The Big Idea | Hidden Ayrshire #14 

A bigger travesty was The Magnum Centre. This was a state of the art leisure centre back in the day. People would travel from near and far to visit it. It had indoor bowling green, swimming pools, cinema, ice rink and much more. Irvine council put on things like the Irvine harbour festival. They were forward looking and attracted many tourists to the area. Sadly that has all gone pear shaped. For some reason councils nowadays price them selves out of business.

Although I live in Paisley, I did visit The Big Idea but I have never visited the Science Centre in Glasgow. I've flown my drones over to the big idea a few times too for a nosey. I call it 'The Telly Tubby House'. It's sad that it hasn't been re-purposed.

I live in Sheffield but my granny lived in Irvine, I went to The Big Idea a few times when we visited at Christmas, I remember the theatre, and the robot that would spell out words with blocks, and the vending machine that gave you a wee kit to build, good times

I worked in the Scottish maritime museum when it opened. A few of my colleagues left to work there. I visited at least once or twice. The setting on the peninsula and the bridge added to the anticipation of what was inside, and it didn’t disappoint.

I loved the Big Idea

Really good video. I've lived in Irvine since 2010, and had wondered what this building was for a long time, it just looked so ominous from a distance, especially given how difficult it is to get to, (I have tried multiple times it has to be said)! I see news articles all the time about how Irvine harbour is supposedly due to be re-developed, but it's been years and nothing has happened. I also think it's quite ironic how the Ardeer Primary School time capsule is buried in what is effectively another capsule!

Nobel's Explosives was actually a subsidiary of ICI. I had a friend who worked there, with some hair raising tales to tell of explosions gone wrong. I worked in the Scottish Land Register at the time when the land was being transferred to the Big Idea, and I mapped the boundaries of the land ownership. Sad to see it now abandoned.

As with all Government spending, the idea is to waste money, not value for money. If this had been solely a private venture, it would have had a lot more planning, and would probably have succeeded. Shame it does seem a rather good idea, but perhaps wrong location. Imagine building the Royal Maritime Museum in Southend, rather than Greenwich, it might be a fantastic venue, but no historic links. Great video guys.

Sad story. We took the kids a couple of times when it opened. But it was not a place you would go back to again and again. So once all the population of Ayrshire had seen it, I suppose attendences dwindled. And you cannot make such a museum so expensive that it carries itself financially; nobody will come. Without subsidy it is doomed. It is a shame that no other use could be found for the building, which was quite nice.

I an Irvine man and took my then 8yr old daughter and 3yr old son about 3 weeks after it opened. It was a good day out but I also remember that it was an expensive day out and I believe that had something to do with it's visitor numbers dropping as well.

You would think with it being in Ayrshire they'd throw some good rave parties in it 😜

I remember seeing it getting built every Sunday with my dad eating McDonalds while my family was doing the weekly shopping in 1999. I finally got to see it in 2014 and put up a video on my William Wallace RU-vid channel which I can t access now for some reason since 2017.

It was the "in thing" at the time, the idea that you could create a Millennium Dome style visitor attraction randomly for no particular reason and thousands of people would pay to see it indefinitely. The public quickly wised up but so much money was wasted which could have made a huge difference to established museums and threatened artifacts. Within sight of this white elephant the Carrick / City of Adelaide was rotting away at the time and was only eventually saved by an Australian group.

Very good and poetic video, please keep up the good quality of videos!

I remember a few good days there when my kids were young. It was a terrific place for kids and adults alike. The Science Centre in Glasgow, as mentioned in the video, saw to it's demise, such a pity. I guess part of the problem was any local person probably wouldn't go there more than once or twice and school trips would be easier to Glasgow. I grew up in Irvine and have returned to live after 30 odd years but the Big Idea is one of the good memories of visiting family years ago. Nice video, well made. Subscribed.

Everytime I go down to Irvine beach I wonder about this! Thanks mate, very well produced 💪🏻

I was inside it a couple years ago, nature has taken it over, with vines growing from the ceiling. And a post apocalyptic feeling😅

Beyond belief!

