Barry Island Pleasure Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Barry Island Pleasure Park

Previously known as The New Evesham Pleasure Park (1929–1950)
Location	Barry Island Pleasure Park, Barry Island, Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, CF62 5TH, Wales
Coordinates	51°23′29″N 3°16′31″W / 51.3914°N 3.2753°W / 51.3914; -3.2753
Status	open
Opened	1897-present
Owner	Henry Danter
Operating season	Easter to September
Attractions
Total	15 attractions
Roller coasters	1

Barry Island Pleasure Park is a fun amusement park located on the coast of Barry Island in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It's about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Cardiff. The park usually opens on weekends from Easter until early September. It is also open daily during the school summer holidays.

Barry Island itself has many shops, places to eat, and cafes. The Pleasure Park was once famous for its huge Scenic Railway. This was a giant roller coaster that took up half the park in the mid-1900s. Sadly, a big storm damaged it in 1973, and it had to be taken down. Some of its wooden beams were even used to build the popular Log Flume ride!

Today, the park has many attractions and rides. Entry to the park is free, but you pay for each ride. You can also find several arcades around the park. The park has had different owners over the years. Since 2014, showman Vernon Studt ran the park for a few years.

A Look Back at Barry Island Pleasure Park

How did people get to Barry Island?

Before 1896, getting to Barry Island was tricky. You could walk across the sand and mud when the tide was out. Or you could take a paddle steamer when the tide was high. To make it easier for visitors, a railway line was built. It went through a tunnel and onto a long pier. This led to a new station right by the main Barry Pierhead.

This new train link meant visitors could easily reach the island. They could also catch paddle steamers to places like Bristol and Weston-super-Mare. Once the railway opened, visitor numbers exploded! One holiday weekend, over 150,000 people arrived on the island. Most of them came by train. Trains arrived and left every ten minutes. This railway link opened in August 1896. It helped the island grow with even more attractions.

What were the first rides like?

Before 1897, there wasn't a proper fairground. There were a few carousels run by Jacob Studt. There were also some swing-boats and a playground slide on the beach each summer. In 1897, the first big ride was built. It was a Switchback Railway. This roller coaster was designed by the famous American engineer LaMarcus Adna Thompson. It was first used at an exhibition in Cardiff in 1896.

After the exhibition, the White family bought it. They set it up on the beach. The Switchback was very popular with holidaymakers for 15 years. Then, in 1912, a much bigger Figure 8 roller coaster opened. It was also built by LaMarcus Thompson. This new ride was more exciting. The Switchback became less popular and closed in 1914. This was when World War I started, and fewer people visited. A military hospital was even set up near the fairground.

Who owned the park over the years?

In 1923, Barry Town Council improved the area. They built a new Promenade and a better road to the mainland. The fairground then moved from the beach to its current spot. This new area was leveled and fenced. The White brothers became the first tenants of the new Barry Island Pleasure Park.

The White brothers ran the park until 1929. Then, a showman named Pat Collins took over the lease. He even renamed the park 'The New Evesham Pleasure Park' until 1950. The White brothers moved across the road. They opened a smaller place called 'White's Cosy Corner'. It had a restaurant, arcade, and dodgem cars. This place was later destroyed by fire in 1999. But it was rebuilt and reopened in 2007 as a family entertainment center.

How many visitors came to the park?

The number of visitors to Barry Island grew a lot! In 1934, during one August Bank Holiday week, over 400,000 people visited the fairground. Thousands of cars, buses, and motorcycles came to the island. Trains and public buses brought many more. In 1938, on one Bank Holiday Monday, over 250,000 people arrived in a single day! Police had to send cars to other car parks far away. The roads were packed with traffic leaving the island until late at night.

The Famous Scenic Railway

In 1938, a huge Scenic Railway was designed for an exhibition in Glasgow. It was a copy of a similar ride in Great Yarmouth. This new ride was massive and cost a lot of money. After the exhibition, it was sent to Belgium. But World War II broke out, so it was brought back to the UK. It was then rebuilt at Barry Island.

