A THEME park in Europe is getting even bigger with a huge expansion that will have new attractions and rides.
Plopsaland Belgium has revealed it will be investing £21million for the largest expansion of the park in its history which is set to open in two years.
The family friendly theme park is in the north of Belgium and has over 55 attractions including water rides and rollercoasters.
It recently revealed it would be expanding the park at a cost of £21million.
The new area of the park will be called Plopsaland Plaza and it will be home to a bowling alley, and the Grand Café which will serve up classics like beef stew and steak tartare.
The Plopsa Express – the train that runs through the park – will return too with a completely new station.
There will be a new ride called the ‘Flying Cinema’ which will be a moving gondola ride where visitors will be made to feel like they’re flying in front of a huge dome screen.
The complex has only just been announced and isn’t set to be open to visitors until 2027.
Some of the already existing and most popular parts of the park include Plopsaland De Panne which is the main theme park.
There’s also Plopsaqua De Panne which is the water park with lots of water-based attractions.
One of the most famous attractions in the park is ‘The Ride to Happiness’, which is in Tomorrowland.
It was voted Best Roller Coaster in Europe in 2025 and even ranks 5th worldwide, according to the Golden Ticket Awards.
The rollercoaster has a maximum speed of 55mph and at its highest point is 35 metres above the park.
Other attractions in the park include The Bumper Cars, Wienerwalz, The Flying Bikes, and a small drop tower for kids.
One of the more high speed rollercoasters in the park is Heidi The Ride which has a top speed of 44mph.
There’s also a water ride called SuperSplash, which is themed around pirates and riders will plunge 30 metres down at a speed of 43mph.
There’s also an animal farm with chickens, goats, donkeys and rabbits.
Tickets into Plopsaland cost €46 (£40.09) per person, or there are family tickets which can be bought in groups of up to six people for €37.50 (£32.69) per ticket.
Tickets with an overnight stay at the Theatre Hotel start at €124 (£108.09), staying in the village start from €80 (£69.74) and Studio 100 Chalets start at €56 (£48.81).
As you’ve probably worked out already, Plopsaland Belgium is in Belgium. It’s outside of the city of Veurne found by the coast and near the French border.
To get there from the UK, the fastest way is to drive using the Eurotunnel or ferry across to France.
From there it’s around a 45 minute drive from the French coast into Belgium – in total it would take around four hours.
Discover this massive European theme park less than three hours from the UK named the best in the world – beating Disney and Universal.
And for more theme park fun here in the UK, here are the top six UK theme parks you can easily reach by train this summer – and how to find the cheapest family fares.
TO many drivers, Britain’s roads can feel unnecessarily complex and confusing, often narrow and, at times, highly stressful to navigate.
This can be due to old layouts, confusing junctions like the Hanger Lane Gyratory, Smart Motorways with dynamic speed limits, complex roundabouts and winding rural roads.
That doesn’t even take into account the multitude of traffic signs that are frequently misunderstood or difficult to remember – despite their importance.
In fact, understanding the meaning of these signs can be vital – especially for those preparing for their driving test.
Here are some of the most commonly misunderstood road signs found across the country – how many of them do you know with confidence?
A red circle with nothing inside indicates that no vehicles are allowed on that road at all, except for bicycles being pushed.
According to experts at RevMonkeyUK: “It’s one of the most misunderstood signs on British roads. Most people assume it’s incomplete or just decorative, but it marks a strict ‘no vehicles’ zone.
“That includes everything from cars and motorbikes to mopeds and electric scooters. So much so that often the highways agency has to amend the sign to include text to avoid confusion.”
This blue and white sign indicates a lane reserved exclusively for buses and cyclists.
Drivers should also check for any timings displayed on the sign; if none are specified, the restriction applies at all times.
A red triangle with a car falling into water warns drivers of a nearby quayside or riverbank where the road may end abruptly.
A confusing one for many, this sign, with a blue background with a red outline and an ‘X’ through the centre indicates that vehicles must not stop under any circumstances – including dropping off or picking up passengers or goods.
