Im 42. First went to Poole in 1995, then 1996. I decided then that i wanted to live there. Property wasnt expensive either and cheaper than in the Midlands. Years later i got into a relationship with someone from another city and moved there had kids, relationship ended, couldnt move away from kids. Been many times from 2001 - 2022. Visited 7 times in 2020. Its changed so much and not as nice as i remember it to be.
God what beautiful memories. I used to ride on that Poole Park train with my Mum, probably in exactly that time period. Also the drive over the crest of Evening Hill, heading towards Shore Road and Sandbanks. My Mum would tell me about how she saw flying boats in Poole Harbour during and just after the Second world war. Quite emotional to see such an old memories brought to life! Thank you Rod Bean for posting this.
Hi Rod, would you happen to remember "The Great Crazy Critter Bonanza"? From my research, it seems to have been brand new around the time of your 1986 visit but we have no confirmation of it's opening outside of the company's name records in 1985 matching with the company name on the concept art and a newspaper from 1989!
The sad fact of the matter is that back then - Worksop looked great and was full of open shops. Worksop now is an absolute shithole. I am telling you that Selby is 10 times better than Worksop and Selby is also a shithole. Harehills lane is a safer and more enjoyable place to spend a Saturday night.
That's back when Bournemouth was a nice place. Now it's just a dump full of immigrants and evil drug dealers. Shame on this joke of a country! Glad I moved away. Laughing stock of the world!
From 9:00 - for a couple of minutes, not given on screen, it is Parkstone, the park near Ashley Cross, Parkstone Railway Station, St Peter’s Ashley Cross where Baden Powell is buried.
Great to see this video ,I was there with an ex girlfriend & her parents I was 21 she was 17 ,first time I went ,it was November ‘91 when I went ,bought clothes & still remember buying sonic for my mega drive ,don’t think girlfriend approved ,remember that day like yesterday .When England was England 😔
Smashing video, thanks for sharing. I was 18 at the time. It's great to see all those now classic cars looking nearly new. Town centres were so much nicer then. Sadly, the nice people now shop in out of town retail parks, leaving the town centre in a downward spiral of beggars & drunks.
Thanks for the video Rod. I’m too young to remember that you could drive through the square and weird to see buses driving up Old Christchurch Road! But shows you how great Bournemouth looked back in the day.
Absolutely beautiful. This was the year I was born. My late father was a gardener and worked on the displays in Bournemouth and Boscombe gardens for years. When I see them from this time and the lovely comments people make, I cant help feeling proud. Does anyone else scan these videos to see if they can spot anyone they know or knew?
So pleased I found this...thank you...I moved to the area in '71 and have no regrets as such, after 7yrs in London...the music accompanying the film is SO evocative of the period...dgp
I used to wait on the bridge in poole until the train came and run through the steam! Learnt to skate at Bournemouth Skating Rink. Still miss the perfect climate - we lived in Parkstone, between Poole and Bournemouth. I'm in Ottawa, Canada where the winter temperatures can be extreme. But, of course, they're messing around with HARP, climate change, etc., so who knows how much more they can mess up?
Much of the town centre has been pedestrianised and free car parking is almost non-existent. Result: A full quarter of shops in the town centre are now boarded and closed. Well done, councillors and civil servants.
Just back from a week in Bournemouth. What a mis-managed mess it has become. Interesting to note that even during the mid 80's and early 90s, there is still a lot of vacant shops especially around Gervis Place and Westover Road... But what a tragedy, Westover Road and the cinemas have gone to ruin, still no ice rink, huge lack of quality accommodation in the town, all the big name stores have moved out or relocated to Castle point, the East Cliff Lift is damaged beyond repair, all the students now live in managed accommodation (no out of season income for guest houses). Even the famous Yellow Bus company went bankrupt and gone forever. You can't drive through Poole Park anymore, Poole pottery is gone... Now I hear the sandbanks ferry is on its last legs as well.... It used to be "Better in Bournemouth", now it's all doom and gloom...
Lovely to come across this. I spent a week in Bournemouth with three of my friends in July 1981 after we bunked off the last week of school! We camped by the airport and drove into town every day and spent our time on the beach and on the pier playing the amusements. So many happy memories. Thank you.
Better days and not just because we were young back then. Social media platforms fool people into thinking today's society is better when in cold reality it isn't.
Brilliant films - left with lots of thoughts. Firstly Wimborne was pretty much unchanged right up until the 2010s when local planning / big landowner inappropriate collusion forced the cricket club off the town centre site replacing with a large Waitrose ruining all the historic vistas of the Minster etc. Secondly, I am surprised by how much traffic there was then - all those lead diesel fumes cant have been that healthy. Thirdly, Poole Park is how I remember it - and to be fair at least it still exists in its entirety. Finally, agree Bournemouth as totally gone to the dogs - personally I feel the decline really started setting in some time in the 90s for a whole host of local and national factors
What I would do to go back in time and experience it. I was born in 2001 sadly but I do remember Bournemouth being very nice when I was a child it’s awful now I avoid the town center at all costs
