A nice little find while Christmas shopping is a tourist guide to the Isle of Man from 1960.
Mostly full of adverts for hotels, there is a colour section at the front of the book with shots from around the island.
The one that really caught my eye is this one caption "The children's (and fathers') Boating Lake, Loch Promenade, Douglas.
What a wonderful facility!
Unsurprisingly, the pond has long since been turned into a sunken garden. I suspect that water is harder to maintain and potentially dangerous for a start. More importantly, how many people enjoy the peaceful pleasure of sailing a little boat this those shown? Sadly, not many.
If I ever get back to the IOM, I'll do my best to identify the location of this image. The shelter is still there, so it shouldn't be too hard.
Of course, model boating lakes like this weren't uncommon in seaside towns years ago. I'm sure I've seen them in the past, although I can't remember where. Can anyone else help?
17 comments:
I remember one of the ponds in Alexandra Park, Hastings, was used for model boating back in the 1970s but it seems to have been turned into a wildlife lagoon nowadays. Eastbourne Model Yacht Club were active in the 1980s when I used to be a member of Eastbourne MRS and had a clubhouse next door...don't know whether it's still there though. I really must get the old 36R yacht finished one day....
Locally, we still have a boating pond near us in Aldeburgh, Suffolk with small toy yachts available in an adjacent shop. Very well used by the kiddies.
We used to have a really good model boating lake in Taunton. When the children were small we did lots of boating there.
Like many others, it succumbed to whatever brigade was fashionable at the time and is now a sensory garden.
South Marine Park in South Shields is opposite the fair ground and was still being used a boating lake last I heard.
George
We spent many happy hours at the Blackpool one.
Sheringham, north Norfolk still has one and I have seen it being used by both yachts and power boats.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.1497538,-4.4768324,3a,75y,354.85h,88.08t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sxQvOOySZvIyvOciEhbCoYQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Might be a starting point.
I thought I remembered one in Sheringham
Gorleston near Great Yarmouth has one and Eaton Park in Norwich has a very large example
Hunstanton used to have a lake many years ago, where the crazy golf and Sea Life centre now reside. I don't recall it being used all that much, but being born in 1982, I suspect that I missed it's heyday.
Bognor used to have one I remember using my sailing boat on when I was very young but that was 50 years ago
There is a sizeable boating lake on the west shore in Llandudno. A family were boating there despite storm Francis in August. I assume it would be a great location for sailboats.
Some photos here: http://www.greatorme.org.uk/westshore.html
A really great list so far! Interesting that they are all in costal towns. Seafairers like building and sailing model boats it seems. That maikes sense.
Phil
I recall there was a small one at Grange over Sands, Cumbria. Some where there is a picture on me sailing a very small home made model of a kon-tiki raft on a piece of string.
Long gone I believe - like the my raft!
Pete
There used to be a boating “pool” on the Tankerton sea front (Kent side of the Thames estuary) that my sister and I used for a few summers in the 1970s. When I revisited in October 2007, it was full of weeds and bushes and looking in a very sorry state.
On a more positive note, there still appears to be a boating lake in Wherrytown next to Penzance in Cornwall. (As of October 2020.)
Haha, Taunton isn't coastal.i guess it was in Saxon times and might be again in the future, but for now we are well and truly inland.
There is still one in Worthing, at least there was last time I looked though I've not been that way for a few years.
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