A 1000ft water slide has been booked for the streets of Ryde offering locals and visitors the chance to slip ‘n’ slide down Union Street – one of the steepest and longest hills on the Island.
Talks of bringing the fun and slightly scary waterslide to Ryde have been ongoing for many months on the social networking site Twitter, with Cllr Wayne Whittle tweeting to gain the support of local businesses and residents. Today (Sunday), Wayne has confirmed that the slide has been booked and final talks are underway to finialise the event details.
Although a date is yet to be confirmed, it is hoped that the slide will be in place for Sunday 12th July to coincide with the Wightlife Food Festival in the town over the same weekend.
Similar events have been held in Bristol and across the pond in America, all attracting massive support. In 2014 some 100,000 people applied to fly down the 300ft slide in Bristol.
It is currently unknown how many riders will be able to take on the challenge on the day, but all monies raised are earmarked to go to Ryde Inshore Rescue, Waterside Pool and Ryde Arena.
Ryde Slide, as it has been named on Twitter, has already got the thumbs up from locals and Bestival curator Rob Da Bank, who says he will take part. It is hoped the event will become an annual attraction in Ryde.
The prospect of Ryde Slide has excited many and although it may have to be cut back in size, the sharp incline means maximum fun for riders as they speed down the hill past thousands of spectators and into a pool at the end.
Here’s a video of the sort of thing you can expect this Summer…
