"Barry Island Pleasure Park was[1] an amusement park situated on the coast at Barry Island in the Vale of Glamorgan, about 10 miles south west of the capital city Cardiff, Wales. The park opened annually at weekends from Easter onwards and daily during the school summer holidays, until the first weekend in September. As of September 2014, it is closed until further announcements are made." -Wikipedia
Year after year the same thing happens with Barry Island Pleasure Park. Someone new buys it, they bring in some travelling rides, the old rides fall further into decay. This year, it appears the old rides are being given some..undesirable attention. I was walking past with a friend and saw how empty the place was. This led to a rather spontaneous explore!
History is all over the internet so I won't go into too much detail, however this is the famous Barry Island. Set of TV shows such as Gavin and Stacey, Being Human and also Sarah Jane Adventures. It officially opened as an amusement park in 1897 and thrived for many years featuring various rides from roller coasters to tea cups. Sadly, not much remains of the original park aside from the Log Flume and the main circuit of the jungle ride. The Haunted Mine Ghost Train is currently being demolished and I'm afraid the other rides are soon to follow.
Once a bustling site for beach-goers and thrill seekers alike, not much remains.
Plush toys and stall prizes are strewn across the site reminding any passers by of the joy the location used to bring to small children.
Mascots and signs are also laying on the ground
There are still reminders of the fair ground there such as decaying rides like the tea cups and the pirate ship.
The Log Flume and the Jungle Ride still remain.
The log flume looks a bit worse for wear
The Haunted Mine Ghost Train:
This was my favourite bit of the explore. I've always loved ghost trains, and this one has definitely got a history behind it. Originally it was a boxcar racer themed dark ride, but throughout the years it started to look a bit run down. The owners of the park asked John Wardley to come and help redevelop it. John Wardley is known for having major roles in world famous rides such as Nemesis, Air and Oblivion at Alton Towers, Colossus, The Swarm and SAW - The Ride at Thorpe Park as well as various other attractions world wide. When John Wardley helped redevelop the box car racer ride, it became Dr Frankenstein's Scream Machine and featured a very different layout to what it was originally and what it is now. The ride was later redeveloped again into The Haunted Mine, it featured a much smaller layout than the original ride yet still had some of the same effects and props such as the falling boxes and the Frankenstein's Monster from the facade.
Unfortunately, the ride is in a rather sorry state with the facade completely missing and half of the props inside either broken, vandalised or missing.
This was not part of the ride, this is the result of the demolition.
Some of the effects:
It was a fun couple of hours, I've always wanted to look around some of these rides and I'm considering heading back there soon to go a bit deeper into the Jungle Ride.
Thanks for reading.
Year after year the same thing happens with Barry Island Pleasure Park. Someone new buys it, they bring in some travelling rides, the old rides fall further into decay. This year, it appears the old rides are being given some..undesirable attention. I was walking past with a friend and saw how empty the place was. This led to a rather spontaneous explore!
History is all over the internet so I won't go into too much detail, however this is the famous Barry Island. Set of TV shows such as Gavin and Stacey, Being Human and also Sarah Jane Adventures. It officially opened as an amusement park in 1897 and thrived for many years featuring various rides from roller coasters to tea cups. Sadly, not much remains of the original park aside from the Log Flume and the main circuit of the jungle ride. The Haunted Mine Ghost Train is currently being demolished and I'm afraid the other rides are soon to follow.
Once a bustling site for beach-goers and thrill seekers alike, not much remains.
Plush toys and stall prizes are strewn across the site reminding any passers by of the joy the location used to bring to small children.
Mascots and signs are also laying on the ground
There are still reminders of the fair ground there such as decaying rides like the tea cups and the pirate ship.
The Log Flume and the Jungle Ride still remain.
The log flume looks a bit worse for wear
The Haunted Mine Ghost Train:
This was my favourite bit of the explore. I've always loved ghost trains, and this one has definitely got a history behind it. Originally it was a boxcar racer themed dark ride, but throughout the years it started to look a bit run down. The owners of the park asked John Wardley to come and help redevelop it. John Wardley is known for having major roles in world famous rides such as Nemesis, Air and Oblivion at Alton Towers, Colossus, The Swarm and SAW - The Ride at Thorpe Park as well as various other attractions world wide. When John Wardley helped redevelop the box car racer ride, it became Dr Frankenstein's Scream Machine and featured a very different layout to what it was originally and what it is now. The ride was later redeveloped again into The Haunted Mine, it featured a much smaller layout than the original ride yet still had some of the same effects and props such as the falling boxes and the Frankenstein's Monster from the facade.
Unfortunately, the ride is in a rather sorry state with the facade completely missing and half of the props inside either broken, vandalised or missing.
This was not part of the ride, this is the result of the demolition.
Some of the effects:
It was a fun couple of hours, I've always wanted to look around some of these rides and I'm considering heading back there soon to go a bit deeper into the Jungle Ride.
Thanks for reading.
:
