I've been going to Butlins for summer holidays for 42 years and still love the places, but, watching this shows how lovely and colourful the camps used to be compared to now. There's no denying that the food and accommodation are far better these days, but just look at how many fun facilities there used to be when i was young- chairlifts, boating lakes, monorails etc... Thank you for posting, it brought back many happy memories. X
No denying that the food and accomodation are far better these days, Really??? I have been there since a kid in the 80's-Went there last summer has under cooked food twice and the showers did not have hot water
My best mate and I went to Pwllheli in 1972 as seventeen year olds managed to get Served beer in the pig and whistle great memories and carefree days .Hawkwind silver machine and Alice Cooper schools out remind of that holiday whenever those songs are played.
Fantastic holidays as kids and teenagers. Minehead was the camp we visited and while there are some old photographs here, the iconic Monorail pictures bring back so many happy memories.
Minehead Butlins opened 26 May 1962. Local families could buy entrance for a year at a special price. I remember wonderful times there as a child. The Beachcomber Bar with the thunderstorm & the Hawaiian music, the chair lift & monorail. Fairground Rides & swimming & sitting in the lounge watching people swimming through the glass. As a teenager I worked there in the large toy shop. I remember going for a ride on the chair lift during my lunch break with a boy I'd met. It broke down & when I returned to work late & told the manager why I was told "Oh not that excuse. Surely you could've thought of something more original"
lol what a great story, unfortunately i never got to experience all the amazing attractions. My first time there was in 2010 when i worked for resort safety. Thanks for watching 👍
Interesting to see how the old Butlins used to cater as much for the adults (who are paying for the holiday) as for the kids - Ballrooms, theatres, games rooms, boating lakes and chair lifts etc. Today all these facilities have been bulldozed to make room for more kids areas, shops and eateries. All the outdoor pools have gone and been replaced by big marquees full of shops and cafes - all boring stuff.
Spot on. I have been to both Minehead and Skegness in the last two years and it has changed so much. Used to go very year as a kid. All it is now is making money - more and more things are not included in the price. The monorail and cablecars need to come back too :)
That would be cool, we went to the old Butlins Pwhelli site a few weeks ago and found the old railway lines & platform, would be good to have that back aswell. We have started uploading the vlogs, might be worth checking out 👍
Butlins minehead was brilliant in the seventies. I remember one occasion the chairlift breaking down and we were stuck up there for a couple hours. And my brother being a few years older than me though it would be funny to see if he could get it to sway by standing and rocking it. 😂
Never knew why this once exceptionally popular holiday experience was closed down. Yes I i know the chalets were a bit 1940s/50s but the facilities were great and the redcoats and the entertainment such as Roy Castle, Tommy Steels, Marty Wylde, Cliff Richard etc. they were all brilliant.
Worked the last six weeks of 1978 season in the Spanish bar & then Regency bar Pwllheli .Returned in 1979 for the whole season as barman ended up Chargehand Cellarman Assistant bar Supervisor ,Great times great staff & people .Old Alf from Manchester was venue Manager of the Regency Bar the best gaffer ever like a father to us all .The place is now a glorified caravan site devoid of character & soul ,still they can’t take away the great location .
@@raysmith2940 Yea it wasn’t like work for me helping to run a big bar we had more fun than the punters .Nearly went down to Minehead in 1979 for the last two weeks after the season.at Pwllheli ended as the camps stayed open a big longer down south .I could relate plenty of true story’s of the capers we got up too. Our bar was doing that well & the punters happy ,that the top brass at the camp ,were turning a blind eye to us being half cut on duty most of the time ..The place was jumping tills & stocks spot on I would of gone back the next season but I ended up married with 2 kids .
Been going to Butlins for nearly 30 years now, loved the early days, but u have to roll with the changes, still going with my grandson ans seeing his face light up when we get to Minehead 👍
@@DaysOutworldwide we have only ever been to Minehead it’s only 59 miles down the road for us🙂I did go to Barry island for a school trip back in the 70s though 👍
@@DaysOutworldwide do u remember a lad called Andy who was a dancer come singer in the skyline, he was quite short thin with dark hair, he always came and sat with us after his late show and had a pint with us🙂
I went to Minehead in 1966 when I was a kid. We used to get woken up every morning at 7.00 am by a Radio Butlin jingle played through a speaker on the wall in our chalet (rough stone walls and a curtain on a wire for the wardrobe). There was a chairlift that went over the entire park and cafes underneath the indoor swimming pool with a glass wall so you could see people's legs go swimming by. I remember the pools and the funfairs and the shows and eating bread and butter at very long tables. Fun times.
My dad use to go as a kid to both skegness and Filey. He is 72 now. He seems to remember being woken up in a similar fashion but with the 'zipady doodah' song.
My first time at Skegness was the year that one of the four main buildings burned down, didn't spoil the fun. Went last in 2014, couldn't believe that they actually managed to be allowed to demolish the theatre. It was listed but was flooded in a storm, that was used as the reason. There was a time when a building was in danger all the able bodies at the camp would endeavour to save it.