This roller coaster was over a mile long. It had an initial climb and drop of 72 feet (22 meters). It was the biggest wooden roller coaster ever built in the UK! It opened by Easter 1940. The ride's wooden frame was covered to look like rocky mountains. It was first painted turquoise and purple with white tips like snow. Later, it was brown and green before returning to its original colors. The ride was so big it took up almost the entire length of the park.

The Scenic Railway was a popular attraction for 33 years. It was repaired and rebuilt in 1963. But in 1973, a strong winter storm badly damaged it. It was too expensive to fix. Also, newer, faster roller coasters were becoming popular. So, the Scenic Railway had to be taken down.

Today, a smaller Log Flume ride stands where the Scenic Railway once was. Some of the old wooden beams from the Scenic Railway were saved. They were used to build the Log Flume in 1980. Other beams were used for another ride called the Wacky Goldmine (later the Haunted Mine).

Other Old Wooden Coasters

The Scenic Railway still at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is very similar to the one that was at Barry Island. Another old Scenic Railway is in Dreamland Margate. This one is a special historic building. It was damaged by fire in 2008 but was fully repaired and reopened in 2015.

Changes at the Pleasure Park Over Time

Log Flume at Barry Island, built with some wood from the old Scenic Railway

In 1950, Pat Collins handed control of the park to his younger brother, John. John ran the fairground until 1966. Then, his two sons, John and Pat, took over. That same year, the Butlins holiday camp opened nearby. This brought many more regular customers to the park. With more money coming in, the Collins brothers bought the land the park was on in 1969.

The busiest and most profitable time for the park was between 1966 and the mid-1970s. This was before foreign package holidays became very popular. Besides the Scenic Railway and some other rides owned by the Collins brothers, many other big rides were run by the Summers family. They had been fairground operators since the mid-1800s. Other rides were operated by John Corrigan's family.

Other rides at Barry Island Pleasure Park

The Summers family ran rides like the Big Wheel, Dive Bomber, and Moon Rocket. They also had the Mirror Maze and arcades.

In the early 1980s, the Collins brothers went their separate ways. Pat Collins took charge of the park alone. Later, due to financial issues, the park was sold to Ken Rogers. He was a millionaire who owned the Hypervalue stores. Ken Rogers had wanted to buy the park for years. His Hypervalue business had started as a small market stall near the park's entrance.

The Park Before Henry Danter

After buying the park, Ken Rogers made many improvements. He demolished old rides and built new, major ones. In 2000, just as the park was doing well, Ken Rogers sadly passed away. His son, Ian, took over. The Hypervalue business was reorganized and is now called Hyper Xtra. Ian Rogers co-owns it, and it includes the pleasure park.

From 2010 to 2012, Vernon Studt leased the park. He is a descendant of Jacob Studt, who ran the first carousels on the beach in the 1890s. Vernon Studt left the Pleasure Park in 2014. But improvements to the park continued.

Pat Collins (the son of John Collins) and his own son, also named Pat Collins, still have a presence on the island. They lease an area on the Promenade. Here, they have rides like a helter-skelter, children's go-karts, trampolines, and a flight simulator. In recent years, they have also had rides like Teacups and Swinging Chairs. They also lease the Pirate Adventure Golf Course nearby.

Patrick Collins (Jnr) also runs a cafe and rents out deck chairs on Barry Island. He also has a kiosk selling sweets.

The Henry Danter Era

Showman Henry Danter and his family bought the park. They have big plans to invest £20 million to make the park and Barry Island a top tourist spot in Wales.

Mr. Danter has already brought exciting new attractions. These include the £1.2 million Pirate River log flume and the Barry Eye Ferris Wheel.

Current Rides

Here are some of the rides you can find at Barry Island Pleasure Park:

• Gravitron
• Hellraiser
• Jungle River
• Ferris Wheel
• Disco Fever
• Waltzer
• Twister
• Dodgems
• The Cage
• Typhoon Orbiter
• Ghost Train
• Jump & Smile
• Atmosfear
• X-Treme
• Mini Jets
• Cup & Saucers
• Toy Town
• Clown Around
• Inflatable Slide
• Chair-o-Planes
• Trampolines
• Dragon Challenge
• Game stalls

Notable Past Rides

Images for kids

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  The main entrance to Barry Island Pleasure Park.