UK: Amusement park dedicated to the life and books of Charles Dickens opens in southeast England

The newly opened 'Dickens World' explores themes and characters from the famous British writer. It offers an interactive experience to visitors - old and young. Board this boat in an indoor theme park and you will embark on a journey back in time. This ten-minute boat ride takes the visitors through a model of 19th century London sewers, and above the city's rooftops. And it's an "all inclusive" experience: the visitors can see the scenes through the dark but can also smell the sewers, feel the water splashing and hear voices from the past. This journey, "great expectations", is the main attraction at a new theme park which opened in May southeast of London. "Dickens World" invites visitors to follow the life and times of one of Britain's biggest authors, Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and started his writing career as a journalist. He was the foremost novelist of the Victorian era and a social campaigner. Among his most famous novels were 'Great Expectations', 'David Copperfield', 'The adventures of Oliver Twist', 'A tale of two cities' and many more. Dickens died in 1870 and is buried in London's Westminster Abbey. "Dickens's books were often dark and murky and a lot of that side we do bring to life for people", says commercial manager Ross Hutchins. "but it's not just about Dickens's novels, it's about how life was in Victorian England as well, and through our use of characters that we have here , it's very much brings it to life for people when they come here and it's about experiencing the whole world of Victorian England". Dickens World is built as a 19th urban scene with shops, houses and schools. At one corner, visitors - old and young - are invited to experience a Victorian-style school. The classroom walls are covered with slogans such as 'speak when spoken to', but the desks are equipped with interactive screens which give the visitors information about Dickens' life. While they scroll through the screens, an actor demonstrates the values and curriculum of the time: he makes the visitors practice arithmetic and - most importantly - some manners. Tens of thousands of people have visited Dickens World since opening. For some of the young visitors it is s not only a journey through time, but an eye opener. "Before I thought , it was just life, but now I think I'm really lucky to like, be here now rather than back then," say 14 year-old Sharnie Lukes. The complex also includes "the haunted house", which shows holograms of ghosts from Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" and other famous characters. While wondering through the streets of 19th century London, visitors might meet a few Characters: they are offered to learn new card tricks, or buy a rat. There is a theatre which shows a 30 minute long demonstration Dickens' work, and the must-have eateries and souvenir shops. "It's amazing, really cool seeing like, all back in time and stuff, it's really cool," said Hannah, a young visitor. For commercial manager Ross Hutchins, the 62 million pound (GBP) investment in the complex was worthy. "I think Dickens is very much attraction is very much underestimated I'll probably say he is right up there in literacy greats right behind Shakespeare, very close on the hills, he has not had so much time to be out there in competition, and I think that you find that our there - there are many fellowships and fan clubs and people that have been in touch with us from all over the world". More than a century after his death, Charles Dickens is still an attraction. Tourists flock to the Dickens house in London and many of the famous London walks focus on the life and times of the author. Now Dickens fans can head southeast and enjoy his legacy a bit more.

ITN Source | August 20, 2007

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