Watch: I take in the best of Winterland Wolverhampton, including a wild ride on the waltzer

The Frankfurt German Market in Birmingham has been a leading attraction over the years, bringing thousands of visitors to the city every year, but other parts of the West Midlands have looked at how they can bring people in by providing a bit of fun for all the family.

Where I live in Wolverhampton, there have been numerous attempts at attractions around Christmas, from a Hungarian market to a few winter-themed attractions, but nothing I would call a showstopping event.

This year, however, the Winterland Wolverhampton attraction on Old Market Square might be the one which works.

Set on the site of the former Wolverhampton market, Winterland is the creation of the Harry Jones Fun Fair Company and is based on the Market Square, which is used for all types of events, throughout the festive period.

It started at the end of November and is not hard to miss, with bright lights and tall rides clearly visible as you pass by on the Wolverhampton Ring Road, head up School Street or pass by it on the way towards the Mander Centre.

The whole area is surrounded by a large fence, with one port of entry on Salop Street, but the event itself is free to enter and is being promoted by organisers as a place where you can bring the family and walk around and not necessarily spend a penny if you don't want to.

On entry, the area is very well lit up and very noisy from the different rides taking place around the large complex, but one area of quiet can be found at the front entrance where Santa Claus is waiting to meet children and find out what they want for Christmas.

The rides are all set on a token system, with each token costing £1.20 each or 10 for £10, and the faster, louder and more adrenaline-pumping the ride, the more tokens you'll have to hand over.

There are some daintier ones involving tea cups and trampolines, or you get on the rollercoaster that goes up, down, around and around for three laps. I gave it a try for three tokens and was pleasantly surprised to find that I could actually fit into one of the cars, which had reindeer at the front (a year ago, not so much).

It was actually a lot faster than I expected, moving quickly around the two level, figure of eight circuit and coming with a number of dips and dives.

I hadn't been on a rollercoaster for a while and that seemed like a zippier start that I anticipated.

However, I soldiered on and walked over to the World's Tour, a three token and three level attraction full of different obstacles, from a rotating barrel roll to punching bags, a spinning floor and a timber bridge which I walked very slowly over, being a little husky in my middle years and, therefore, more worried about a sudden drop.

While I was maybe a bit too old for it, I made it to the top and took in the view of Winterland, which was full of colour, noise and just a hint of paraffin in the air (more on that to come).

After making my grand descent, I took a few minutes to look at the stalls in the middle, all of which involved numerous ways to try and win a large bear, toys, X-Box controllers and even a bottle of Absolut Vodka.

It's not my thing these days, but there were certainly more than enough people throwing hoops or hooking ducks to keep the stalls running.

It was a Sunday afternoon when I visited and what was nice was seeing the numbers of families and groups of friends down there, getting on rides, hooking a duck or just posing for a photo at one of the stars or other attractions on show.

I took the time to chat with organisers Paige Jones and Charlotte Jones-Humphreys about the event and they said that the whole idea had been to bring a nice and different attraction to Wolverhampton which, while it wouldn't make the company any real money, was a venture worth trying as if it takes off, they said they wanted to come back again to do it.

They also let me go on the biggest ride they had, a pendulum-style ride where, after being strapped in, you are then swung back and forth, getting higher and higher and getting more extended views of the event and the adjacent ice rink.

It's a ride that costs four tokens and, for me, just a bit too much at my age. 20 years ago, I'd have probably gone on again, but I clung on for dear life, possibly swearing a bit and was very happy to get off.

However, if it's your thing, go at it and scream your head off.

After all that, I needed a stiff drink and something to eat and this is where Winterland provides a wide and varied selection, paying tribute to the Frankfurt Market, but not just copying it.

Front and centre near the ice rink, which was full of people either skating freely, taking their time or clinging onto anything to stay standing, is the German Bratwurst and Currywurst kitchen, with large sausages cooking to perfection in the centre over a hot fire.

A Bratwurst, Kasekrainer (filled with cheese) or a Krakauer (spicy) is £8, while the big German Pig in Blanket is £9 and Currywurst Fries, which are chips topped with sausage and curry sauce, is £10, so comparable to the Frankfurt market.

If German Sausage isn't for you, there are plenty of other options on offer on the food deck, which has the bar at the front and full of offerings.

There are two beers, Carling and Coors, a Thatchers Original cider and Guinness on tap, all for £6 a pint, as well as a wide array of spirits, cocktails and even jelly shots which you can "inject" into your mouth.

At the bar, cocktails are £7, spirits are £6 for a single and £8 for a double and, after being sent up and down at fast speed, a beer and sausage went down very nicely.

Other food options inside the food area include Pizzas and Garlic bread, a burger van with a lot of variety, a donut stall and even a Yorkshire Pudding wrap, which looked divine with the options of meat and gravy.

You can also get luxury hot chocolate and buy marshmallows to toast over an open fire (that's the smell of paraffin), so there really is something for everyone, including Wolfie and Wendy from Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were visitors to Winterland and who proved very popular.

I was nearing the end of my visit, but got persuaded by Paige, Charlotte and her husband Jonny to go and give the waltzer a go as I had been told that the pendulum ride I'd taken had nothing on this.

Either because I'm brave, gullible or stupid (take your pick), I took a seat in one of the cars, which would be four tokens, and as "Step into Christmas" by Elton John played on, it started to move and pick up speed.

It suddenly dawned on me that my intake of a sausage and beer might not have been the wisest idea as the world began spinning faster and faster, aided by one of the ride attendants who had a smile on his face.

I've been on waltzers before, but this was a new one for me as I started to feel gravity pinning me to my seat and the lights just becoming a blur, even though the music was still clear (at least one of my senses hadn't gone for a walk).

The speed eventually began to dissipate and I started to be able to move again, before the ride finally ended and I was helped, a little unceremoniously, to my feet, took a minute to get my bearings and walked off feeling just a bit dizzy.

Winterland Wolverhampton is an attraction which has a lot going for it, from a good selection of food and drink to a wide selection of rides and plenty of other ways to entertain people, plus it's actually just really nice to walk around and take in the festive feeling.

For what I experienced with the rides and a beer and sausage, I would have spent around £30 or so, but as I said, it's an event where you can pay as much or little as you want and treat is as the attraction it is.

I'm not the biggest Christmas person, but this is a good way to spend a few hours, so make sure to get yourself down before January 5 and give it a go while it's there.