Similar to the No Stopping sign but with a single red line through the circle.
This means drivers can stop briefly to pick up or drop off passengers, but cannot wait for long.
A red cross warns of a railway crossing without barriers or lights, and urges drivers to proceed with extreme caution and only cross when it is safe.
The positioning of the arrows on this sign can sometimes cause confusion.
However, this blue circular sign, featuring two white arrows pointing downwards in opposite directions, simply indicates that vehicles are allowed to pass on either side to reach the same destination.
A POPULAR city centre toy shop is running a 25% closing down sale as it prepares to close.
The Entertainer at the Moor Shopping Centre in Sheffield will shut its doors for the final time today, October 11.
The ‘everything must go’ sale has sen prices slashed on tonnes of items, except for gift cards, Lego, VTech and LeapFrog products.
One social media user expressed his disappointment at the decision by saying: “And another one gone.”
Andrew Murphy OBE, group chief executive officer at The Entertainer, said: “We are disappointed that we were unable to agree on commercially viable terms with our landlord at our Sheffield Moors store and particularly upset at the impact this has on our colleagues, who have run the store brilliantly.
“Sadly, it is a fact of retail life that shops sometimes have to close, as shopping patterns shift and cost growth outstrips sales increases.
“We remain committed to serving the people of Sheffield through our amazingly successful store at Meadowhall.”
Savers Health and Beauty Ltd have put in a planning application for the building, with designs for a new site on the building already drawn up.
The beloved toy store chain announced the closure of it’s Wrexham store last week.
The chain has also shut stores in Barrow-in-Furness, Croydon, Luton and Wandsworth so far this year.
The toy store announced a big change in its operations in September, to open on Sundays for the first time.
The Entertainer previously did not open on a Sunday due to the Christian beliefs of its founder, Gary Grant.
The change will run as a six month trial until Easter 2026 and is hoped to create 200 new jobs.
Husband and wife founders Gary and Catherine Grant handed the company’s ownership to its 1,900 employees in August.
They put the family business in the hands of an employee-run board, nearly 45 years after opening their first shop in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
Despite the recent turbulence it remains the largest toy shop in the UK with 160 stores across the country.
The UK toy market was up 8% in value in the year to June according to recent data.
But, that is just one positive sign in a grim market for high street retailers.
The high street has been struggling for the past decade, with the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis dealing fresh blows to a struggling industry.
34 chain retailers packed up in 2024, affecting over 50,000 employees, as online shopping continued to surge in popularity.
Internet sales have skyrocketed from 19.5% to 27.6% of all retail sales in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
FOR the first few months of her pregnancy, everything was smooth sailing for Hannah Sachs.
But everything changed when her 22-week scan flagged an abnormality. Her unborn son had a suspected encephalocele – when part of the brain protrudes through a gap in the skull.
The 32-year-old was terrified she’d lose her child, but she remained under close monitoring and welcomed little Liam into the world in March 2023 with no complications.
Hannah, a research coordinator based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, tells Sun Health: “Seeing him for the first time was a moment I’ll hold on to forever.
“He was beautiful, and his mere presence was a blessing.”
But he didn’t look like the other babies in the hospital.
Liam was born with a large sac of fluid – resembling a bubble, which the family nicknamed his “squishy” – on his forehead, and was immediately taken to the NICU.
“It was a complete rollercoaster of emotions,” Hannah, who lives with her partner Gabriel, says.
“All I cared about was his ability to live outside of the womb – everything else we would figure out and handle.”
After 13 days, he was discharged to go home, but needed oxygen as his levels would often drop throughout the day.
Liam appeared to be recovering. However, two weeks later, he developed severe hydrocephalus – a build-up of excess cerebrospinal fluid in the brain.
It can lead to brain damage and sometimes be fatal, and the tot needed an emergency shunt to drain it.
“He was one month old and having his first brain surgery,” Hannah says. “It was tough to see him go through it.
“He was already proving to be so strong at such a young age.”
The surgery was a success, but doctors advised he would need a larger operation when he was six months old to remove the encephalocele, and undergo a full skull reconstruction.
