The Butlins Minehead "Sunsplash" Pool opened in the mid 1980's and closed in 1998. It's still there now just wasting away. Here is what it looked like when I managed to sneek a look recently. Compare it to the photos from 1986.
I tell you what, Butlins is different now to what it was even 20 years ago. Redcoats used to be roaming everywhere, now they're only present during events. Same with the Skyline Gang, they used to roam around and it was exciting when you saw them around the campus, now you only seem them around the stage area. It's like they're cutting way back.
Thank you for uploading this, as a teacher we used to bring the school kids here as well as family holidays late 80's into the late 90's until it closed. I remember this pool in 1981 as just a rectangular pool before it was changed to Sunsplash. Great memories and glad to see it still exists even if it is in this state.
The "Sunsplash" on the 1st floor of the Regency buliding was opened in the mid-late 80's. This was a funpool as shown in the video. The Oasis pool was opened soon after as an alternative to the Sunsplash. The Oasis was a normal rectangle shape swimming pool. Later the Oasis was expanded and made into a funpool called,"Splash Waterworld" and the original "Sunsplash" on the 1st floor of the Regency was closed. This left Butlins with no regular swimming pool for just swimming.
Do you know what the see through pool was? I went there in the mid 90s again and they had table tennis in a room. There was a massive see through glass and you could see a massive pool. It was bloody scary
i had a dream last night when i went to an abandoned butlins in the desert, it was old, i was on my own, music played, it was tiny, there was three caravans and an outdoor pool with not much water and a ticket booth with a man in it that looked dead, it was surely a sign that i was gonna find this on my recommended
they recently cleaned it and i am so excited cos me,one of my friends, my mum and one of her friends are going to Butlins in the last week of July this year for a weekend (from Friday morning/afternoon to Monday morning)
Cheers for uploading this, it bought back lots of memories. Although I much prefer the newer Splash, it's a shame to see this left to rot. My mum always said in this pool "there were underwater windows for the people in cafe below to see a bit of leg".
the sunsplash opened in may 1986, it was my first year as a redcoat and for a short time a redcoat would have to work on the consol and work the features and announcements. IT was a good pool but some people moaned that they wanted a proper pool. its said how its ended up
I bet you were gutted to see your childhood holiday centre so deteriorated and abandoned. I remember Funsplash at Skeggy. Everything has to change but it does scar your memory. Those chairs the red backed metal ones were in the ballrooms.😓😓😓😓
Is this the pool where in the sixties there were plant things hanging from the ceiling and there was a café next door with underwater windows where you could see people's legs go swimming by?
this pool is still here, the reason its so messy is because butlins have local intruders who sneek in and chuck stuff in the pool, the pools water is indeed used for the skylines sprinkler system, but view with caution as sun splash is regularly patrolled by the resort saftey team
The Splash Waterwold actually started out as a regular swimmimg pool called the Oasis. This was later expanded into a funpool and became Splash Waterworld.
I believe that this was built to trial some of the components being considered for the New waterworlds. The other sites had new pools built on the success of this one. Then when they where complete they went back to Minehead and built the new pool there.
I have spotted a hole in the roof of the Sunsplash building from outside of Butlins Minehead in June 2012. I wonder how long it has been there? Has anybody else spotted it? I am sure that is why the pool is green from all that rainwater!
Great film, such a shame ...I went here in 1988...the flumes were great!....I remember the red one being black on the inside so it was dark....'the Black Hole':) Great fun.....also whilst there, saw The Rapiers play ...I think in Barnums Bar??.....superb! What a great time.
@skyhawkerleigh Really?! I always thought that the Splash Waterworlds opened in the late 80s as part of their 'Holiday World' re-branding? I suppose if this is up on the first floor of Regency then they couldn't really have expanded it. Still seems odd that this was just left empty when they spent all that money on the new one.
The old flumes were much better than the new ones, I think the black hole would be to dangerous now, you used to have to go down laying on your stomach, if I remember rightly.
We used to swim here when holidaying half board in the 80's and early 90's it's a shame too see it in decay, Butlins was fantastic in those days never in our chalet to care less if it was almost falling down us kids were out all day lol . I remember the black flume well when I was older enough or the right height for it I was up and down that thing all week lol, is the big snooker hall still there and the mono rail. Butlins of today doesn't seem as good sad times :( god I feel old 37 lol.
I remember the timer where you could set a speed record. Me and my mates used to challenge each other as children back in the 90’s. Great fun, I sneaked in a couple of years back and showed my eldest the old pool, he’s been going to butlins since 2002 and never believed me that it existed until I showed him. Great memories.
@skyhawkerleigh Yeah i don't think any of the 3 Butlins parks have normal rectangular pools now. They all seem to be constantly changing their facilities so I guess this had to happen. Any idea what year the Oasis pool was changed into Splash Waterworld? I know the Holiday World re-branding started in 1987.
hi mate i was just wondering were this is on site and how you get to it as i am doing a photography course and have been looking for this building for years now as i am young i dont no were the old regency building is so maybe you could tell me? i used to go to butlins skegness in the mid 90's befor it changed hands and the skyline was built thankyou x x love the video by the way im gonna save it to my butlins playlist on here =D x x
glad you still have this ive not been there since 1986 im sure this pool was connected to another wasnt it? i hope you can still get in there as i would love to sho wmy kids now as im 40 lol
I was at butlins yesterday and we tried to get pin but the door was too stiff and so my friend tried to kick it in and then a red coat came to us and was like r u ok juys
Only open from the mid 80s untill 1998?! Hardly seems worth it! Butlins really do puzzle me sometimes. I mean why did they build the new Splash Waterworld (end of the 80s I think) if they already had this? And what's even more odd is that, I think, both the new one and this one operated at the same time as each other for some years. Why? Surely if people had a choice they'd go to the bigger one?
@@laylamay998 incorrect it, it cleaned recently and nobody except Butlins staff is aloud up there, the water isn't up to standard for swimming in, just for the Regency Building sprinkler system.
Cory Vazquez no. It is used but not as a pool. In 2006 they started holding a Christian festival at the site and they used this room for the kids/teens group. It now has a stage in it.
Hey Dominic- Are you sure this is the room your thinking of? During my last visit to Butlins Minehead (which to be fair, was in July 2014) the pool was still there. Are you talking about that large open area next to the pool behind the wall, or actually over the pool itself?
Cory Vazquez it's the large open area behind the wall. I want to the festival with my family 2 years ago and as I was in the open area, I remember wondering what was over the other side
Oh- i thought you were talking about the actual pool area itself. The stage does ring a bell actually. I am going to Butlins in Skegness this year, but the next time i go to Minehead i will go and look again.
what a waste!! just shows you what kind of money these company's have to be able to just to say fuck it leave it. wasters,wonder how much it cost to build in the first place!! more money than fucking sense
