Rage

Adventure Island stands on the Southend seafront, a neighbour to Southend Pier, which stretches 1.33 miles into the Thames Estuary as the world’s longest pleasure pier. Rage belongs to that bright resort prospect: steel track, salt air, and the long promenade all in one view. southendpier.co.uk· adventureisland.co.uk

In 2007 the park made room for its new Gerstlauer coaster by relocating Skydrop, Vortex, and the Raging River Log Flume. Adventure Island has described Rage as one of its largest investments, at £3 million, and visitors arrived to find a sharper, taller landmark on the frontage. adventureisland.co.uk· leisureopportunities.co.uk

The machinery is Gerstlauer’s compact Euro-Fighter idea, with a vertical chain lift and a drop steeper than straight down. Rage opened on 10 February 2007 as a 320+ installation, turning a small seaside footprint into a 22-metre course with three inversions and a finish beside the estuary. coasterpedia.net· gerstlauer-rides.de· en.wikipedia.org

Its later local stories have been suitably Southend in character. In 2011, the park noted that crows had nested at the top of Rage’s loop, a strange little flourish of wildlife on a modern steel ride that was already part of the resort skyline. adventureisland.co.uk· en.wikipedia.org