Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach Giant

The Great British Seaside Resort: sun, sand, piers, funfairs and donkey rides. But that is only part of the attraction. If you love being beside the seaside, talk about it here!

Moderator: dave771

Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach Giant

Postby AntJones » 11 Jul 2015, 10:16

I have fond memories of my childhood holidays in Great Yarmouth in the late 70's and early 80's, and especially of the giant guarding the entrance to the snail ride (even though he terrified me up close at the time!)

Image
Picture from http://www.great-yarmouth-photos.com

When I returned there in 2000 I was surprised and delighted to find he was still there. The park was closed at the time and he wasn't moving (I'm pretty sure he used to turn his head and raise and lower his club). But it was the same giant I remembered.

I then returned again in 2005 and went back to have a look at him, but was disappointed to find him gone, replaced by this guy:

IMG_3336.JPG
IMG_3336.JPG (88.47 KiB) Viewed 10990 times


Out of sheer nostalgic curiosity, I'd love to know what happened to "my" giant. When, and why, was he replaced? Does he still exist anywhere?
AntJones
 
Posts: 2
Joined: 11 Jul 2015, 09:50

Re: Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach Giant

Postby Coaster Scenery » 15 Jul 2015, 19:06

The new giant was installed in March 2002 and the bottom half of the northern turnaround of the Scenic was reclad and the diaroma depicting the doorway was painted. The old Giant was originally designed and constructed by a guy from Kessingland and it was brought over to the Pleasure Beach on a flat bed wagon. It was broken up and skipped when it was taken down.

Original Giant in 1996
New giant in 2004
Coaster Scenery
 
Posts: 7
Joined: 14 Jul 2014, 13:03

Re: Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach Giant

Postby AntJones » 19 Jul 2015, 07:48

Thanks, I guess that's what I was expecting really. After all, where would they have stored it? It's a shame they didn't refurbish it and keep it there, though. I believe it was there for over 30 years? Maybe he was just too scary for potential snail riders!

I wasn't sure if I really did remember him actually moving, or if it was just one of those false childhood memories. But there is a very brief clip of him in this video from the 1970's which does seem (unless I'm still imagining it) to show him moving his head and arms:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRo0EiViCPU
AntJones
 
Posts: 2
Joined: 11 Jul 2015, 09:50


Return to Seaside Forum

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests

cron