Blackpool pleasure beach

[Roundthemoon]

I just visited Blackpool and I Had a nice time going around the beach and activities.

But honestly- Blackpool pleasure beach - what are they thinking! Some of the rides are so old and dangerous, I don't know how they are allowed at all.

It was the first time that I went .

I went on one ride, and it went extremely high. It was like an old fashioned rollrr coaster, but you were sitting on a horse. It's called steeple chase.

. There was the tiniest old fashioned seat belt on the horse, like a car seat belt. Except it was just a horizontal belt. The material of the belt looked old, worn and thin. And it didn't hold you on properly.

You had to grip with your hands onto the handle bars. This ride went extremely high and it was extremely fast and jerky, and i was nearly jerked out of the seat several times. If the ride jerked and you fell out of the seat , you would slip through the seat belt and you would fall a very long way down. I was holding on for dear life. I very nearly came off and fell once.

People were getting off the ride at the end and were crying and looking extremely stressed.

The guy running the ride laughed and said to us "you won't do that ride again in a hurry will you haha". Because he knew it was bad

I saw other rides in the park, where the metal holding the ride up looked completely rusted through.

I don't know how the park is allowed from a health and safety standpoint?

Can you explain what you like about it?

You go up on a thin monorail and you get slammed jerkily from side to side.

When I was at the end of it, people were complaining about being in pain and having bruises.

I certainly can explain!

To me, it’s fun. The jerky motion gives me the giggles, and I like the feeling of freedom as I feel the wind in my hair. I find it very pleasant to be on when the sun is out also. I love when my friends and I shout silly things to each other from our separate horses. I think it’s great fun!

The Steeplechase has always had the reputation of being the scariest ride in Blackpool, even after the Pepsi max was built. People either love the thrill or hate the feeling of danger- although as there has never been a serious accident, I suspect it's not as dangerous as it feels, but it is scary! I used to love it when I was younger, but you wouldn't get me anywhere near it now!

They were closed when we were there in June.

Gutted!! I best prepare DS as he's be disappointed

@Roundthemoon you seem to be obsessed with people coming off rides with bruises, did you strip search everyone who came off for evidence of these bruises?
You do realise the fun of rides, is the jerking around, the fear factor etc

I absolutely shit myself on steeplechase when I last went!

Oh wow - I'm sure I went on that on a school trip in 1979 when I was 14! It terrified me then - and was probably responsible for my lifelong dislike of fair rides. Can't believe that's still going!

Actually no - it was the grand national I think. Put me off for life whatever it was.

Blackpool in a nutshell is just simply awful. We were staying nearby to attend a funeral and visited. Must be the worst town in the UK.

Completely misses the point of the thread ......🙄

I thought it sounded horrific and terrifying ... until I watched the video

Nice lady starts thread about theme park health and safety. Turns into pointless bun fight. Welcome to Mumsnet.

Never been to kirkcaldy then.

How do you think real people ride horses ?

You don't get a "seat belt" on a real horse

In Kirkcaldy's defence, at least it isn't Glenrothes.

It didn’t used to be though. It’s sad visiting these days.

You don't go up high on a monorail on a real horse, do you.

Yeah looks are deceiving. I thought it looked like a lovely gentle horse ride until I went on it.

It's absolutely awful when you're on it. The seatbelt doesn't hold you in properly, it's really fast, youre high up and the machinery is extremely jerky so you are flung back and forth. Imagine flying around a bed and you can feel yourself literally coming off the seat. Holding onto the handlebars with a white knuckle grip is the only thing that stops you falling from a height.

I was on a much newer rollercoaster than that old one, the new one didn't scare me at all, because the safety harness held me in fine. I wasn't slipping all over the place

@Babbadoobabbadock - I was there for Red Rum turning on the Lights. His jockey took him past a sensor in a ‘Winning Post’. He was a beautiful horse, but probably shouldn’t have been taken so close to all those crowds. (Not something you think about as a small child.)

I've been going to the pleasure beach for over 40 years and the steeple chase is one of my favorites, all my dc have been on it as well. It's a fabulous ride!

The ride idea itself is fine.

Wouldn't it be better if they put a better seatbelt on it though?

See all the posts in this thread from people who felt like they were going to fall off.

Re: Visiting Blackpool

Blackpool has many good qualities and some beautiful hidden gems - such as Stanley Park - plus the locals are - mostly - extremely friendly. It’s suffering, like many other seaside towns, from decades of economic neglect and social deprivation, but I’m a ‘sandgrown’un’, so choose to focus on its good points where I can.

The "feel like they're falling off" is part if the thrill though! Clearly you are NOT actually doing so, the ride isn't littered with bodies on the ground! It just feels like you are 🫣

No. Its not part of the thrill. Its because its very old and hasnt been updated to todays standards. I only didn't fall because I held myself on with a vice grip and my arms were really sore.

The seatbelt wasn't holding me at all.

I've been on lots of rides, and this is the only one that I felt strongly that the safety is not good enough.

There's a difference with "feel like you're going to fall" while being at the top of a new rollercoaster, when you are very well strapped in with a safety harness

And "feeling like you're going to fall" on a ride where you can literally feel yourself falling off, and you are using every ounce of strength to hold yourself on.