Member Article

North Shields inflatable theme park bouncing back after weathering lockdowns storm

THE owners of an inflatable theme park in Newcastle say the family attraction is bouncing back after weathering the storm of Covid-19.

Inflata Nation, based at the Royal Quays Outlet Centre in North Shields, was forced to close at various stages over the past 18 months due to lockdowns and local restrictions on indoor venues.

The doors were finally flung open again in May - with extra health and safety measures in place - after rules were lifted.

And owners Sally and Leigh Robinson have thanked loyal customers for ensuring they were sold-out all summer as they look to recover.

Sally said: “We had to batten down the hatches and just wait it out during the Covid crisis. A major worry was how things would look once we were allowed to reopen.

“We had a great start as a business after launching in April 2019. But less than a year later we were left with no option but to close down, and that was tough to take.

“The leisure sector was hit particularly hard because, unlike restaurants, we couldn’t keep trading by doing takeaways or something like that. We just had to shut the doors.

“It’s still all a bit new, with the increased measures in place to ensure everyone remains healthy and safe, but we had a busy summer - especially during the school holidays - and we are looking forward to some Christmas fun during the festive season.

“After being closed for so long over the past 18 months it has been wonderful to see our customers, old and new, bouncing, smiling and just enjoying themselves again.”

Inflata Nation now has nine venues across England and Scotland, including Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.

The North Shields site is unique in that it’s located inside a 20,000 sq ft inflatable structure.

Highlights include a surf simulator, huge drop slides, an assault course and Inflata Bubbles. There is also a special area for under-fours.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Johnny Greaney .