The tiny tot underwent the 11-hour procedure in September 2023.
Hannah says: “Because of where the encephalocele was formed, it caused a lot of his skull to be deformed so they were able to correct a lot of that during this surgery as well.”
Liam spent 11 days recovering, with his eyes swollen shut for the first week.
“Every single thing scared him because he couldn’t see,” Hannah adds.
“Nurses and doctors were touching him to get vitals or check the incision, and it would scare him.
“We would be constantly talking to him to try to walk him through what was happening.
“Although he didn’t understand the words we were saying, I found comfort in him knowing our voices, and it seemed to help him a lot.”
While the surgery went well, Liam was vomiting and irritable, leading to further concerns.
A physical therapist soon found that he wasn’t as active or mobile as a typical child of that age, and at 10 months he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP) – a lifelong condition that affects movement and coordination.
My son is imperfectly perfect in every way. He truly is a miracle
Hannah Sachs
Hannah says: “It wasn’t a surprising diagnosis, but it’s sometimes hard for us to fully grasp because it’s a lifelong disability.
“He will have CP for the rest of his life, as well as a shunt for hydrocephalus.
“But despite it all, Liam is doing really great. He has been in a lot of therapies – occupational, speech, feeding, aquatic and music – and has really developed and learned a lot.
“He’s walking – almost running at times – and is saying a handful of words, including ‘mama’ and ‘dada’. I love hearing his voice.
“Sometimes he babbles and is trying to have conversations which is great, even if we can’t always understand what he is trying to say.
“Everyone is very optimistic that he will speak one day. He is so strong and resilient.
“Despite his limitations, he is adventurous and loves to push limits – he’ll go down slides headfirst and loves to be outside.
“Everything that he has overcome so far in his life is a part of his story. He proves people wrong daily.”
At one stage, the family weren’t sure if Liam would ever stop being fed through a tube.
But the youngster now enjoys his meals exclusively by mouth.
“He hasn’t hit other milestones on time, such as walking, and didn’t start walking unassisted until he was two,” Hannah adds.
“Even though it took him longer to achieve, he is doing it.
“We celebrate every single win he has.”
By GP Dr Zoe Williams
CEREBRAL palsy is a neurological condition that affects movement and coordination.
The original brain injury or developmental difference doesn’t go away., so it is considered lifelong.
But the way in which it affects the body can change over time, and how you care for yourself will make a huge difference to your outcome.
Cerebral palsy is caused by a problem with the brain that develops before, during or soon after birth.
Symptoms include: delays in reaching development milestones, seeming too stiff or floppy, weak arms or legs, fidgety or jerky movements, walking on tiptoes and learning disabilities.
The condition ranges widely in severity – some people need mobility aids earlier, while others stay independent well into later life.
A healthy lifestyle plays a huge role. Staying active, keeping your muscles strong and flexible, maintaining a healthy weight and eating well all reduce strain on your joints and slow down secondary complications such as arthritis, muscle contractures or fatigue.
The concept of neuroplasticity is key here. Amazingly, your brain and nervous system have the ability to adapt and develop new ways of routing signals and compensating.
Your body can develop new ways of moving and coping, especially if you’ve kept up with exercise, stretching or therapy.
Alongside a healthy lifestyle, treatments like physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, medicine and surgery can also improve quality of life.
While cerebral palsy can limit activities and independence, most children live into adult life and some can live for many decades.
You can contact the charity Scope for advice and support.
While Hannah never pictured herself as the parent of a child with additional needs, she says she “wouldn’t change Liam for the world”.
The doting mum adds: “This life is hard but so beautiful.
“Seeing your child be intubated and have every medical procedure has been traumatic, but we all have come out on the other side.
“I wish he didn’t have to have so many surgeries or go to as many therapies because those things are hard, but he is so resilient, determined, strong and brave because he has been through all of that.
“He is imperfectly perfect in every way.
“This life is very different from what I thought it would be but it is more beautiful and rewarding than I ever thought possible.
“Liam is doing things on his timeline and in his own way. He is truly a miracle.”
