just three parks. Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach (46 out of 100) and The Smiler at Alton Towers (45) lead, followed by Stealth and Colossus at Thorpe Park (36 each). Alton Towers has six of the twelve; The Smiler’s 14 inversions are the joint world record.
The United Kingdom has more coasters in Achtbaan’s catalogue than any other country in Europe, and they are concentrated in three parks: Alton Towers in Staffordshire, Thorpe Park near London and Blackpool Pleasure Beach on the Lancashire coast. This guide ranks all twelve by thrill score, explains what sets each park apart, and shows how to plan a visit.
The UK coasters on Achtbaan, ranked
The thrill score is Achtbaan’s 0 to 100 measure built from top speed, height, inversions and track length; the rank is each coaster’s place among the 101 operating coasters in the catalogue.
| Coaster | Park | Type | Height | Top speed | Inversions | Thrill | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big One | Blackpool Pleasure Beach | Steel | 65 m | 140* km/h | 0 | 46 | #14 |
| The Smiler | Alton Towers | Steel | 30 m | 85 km/h | 14 | 45 | #16 |
| Stealth | Thorpe Park | Steel | 62 m | 129 km/h | 0 | 36 | #45 |
| Colossus | Thorpe Park | Steel | 30 m | 72 km/h | 10 | 36 | #51 |
| Saw - The Ride | Thorpe Park | Steel | 30 m | 89 km/h | 3 | 29 | #76 |
| Nemesis Inferno | Thorpe Park | Steel | 29 m | 80 km/h | 4 | 28 | #80 |
| Icon | Blackpool Pleasure Beach | Steel | 27 m | 85 km/h | 1 | 27 | #83 |
| Nemesis Reborn | Alton Towers | Steel | 13 m | 80 km/h | 4 | 25 | #87 |
| Rita | Alton Towers | Steel | 18 m | 98 km/h | 0 | 24 | #90 |
| Galactica | Alton Towers | Steel | 20 m | 75 km/h | 2 | 24 | #91 |
| Wicker Man | Alton Towers | Wood | 22 m | 70 km/h | 0 | 21 | #97 |
| Th13teen | Alton Towers | Steel | 20 m | 68 km/h | 0 | 20 | #99 |
The catalogue covers the notable coasters of each country, not every ride, so some UK coasters are not listed yet. If one you love is missing, you can suggest it.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach: the tallest of the twelve
Big One, an Arrow Dynamics hyper coaster from 1994, is the tallest of the twelve at 65 metres and runs along the Blackpool seafront. It tops the UK ranking with 46, but by a single point, and that point rests on its top speed: the catalogue uses the park’s own figure of 140 km/h, while the Roller Coaster DataBase and Wikipedia give 119 km/h. On the lower figure Big One would score 42 and The Smiler would lead the UK. Icon, a Mack launch coaster from 2018, is the park’s other entry: 27 metres and 1,140 metres of track, with one inversion.
Alton Towers: six coasters, from records to family thrills
Alton Towers in Staffordshire has half of the UK coasters on Achtbaan. The Smiler, a Gerstlauer coaster from 2013, scores 45 and holds the joint world record of 14 inversions. Nemesis Reborn is the inverted coaster that opened as Nemesis in 1994 and reopened in 2024 after a refurbishment; at 13 metres it is the smallest on the list, but its track runs through a pit, close to the rock. Rita is a launch coaster that reaches 98 km/h, Galactica is a flying coaster that carries riders face-down (it opened as Air in 2002), Wicker Man is the UK’s wooden coaster in the catalogue, and Th13teen, the lowest score of the twelve, is built around a drop in the dark rather than size.
Thorpe Park: launches and loops near London
Thorpe Park, in Surrey near London, has four. Stealth, an Intamin launch coaster from 2006, reaches 129 km/h and climbs a 62-metre top hat on just 400 metres of track. Colossus, an Intamin from 2002, has ten inversions and was the first coaster in the world with that many. Saw - The Ride, a Gerstlauer from 2009, drops beyond vertical at 100 degrees before three inversions, and Nemesis Inferno is a B&M inverted coaster with four.
Inversions or speed?
The UK list splits clearly. The Smiler and Colossus between them have 24 inversions, while Big One, Stealth and Rita have none and are built for height and speed. Our guide to roller coaster inversions explained covers the loops and rolls behind the records, and the fastest roller coasters in the world shows where Stealth’s launch stands against the record holders.
Riding them all
The three parks are far apart: Thorpe Park is in the south-east near London, Alton Towers in the Midlands and Blackpool on the north-west coast, so most visitors ride them on separate days or trips. Alton Towers alone has six coasters and is worth a full day. Log each coaster as you ride it and the ride log’s park planner shows which park still has the most coasters you have not ridden; you can also log a whole park visit at once. Our guide to planning a roller coaster trip in Europe covers how to combine parks across borders, and if you are flying over from Amsterdam, our sister site SchipholParking.info compares the parking options at Schiphol.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most thrilling roller coaster in the UK?
On Achtbaan’s thrill score, Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach leads with 46 out of 100, just ahead of The Smiler at Alton Towers with 45. Big One’s lead rests on its top speed, which sources disagree about: on the lower figure of 119 km/h it would score 42 and The Smiler would lead.
Which UK roller coaster has the most inversions?
The Smiler at Alton Towers, with 14 inversions, the joint world record. Colossus at Thorpe Park has 10 and was the first coaster in the world to reach that number.
Which UK theme park has the most roller coasters on Achtbaan?
Alton Towers in Staffordshire, with six: The Smiler, Nemesis Reborn, Rita, Galactica, Wicker Man and Th13teen. Thorpe Park has four and Blackpool Pleasure Beach two.
Are there wooden roller coasters in the UK?
Yes. Wicker Man at Alton Towers, which opened in 2018, is the UK’s wooden coaster in Achtbaan’s catalogue; the other eleven UK coasters here are steel.