Barry Island Pleasure Park

Barry Island Pleasure Park stands on the south Wales coast at Barry Island, a small peninsula joined to the mainland by a raised causeway. The park sits opposite a sandy beach with amusement arcades scattered around its edges. Behind the rides lie the town’s shops, bars and restaurants, all part of the local Barry Island community. The site occupies ground that was once sand dunes levelled in the early 20th century. A single iron fence once enclosed the whole area, but the park now spreads across a larger open space. The entrance faces the promenade built in 1923 to replace the old tarmac shoreline road. The park’s importance comes from its long history of mass holiday crowds. In 1896 the new railway brought over 150,000 visitors in one Bank Holiday weekend. By the 1930s August Bank Holiday weeks saw more than 400,000 people enter the fairground. On one Monday in 1938 over 250,000 arrived in a single day, forcing police to divert traffic to distant car parks. These crowds supported rides designed by American engineer LaMarcus Thompson, whose Switchback Railway opened in 1897. A later Scenic Railway, built by Pat Collins’s team in 1940, became the largest wooden roller coaster ever erected in Britain. Visitors find a mix of modern rides and reminders of the past. The Scenic Railway still runs on its mile-long track with a seventy-two-foot drop. Nearby stands the Olde Pavilion Café, built where the first Switchback ride ended. Amusement arcades line the edges of the park, and the beachfront offers food outlets and views across the Bristol Channel. The iron fence has gone, but the raised causeway remains the main route on and off the island. The park’s owner, Henry Danter, has added new attractions and plans a holiday camp nearby.