'I've been on UK's best rollercoaster 4,000 times and ride it every week without fail'

It's been years since I last went on a rollercoaster but I've always loved the feeling of excitement teamed with some trepidation as I get strapped into a ride. And I'm not the only one. Theme parks are big business, so much so that Universal's plans for a new 476-acre multi billion pound entertainment complex near has sent theme park fans in a frenzy this week.

There are several places in the UK offering a rollicking good rollercoaster time. One of the most popular is Located near Surbiton houses the revolutionary Vampire, which this weekend celebrates 35 years thrilling park visitors. Vampire first took flight in 1990 as part of the newly rebranded Chessington theme park. It was Europe's first-ever suspended roller coaster - one of only three of its ride type left in the - and the only one outside of North America.

I was invited to try out its daring drops and swooping turns alongside rollercoaster superfan and theme park fanatic Calum Henderson. Calum, 26, who lives in Watford, visits Chessington every week without fail and has ridden Vampire over 4,000 times. His proudest achievement, he tells me, is riding Vampire 90 times in a single day.

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The thrill-seeker's season pass means he gets access to other Merlin parks including Alton Towers. And he certainly gets his money's worth: this Easter weekend Calum along with Dad Colin, 59, and brother Rory, 24, are planning to go to three different theme parks - Drayton Manor, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Alton Towers. "It's like being a season ticket holder for the football but I can get to go more than once a week. There is no feeling in the world that beats being on a rollercoaster for me," he says.

When it comes to Vampire, nothing can compare. "It combines so many elements of all the rollercoasters I love, and it's the original," Calum says. "It's the only ride that makes you feel like you're flying due to its unique design." As a suspended rollercoaster, it allows for a rocking and swinging motion during the ride. Vampire hangs at 70 feet with speeds of 45 miles per hour. The ride's height restriction starts at 1.1metres. "You swing beneath the tracks," Calum adds. "It really gives you the feeling of flying ducking into the wood below. What's a better way to spend an afternoon than flying through treetop with your legs danging below you?"

Seasoned rider Calum even has sunglasses with a head strap to ensure they don't fly off. "The G-force can get quite intense on rollercoasters," he warns me as I scramble to put my sunnies and phone into my jacket pocket and zip it up. This is simply not the time or place for selfies.

The gothic theming of the ride is eerily on point. Seated at the front (which every self-respecting rollercoaster fan knows is generally the best ride spot), I feel like I'm a bat being launched into hell. At the station, a creepy doll figure from the ride's debut still plays music at a large pipe organ to get you in the sufficiently spooky mood.

This ride is the creation of inventor John Wardley, who Calum describes as a 'god'. And if the UK theme park industry had a Walt Disney figure, John would be it. His CV boasts the creation of the biggest and best loved rollercoaster rides Alton Tower's Smiler, Nemesis and The Wicker Man to name a few. Calum adds: "John has designed all the best rollercoasters, he is a very clever man to create so many different styles of rollercoasters and for that he has brought so much joy into people's lives."

He originally started as a stage manager before moving into special effects in the movie industry - working on the original 70s Hammer horror films as well as The Man With The Golden Gun and Live And Let Die.

Later when I interview him, he reveals he worked on the famous bus scene from Live And Let Die, when Roger Moore is driving a double-decker bus that crashes under a bridge cleanly, slicing off the top half. Roger, always the cool, calm and collected 007, drives on unperturbed.

Later John joined the Tussauds Group who asked him to work on creating amusement rides for their leisure properties, including Chessington Zoo. It was John's idea to rebrand the zoo which had been open since 1931 into a more theme park style "world of adventures."

Other rollercoasters at Chessington include Jumanji ride Mandrill Mayhem, Rattlesnake and spinning rollercoaster Dragon's Fury. He says: "Vampire was my first rollercoaster. I knew it was different to anything else we had in the country but I never thought it would be as successful as it has been - and how it is continuing to go strong."

Towards the end of the Vampire ride, the coaster takes a sudden drop into a tunnel. The tunnel was originally longer, darker and themed as a cave, however this styling was removed to make room for larger, floorless trains in 2002.

John says of the rollercoaster appeal: "There is something very sexy about rollercoasters. Not everybody can test the boundaries of what they dare and dare not do with bungee jumping and skydiving and those sorts of things that require a lot of either training or money or travel or practice to do. But anyone can go to a theme park and try a

"A successful rollercoaster tests those boundaries. Most people overcome their fears and do it. Some people may say they I might not want to do it again but I was able to prove something to myself. Or you can be someone like Calum who can't get enough of them. The thrills are very accessible. Not everyone can get the exhilaration of filming a high-action Bond sequence, but you can go to a theme park."

John, 74 reveals how people have tried to make the rollercoaster experience even sexier by trying to get frisky at the top of them - although it's disputable they can fully succeed considering how fast many of them travel. There have also been marriage proposals, weddings and vow renewals on his rides, some love riding them so much they have gone on to

Now halfway through its third decade, riders have many special memories of riding Vampire through the years. "The nostalgia element is really lovely for people. Parents and even grandparents reminisce about riding it. You'll see people who went on as kids and now have great fun taking their children and grandkids and watch them experience the joy."

And Calum experiences that joy as often as possible - visiting Chessington one day every week on his own. He was hooked on rides ever since his dad took him to aged four. "No one rollercoaster experience is ever the same - which is why it is so much fun. It's also why I spend all my free time visiting as many as I can - I always enjoy the ride no matter how many times I've been on."