As Angry Birds fever hits the UK ahead of the launch of the new themed land at Thorpe Park in May, the original Angry Birds Land in Tampere, southern Finland, is expecting a particularly buzzy 2014 summer.  

Celebrating its two year anniversary this summer, the world's first Angry Birds Land is part of the Särkänniemi Adventure Park in Finland's second city and follows the success of Rovio, the Finnish entertainment media company, that first released the Angry Birds app in December 2009.

A popular destination for families to Finland, the world's first Angry Birds Land features a host of attractions, rides and amusement park games bearing the familiar red bird characters, including Lighthouse, the Angry Birds Ride and Pig Popper game. At the heart of the land is the Angry Birds Adventure Course with its tunnels, staircases, slides and secret passages. The wider Särkänniemi Adventure Park is also home to other great theme park rides, as well as an aquarium, planetarium, dolphinarium and a children's zoo.

Tampere city centre, just a short distance from the park, offers a mix of industrial heritage, slick Finnish sophistication and spectacular scenery including waterways and woodland. Finland's second city has an industrious energy, where many of its large factories and warehouses have now been converted into unusual galleries and museums, such as the Moomin Valley Museum, Vakoilumuseo (Spy Museum) and the Lenin Museum (where Lenin and Stalin allegedly first met).

Angry Birds Land, Tampere, opens 3rd May 2014 for the summer season and will be open daily from 27th May until 6th August, between 12pm and 7pm (later opening hours in peak summer). Entrance to Särkänniemi Adventure Park, including Angry Birds Land is free of charge this summer, but some rides and attractions incur an additional cost. Individual rides in Angry Birds Land cost 5€ or 10€, depending on the size of the ride. An Adventure Key costs 37€ for the day and includes admission to all attractions and rides open in the summer season, including the Dolphinarium, Näsinneula observation tower, Planetarium and all rides in Särkänniemi Adventure Park.

Ryanair offers direct flights to Tampere from London Stansted, priced from £49 return in May. www.ryanair.com

The newly refurbished Hotel Cumulus Hämeenpuisto offers double rooms from £75 in May, including breakfast and use of the sauna, and is within walking distance of Särkänniemi Adventure Park as well as Tampere's other family-friendly attractions and theatres. www.cumulus.fi  

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