Early days
The first amusement ride to be built in Great Yarmouth arrived in 1887. It was a
classic American LaMarcus Thompson Switchback Railway and was erected on the sands
adjacent to Euston Road. The ride was so successful that the operators received the
entire annual ground rent on the August Bank Holiday weekend of 1887. This ride was
dismantled toward the end of the nineteenth century and relocated to Honley Pleasure
Beach in Huddersfield.
In 1909 Charles B. Cochran persuaded the local council to lease him an area of sand
dunes so that he could develop an amusement site. The council agreed to this, and
leased him an area of sand dunes on the south denes beach of just 600 feet long and
120 feet wide. The entire rent for the year was £650.
The first ride constructed there was a scenic railway designed by William Napier.
This ride was typical of scenic railways in that it was largely clad in plaster styled
as mountainous terrain. The ride featured two lift hill sections. The only other
ride constructed at the site was a haunted attraction called the Katzen Jammer Castle.
The River Caves were added the following year. And in 1911, the Katzen Jammer Castle
was replaced by the Joy Wheel. The park kept operating at this modest level until
the outbreak of World War I.
When the park opened again in April 1919, a fire destroyed the scenic railway; leaving
the park without a major attraction. The scenic was quickly rebuilt though by its
operators and the ride was re-opened in August of the same year. During the 20s the
park was steadily expanded and in 1925 a huge water-chute by Messrs. Morgan & Company
was erected at the site. This water-chute was at the park until 1928 when it was
dismantled. Also in 1928, the scenic railway came to the end of its lease and was
removed. It was purchased by Aberdeen Beach Amusement Park and re-sited there in
1929. Other rides of the 20s included a Creasta Run (a slide ride), Jack and Jill
(a toboggan-style slide ride) and Noah's Ark.[1]
In 1928 the famous Pat Collins, of the historic British fairground family, took control
of the park after his offer to the local council of £3,500 per-year for the site
was accepted. He and son John Collins' first acquisition for the park was a replacement
for the Napier Scenic Railway. This took the form of a Figure 8 roller coaster which
was present at the Pleasure Beach from 1929 to 1931
The Pleasure Beach with its mixture of high-octane rides and traditional attractions sits at the top of Great Yarmouth’s Golden Mile dominating the seafront skyline with its famous Skydrop.
Spread over nine acres, the Pleasure Beach offers huge family fun, full-throttle white knuckle rides to exhilarate and thrill, water attractions to catch your breath and fun rides to keep the children happy for hours.
Our roller coaster has been the star attraction since 1932 and is still a crowd puller today.
More than 1.1 million visitors enjoyed the Pleasure Beach experience in 2012, confirming our place in the top 10 UK free entry amusement parks.
And even more attractions, rides and innovations are on their way.
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