go back to butlins,year and why?

[minehead forever]

if you could go back to a butlins camp in the past, which camp would you go back to,which year and why.

i've thought about this and my obvious choice would be minehead probably 1980,mainly because it was still untouched and operating as the butlins i loved,big funfair,monorail,chairlift,gaiety theatre shows,big outdoor pool,fountains,boating lake,it just goes on but in them days everything was open.you could go anywere around camp and a building would be open,princess ballroom in the day etc..of course if i went back at my present age i could of had a drink in the pig and whistle,the only venue i never got into as a kid.
that was my obvious choice,but not my 1st choice.

that would be filey october 1983. i went in august that year what was the very last year but i would of loved to of been present in its last week,just think being there when immediate closure was announced,watching the the last ever shows,going on the fair for the last time,feeling the sadness with the staff,sneaking a souvenier into the car to remember the once great camp,driving out of the gates for the last time,taking that final look back.i would loved to of been there.one things for sure there wouldn't of been a dry eye in that car when leaving.

[catmad]

if you could go back to a butlins camp in the past, which camp would you go back to,which year and why.

that would be filey october 1983. i went in august that year what was the very last year but i would of loved to of been present in its last week,just think being there when immediate closure was announced,watching the the last ever shows,going on the fair for the last time,feeling the sadness with the staff,sneaking a souvenier into the car to remember the once great camp,driving out of the gates for the last time,taking that final look back.i would loved to of been there.one things for sure there wouldn't of been a dry eye in that car when leaving.

OH THAT WOULD HAVE BROKEN MY HEART, I'M SAD JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. MINE WOULD BE SKEGNESS 1974, COS I WOULD DO A FEW THINGS VERY DIFFERENTLY, LIKE REPORT THE COFFEE BARS MANAGER AND MAKE SURE HE NEVER WORKED IN MANAGEMENT AGAIN, BUT I WAS YOUNG AND DIDN'T WANT TO ROCK THE BOAT, AND I WANTED TO STAY ON CAMP. MY SECOND CHOICE WOULD BE AYR 1979 AND RIGHT A BIG MISTAKE I MADE THERE. OH, IF WE WERE ALL BORN WITH HINDSIGHT!

[Darren]

I think for me it would be Skegness 1974. I was 9yrs old then, and old enough to safely explore the camp with my holiday friend, without having my mum and dad in tow every inch of the way! I'd been to various Butlins camps every year since I was born, this was my 5th year at Skeggy, but this was the first year that I was allowed to play out on my own. The overwhelming feeling of being "grown up" enough to be able to get on the monorail with my mate at the side of the kids theatre, take a trip past the old indoor pool, along the edge of the boating lake, leaning out to touch the chalet roofs on the left hand side with your fingure tips, round past the staff accomodation, then dis-embarking at the next station. From here we would make the short walk to the chairlift station, I used to love the feeling of "flying" over the chalet roofs in the cable cars, with great views of the whole camp. This particular year was unique due to the BIG fire which had occured just a few weeks before our holiday. At the south chairlift station we would make our connection with the minature railway, which used to run around the long gone sports field. This little train would bring us back to the rear of the old gaiety theatre, where we would then walk back to our mums and dads, eating an ice lolly on the way.
Amazing times for me as a kid, loved every minute!!!

[catmad]

BLIMEY DARREN, THAT BROUGHT BACK SOME FEELINGS, I TOOK THE SAME RIDES ON MANY AN OCCASSION, NOT A LOT TO DO ON A DAY OFF IF WE WERE BROKE, (WE USED TO LOVE TO GET OFF CAMP FOR A DAY)SO IF WE COULDN'T, WE DID EVERYTHING THE CAMP HAD TO OFFER FOR FREE, AND THAT WAS JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING IN THOSE HAPPY DAYS. I WAS TERRIFIED OF HEIGHTS STILL AM, BUT THE CHAIRS AND THE MONORAIL WAS PURE BUTLINS AND HAD TO BE DONE. THANKS FOR THE MEMORY.

[Bobf]

Pwhelli - 1976

for reasons listed elswhere on this site...

and to talk to a friend now departed...

and to fix a friendship since damaged

God laughs when people ask for a second chance!


(and pobably the hottest and best summer an 8 year old boy from Liverpool could ask for!)

[pushbutton]

I'd go back to Butlins Minehead in 1985. Judging by the entertainment guide that was one of the years I enjoyed most, and Minehead has always been (and still is) my favourite camp.

If it were possible I would go with my cousins and all my grandparents (2 of whom are no longer with us but they were fit and healthy enough then to enjoy it).

I'd go for at least 3 weeks, maybe even 4!

[pushbutton]

that would be filey october 1983. i went in august that year what was the very last year but i would of loved to of been present in its last week,just think being there when immediate closure was announced,watching the the last ever shows,going on the fair for the last time,feeling the sadness with the staff,sneaking a souvenier into the car to remember the once great camp,driving out of the gates for the last time,taking that final look back.i would loved to of been there.one things for sure there wouldn't of been a dry eye in that car when leaving.

That reminds me a bit of my last visit to Phwelli which I think was in about 1998. I went for a day trip with my brother and it turns about that it was right at the end of Pwhellis final season as a Butlins, just before it became Haven.

The only thing is, we didn't know that at the time! I sort of wish I had known because although knowing that would have been terribly sad, I would have stayed longer than a day, and would have taken the opportunity to well and truly enjoy every aspect of the camp while I could.

As it turned out, I just did what I felt like doing, and missed quite a few things. I don't think I even went on the chairlifts, although that was because they were closed due to inclement weather that day.

It's not quite the same scenario as at Fily because the camp didn't actually close as such, it just became Haven. However in the years that followed it has lost most of its Butlins character and I understand the majority of it has been demolished, with little more than a caravan site and a couple of main buildings, which are largely unrecognisable and nothing like Butlins.

I haven't been back but I have no plans to do so really, unless I find myself living nearby one day and get the urge to go back out of curiosity, but I know it would be very very sad to see it now.

[flavelle53]

Oh it would be Minehead 1970 season i was a nursery nurse. The food for staff was disgusting and we had to manage on our (tight) weekly wage.
I loved chalet patrol,cycling around the different colur camps listening for children,we wore full nurses uniform with capes,difficult on a bike!!! We had to go to the bars etc to tell one of the Redcoats to announce to some poor parents they had to go home.
We really lived life to the FULL and i have been in the fountain a bit worse for wear in the evenings. You had to go off camp to get the real scrumpy,warnings in the bars about how strong it was ooops!
I have lost my season photo of us all and would dearly love to find another,any ideas ???

[pushbutton]

HI Flavelle. It's amazing how many old Butlins photos there are out there so there may well be one like the one you lost.

Try the following sites first:
This site
Butlinsmemories.com
Redcoatsreunited.com
Facebook (search for various people you worked with and add them as friends then look at their photos).

Good luck!

[flavelle53]

Hi
I am on facebook but i cant remember most of there names!! especially last names,they were on the back of the photo (which i cant find).
I will try searching e-bay though you never no,so thanks.

[kimptdarr22]

butlins skegness 1985. just the atmposhere the fun the freedom,the sheer love of them days!!