by porterm » 03 May 2005, 23:24
Hi all,
Yes, I remember seeing the Rainbow ride at Pleasureland, Southport on my first visit there in the distant past, 1993. I seem to remember it was practically opposite the Cyclone wooden coaster. I revisited the park for the first time since 1993 last year and couldn't believe all the improvements to the whole promenade, and area in general. I don't really rate the park as a real personal favourite (most are abroad for me), but it was a vast improvement on my inaugural trip there. However, I noticed a former disused coaster-type ride near the seafront to the right of Pleasureland seemed to have been lost to the new development. (It didn't seem to be operational before anyway, and did look a bit of an eyesore I guess) - I wasn't too much of a coaster fan back in 1993 and never even plucked up the courage to ride the Cyclone. Luckily, I rapidly corrected this tragic error last April, along with the infamous Tramatiser!
Martin
PS The real beautiful ride loss for me though at BPB was first viewing the Rainbow, realising what classic coaster had been lost before it in that space, the wonderful Virginia Reel. A real sad loss for me; nothing can replace that for me, and definitely not that existing building. Luckily I got to ride it, if only once in its final year, 1982. RIP Reely.