Northern amusement parks

[Danny]

Been looking online at amusement parks in the North I used to go to and my favs have all closed down ( sob )

Frontierland at Moreambe

Pleasureland at Southport

Spanish City at Whitley Bay

It seems people now prefer theme ones like Camelot ( but not me)

Anyone got memories of any others that have now closed?

[rossobantam]

Re: Northern amusement parks

used to be a great park/fair at the top of the hill in North Bay, Scarborough...Marvels

cable car as well. All gone now (and the waterpark that was next to it, and the kids park..Kinderland)...all being developed for apartments

some sad photos of its current state (nice brochure pictured too though):
Marvels Amusement Park / Scarborough Water Chute
and the ongoin saga of the water chute ride
http://www.ukrides.info/scarboroughwaterchute.htm

happily the miniature steam railway is still there..takes you out to the Sea Life Centre

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Northern amusement parks

I love Spanish City in Whitley Bay. The Corkscrew was great! in 1986 I'd seen nothing like it! It was a great place to go for the day in the summer. I used to live in Durham so going there or to South Shields was a regular thing when I was a kid. We also used to go to Redcar. They had this indoor funfair! Think its still there! Also a trip to the Hoppings (Town Moor Fair) in Newcastle was a must!

[glam_racket]

Re: Northern amusement parks

I have fond memories of 'The Hoppings' stuckinthe80s - I also remember winning a coconut there and watching my dad try to open it to extract the watery insides with a hammer.

Needless to say, the watery insides ended up on the floor.

That said, the fleshy bit was nice (once the shell had been removed).

I also remember going to Lovett's Amusements on Majuba Road, Redcar, in the late 70s/early 80s there was a ****-poor ghost train and electronic novelties (I won't call them games, no Outrun or Gorf here) that seemed to have come from Victorian times.

The best thing I remember about Redcar as a kid were the boats on the boating lake. Tiny little 2 stoke engines that spluttered their carconogenic fumes directly where you and a responsible grown up sat (steering duties).

[Richard1978]

Re: Northern amusement parks

I also remember going to Lovett's Amusements on Majuba Road, Redcar, in the late 70s/early 80s there was a ****-poor ghost train and electronic novelties (I won't call them games, no Outrun or Gorf here) that seemed to have come from Victorian times.

The best thing I remember about Redcar as a kid were the boats on the boating lake. Tiny little 2 stoke engines that spluttered their carconogenic fumes directly where you and a responsible grown up sat (steering duties).

Interestingly in last the Young Ones episode "Summer Holiday" Norman Lovett played the owner of a Penny Arcade, who just happened to be doing his annual cash-in as the YOs were trying to rob the bank.

I wonder if that bit of casting was co-incidental or not?!

I went to the Haven Holiday Camp at Filey in 1990s, & that had some water dodgems that were powered by 2 stroke engines.

I remember the exhaust fumes were none to pleasent, & the handling was almost a tricky as a normal dodgem car.

[rossobantam]

Re: Northern amusement parks

used to be a great park/fair at the top of the hill in North Bay, Scarborough...Marvels

cable car as well. All gone now (and the waterpark that was next to it, and the kids park..Kinderland)...all being developed for apartments

some sad photos of its current state (nice brochure pictured too though):
Marvels Amusement Park / Scarborough Water Chute
and the ongoin saga of the water chute ride
Marvels Amusement Park / Scarborough Water Chute

happily the miniature steam railway is still there..takes you out to the Sea Life Centre

oh and Skegness had a great fair on the sea front (most of it is still there)
It had a great Fun House, with a vertical drop slide, and, best of all , a 'Mirror Maze'......same as a hedge maze, but with glass for walls.We played 'tig' in it...you'd see someone, bolt for them ,and smack your nose straight into the glass wall..fab stuff!

[Richard1978]

Re: Northern amusement parks

oh and Skegness had a great fair on the sea front (most of it is still there)
It had a great Fun House, with a vertical drop slide, and, best of all , a 'Mirror Maze'......same as a hedge maze, but with glass for walls.We played 'tig' in it...you'd see someone, bolt for them ,and smack your nose straight into the glass wall..fab stuff!

Blackpool Pleasure Beach used to have a mirror maze, I went there with some friends years ago & it took us age to get to the middle.

There was a hall of mirrors there with the standard wobbly mirrors.

Getting out was an effort as well.

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Northern amusement parks

South Shields was also a place we went to for a day out. There was a quite good fairground there. I remember there was a 'Twister' there called 'The Wildcat'. It was really fast! There was also a 'House that Jack Built' there which was great. Made me feel really off balance!

[Kiop]

Re: Northern amusement parks

Try Diggerland at Castleford. Sounds fun - you can drive JCB,s and stuff. Mind you, I've done it all before when I worked on an open-cast, so paying £13 for the pleasure doesn't really appeal to me. However, a great place for kids and adults alike. I hear the advert for it several times daily in the car, so thought I would post it here.

http://www.diggerland.com/

[chrisredditch]

Re: Northern amusement parks

I love Spanish City in Whitley Bay.

Quick Trivia Question??
The Spanish City is mentioned in an 80's song...Which one??

[HG]

Re: Northern amusement parks

That would be Dire Straits Tunnel of Love

[chilligrape]

Re: Northern amusement parks

used to be a great park/fair at the top of the hill in North Bay, Scarborough...Marvels

cable car as well. All gone now (and the waterpark that was next to it, and the kids park..Kinderland)...all being developed for apartments

some sad photos of its current state (nice brochure pictured too though):
Marvels Amusement Park / Scarborough Water Chute
and the ongoin saga of the water chute ride
Marvels Amusement Park / Scarborough Water Chute

happily the miniature steam railway is still there..takes you out to the Sea Life Centre

that is sooooo sad seeing those pics. we used to go to Marvels a lot when we were young in th 70's. more recently we took our kids to kinderland. They loved it there. :cry:

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Northern amusement parks

That would be Dire Straits Tunnel of Love

I totally forgot that the Spanish City is mentioned in that song! I will dig it out now and have a listen!

[Trickyvee]

Re: Northern amusement parks

I grew up five minutes away from the Spanish City...but I've never been on a rollercoaster or a waltzer in my life. All down to my dad taking me on the big wheel at the SC when I was about 5 and me hating it. I started screaming and I decided there and then that I would never go on any 'big' rides ever again, and I never did! Consequently I missed out on the Corkscrew experience but remember when it first arrived. It was a huge deal!

I spent lots of time at the Spanish City though. Loved the ghost train and the fun house and the big bumpy slide. Can anybody remember the hillbilly moonshine where you had to shoot things to get the hillbillies to move? One was in a toilet and the door would open on him if you got a hit. There was also a big boiler that would shake and rumble if you hit it but I was a bit scared of that.

[Trickyvee]

Re: Northern amusement parks

Just heard on the news that the infamous Hoppings in Newcastle has been scrapped for good this year . There will be some sort of fair there they say, but it will be nothing like the Hoppings. It's the end of an era. It's been going since 1882!