Looking at those pics you can see the attraction back in the day ...the flower gardens the general cleanliness Butlins the appeal was undeniable ...fast forward today and I have seen for myself Skegness Butlins overrun with drunken men women of the chav class no class or standards of behavior ruining it for families ...such a shame the golden era of Butlins started fading around the late seventies early 80 s .
it doesn't just happen at the Skegness site so don't just single that site out, i've been to the Skegness site with my kids and more recently and we didn't see any of that, we've been to the Bognor Regis site a few times and witnessed the drunken behaviour of people there, we've seen people being thrown off because of what they were doing and a few chalets got trashed by them, it goes on at all the sites
Society itself started fading in the 1970-1980’s so it’s inevitable that it would trickle down to the holiday camps as well. The whole of society started acting like pigs and unfortunately it hasn’t gotten any better.
Afraid it happens on all sites, there's alot of good people at the Butlins adults breaks but sometimes there's always one or two who spoil it. Thanks for watching 👍
Butlins went down hill after the 1970’s because they started allowing gangs of singles instead of just allowing family’s & couples .That was a recipe for trouble & disaster .The camps just needed tidying up the accommodation renovating to bring it up to date & the odd lick of paint .Some of the entertainment & competitions were a bit on the cheesy side but that’s what added to the fun & the atmosphere of the camps .
How tastes change. Nowadays so many people can't do without their foreign holiday. I remember back in the late 50's an uncle of mine mearried a Redcoat. She was a nasty woman, stopping him socialising with his own family.
@@DaysOutworldwide If Sir Billy saw the Kip of that glorified caravan site ,he would turn in his grave .The caravans need flattening & the whole place needs restoring to original spec ,all the attractions ,bars & all plus the red coats including radio Butlins tannoys ..The top brass at Haven or whoever is behind them ,need arresting & charging with gross criminal damage to our heritage & traditional holiday camps .
Pwllhelli is now Haven Hafan-Y-Mor. Owned by Bourne Leisure, same company that now runs Butlins... Some of the older, bigger camps that went to Haven, the smaller ones that became Pontins are now all back together again under the same Group!
When people were stoic and British stiff upper lip not like the Herberts of today who can't even decide what gender they are ! Anybody know the music starting at 2.22 please as it gives me fond memories of Officer Training at Sea ?
Why don't any of these video's show the slot car rooms at skeggy and bognor an the mermaid tank under the pool at bognor as a child I was terrified of the mermaid tank lol
Why did they have to destroy them. They looked nice then. Much better than now. Wish someone would buy that Mosney site who would restore it back to how it was. That's the only one left more or less as it was. Would make a great visitor attraction as one of those living museums.
I can see a lot of people were very happy in this one can't beat that Butlins now has ruined it but never mind I say you got to move on it's a shame but that's it and they look relaxed add in join it allergies income money to keep it going but it's a shame taken out the important stuff and the good stuff
Ummm don't know why your comment got 2 likes, As that info is wrong Never closed in the 80's at all- closed in the mid 90's in Nov 1996 with storm damage causing more maintenance problems, Vale of Glamorgan Council threatened to refuse renewal of Barry Island Resort's entertainments licence, unless work was carried out to improve the now 30-year-old site. The camp was sold to Majestic Holidays and re-opened on 23 May 1987 as Majestic Barry Island
In the late 60,s i went to A Butlins holiday camp for the first and last time. (Skegness) My parents were appauled by the shocking standards. I remember the chalet was damp and mouldy. The food was pig swill. First thing the next morning we went home
@@DaysOutworldwide No never. I can still remember my mother stood there weeping at the dreadful chalet and my father saying his R.A.F barack room had been infinately more luxurious.
Travel around the world. Then you might learn the effective way to complain, in order to rectify the problem, or get a refund. Were you expecting The Ritz for a budget price? Never went to Skegness, but did stay at 4 others. The old man knew how to complain, and they tended to be very responsive, but he was army. Foods crap, send it back.
I was in Minehead camp singing to all 1974 1975 1976 name tax f Cornwall l song c w and song my homeland Cornwall in the 1978 do someone rebemer me in the exmmoor bar let me k
if Billy Butlin was alive today he'd be fuming at the closures of the other sites including the hotel in Blackpool, he would also be fuming at what the current owners are doing to the Bognor Regis and Minehead sites with the hotels especially with Bognor and that massive indoor pool they've just opened, and leaving the mother of all the Butlins sites behind, building nothing at Skegness got rid of the outdoor Pool which was a favourite pool for all the kids even grown ups enjoyed the splash about in there, no hotels or lodges at Skegness, its disgusting with what they are doing its another case of stuff the northerners they deserve nothing and they'll get nothing, like last year they were suppose to have knocked all the old buildings down at the front and replace them with state of the art buildings, and they were suppose to remove all the old fair rides and replace them with more modern ones as they promised they would do it, as they said themeselves it was all outdated, and what did they do pull the plug changed their minds yet again in favour of the other two sites, its as though they are just trying to get rid of it, and if they do get rid then where are the people who take a holiday at the Skegness site that live in the north and Scotland suppose to go, oh i can just see people from the south coming on here and having a rant at my comment, when its a legitimate concern and i'm just waiting for all the abuse over it as i've had it before over this very subject, at least with Billy Butlin he did spread his camp sites around Britain, having them in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, unlike todays owners just the three camps in England, they should have had left a camp in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
