17 May, 12
Info. History Closed Parks Southport, P. Land
 Southport, Pleasureland

 

Pleasureland - RIP

After over 90 years as an amusement park, Southport Pleasureland closed its gate one final time in September 2006.Soon afterwards; rides were sold to other UK parks. The signature ride - Traumatizer was dismantled, and is to be Blackpool Pleasure Beaches big new attraction for the 2007 season. Space Shot has gone to Loudon Castle, and Chaos and some smaller rides to Lightwater Valley.


Sadly, the wooden coaster, Cyclone, was demolished in November 2006. The rest of the site is currently standing untouched, the future uncertain.


The origins of Pleasureland begin with a Switchback Railway on the beach, opened in 1895, alongside and Aerial Glide and Bicycle Railway. From there, the local council took a great interest in developments, and guided the expansion of the park, allowing for attraction such as the River Caves (1908), Maxim's Flying Machine (1904), Water Chute (1903) and Lighthouse Skelter (1905) to be opened. The council also controlled the local stalls and refreshment vendors. Around 1912, the fairground was given the name "White City" and was now set to be a major attraction in the town.

In 1922, the local council decided to relocate the amusement park to a new site, and arranged to have all the attractions moved to the current site of Pleasureland. The new site was larger, and laid out in a planned fashion, very similar to the layout which was kept over the years.

During its time, Southport Pleasureland has seen many rides come and go. At one time two Scenic Railway rides entwined in the corner where Traumatizer stood. The mountain caterpillar was dismantled and lost, but the Scenic

Railway moved to Battersy, where it was unfortunately the cause of a major accident in the early 1970's.

In 1937, the old "Figure 8 Toboggan" coaster was taken down, and a new coaster by renowned designer, Charles Paige was constructed. His prior work included the Grand National at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.

Over the years, many operators were on-site, including Silcocks and an arm of Blackpool Pleasure Beach. In 1997, Blackpool Pleasure Beach Ltd. took control of the last tenant. A period of heavy investment was made, which included new restaurants, the Traumatizer coaster, and a general clean up of the park.

Sadly, the park was seen as financially unviable after 2 years of losses, and was closed in September 2006. Below is the park map as it was during the 2005 season.

Once there are details of the future of the site, we shall let you know.

With Thanks:
Obituary written using information from EAS and the book - Pleasureland Memories - Skelter 2006 - Stephen Copnall

 TraumaTizer

Traumatizer, a bog-standard Suspended Looping Coaster (SLC), does what it says on the tin.  It does, however, provide an intense ride for those who dare the inevitable head-bashing.

Following the closure of Pleasureland, this coaster was dismantled and relocated at Blackpool Pleasure Beach under the name of 'Infusion'.

 

 Cyclone


A classic wooden coaster.  Cyclone is old as wood itself, but still gives great airtime!

 

 King Solomon's Mines


The sister ride to Blackpool's brilliant mouse ride, and just as violent and thrilling!

 

 Wildcat

The normally overly-excited Nadia is telling us all how good the Pinfari-built Wildcat is...then again, she IS mad about rough old coasters like this...

 

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