I remember taking our now grown up kids there, we had a fantastic day out. Always meant to go back as there was so much to do it was worth at least 2 trips. Still have the photos you got from some of the exhibits.

I went as a kid, I’m 34 now. I liked it. I took my own kids to the science centre in Glasgow last year. I’m from Wales but used to visit family just outside Glasgow.

Wowza what a video what a shame what happened to that bridge? I cant believe its all abandoned i hope it gets what it needs a serious injection of money and energy thanks for sharing this with us all 😊

Went here as a kid. I loved it.

I alway thought that was really strange. Had no clue about it's history till now.

Awesome video n it’s a hell of a treck to get there from stevenston end but it’s cool to see up close when I walked there but cld only walk around the fence was the closest I cld get

I have great memories of visiting the Big Idea just after it opened in 2000 with my son who was 9. It was impressive. I had no idea it had closed!

what a superb video

I visited this place when I was young, when we were visiting my grandparents. I don't remember the inside in much detail, but seeing it again is oddly nostalgic

Compliments on the quality of your mini documentary. I was there when the bridge was installed as my dad wanted to see it. It slides back to create that gap, allowing sailing boats through. If I recall correctly it was made by a Bristol company. The visitor numbers required were, in all honesty, far too high for Irvine regardless of the Glasgow Science Centre. Same thing happened with the sea life centre that was part of the Beach Park many years before. And it was on the wrong side of the river Irvine. It should have been placed next to the Magnum to compliment both. Like everywhere new, it would have massive numbers initially but those would always tail off. The only time I was in was to receive a John Logie Baird Award for innovation. It was an excellent facility for such presentations. But even then some of the displays weren't working, and that's criminal. You've got to keep everything functional. One thing that Gro has demonstrated is a desire in the area for a quality bistro. That alone could have kept the Big Idea going. Look at just about every garden centre and they're nothing more than an excuse to have a cafe somewhere to take old relatives to! But hiding the building, making people walk across a windy bridge (just like the Magnum had!) isn't a good start. You have to look at the visitor experience right from the moment they arrive on site. And the demolition of the Magnum was simply vandalism. It should have been renovated, but then the pool has been transformed in to a fun pool and it needed restored back to one you could go for a swim in. Fun areas should have been annexed rather than replaced the swimming the Magnum offered. And that awful entrance replaced with something on the ground floor! Many evenings and weekends were spent in the Magnum and it's missed.

Reminds me of the ecos center in Ballymena.

I’m Irvine born and raised,I stay about 10 mins from Irvine beach,I remember when the big idea opened way back in 2000,Deep down a lot of people knew this place would never work but didn’t want to admit it,Take away the Glasgow science centre opening a year or two later,The actual location of where they built the big idea was terrible,Unless you drove you’d have to get a bus to Irvine cross and walk to the beach,And in the kind of weather we get,It just wasn’t viable,Basically the same thing happened to the magnum leisure centre,Great video,Really interesting and informative👍👍👍

I flew a DJI drone through the gap in the bridge. That was the last I saw of it. I believe a seagull attacked it and it’s ditched 10 feet deep in the river.

Very well done great video liked and subscribed

It used to the old ICI & beechams plant inthe 70’s early 80’s. We grew up In Pennyburn, Kilwinning & if you walked the old farm roads you could see the plant in the distance & hear the whoomph of detonations most sundays. You could walk the entire length but had to stop @ the river that separated Ardeer beach from Irvine beach! I’m sure there used to be a nudist beach there years ago lol😊. I haven’t been back there since the early 90’s (I think) but there used to be a dragon sculpture nr the Magnum centre. I don’t know if you’ve done a history of Kilwinning, but that place has a lot to offer in history…culturally maybe not so much lol😅

This is eerily similar to a white elephant that Aberdeenshire council built in 1997 called 'Archaeolink'. Both buildings even look similar. The local authority invested millions of taxpayers money into the property. It opened in 1997 but it only lasted for 4 years before it closed its doors for good. They used a 'star' architectural company to produce the designs. They were warned that they were producing a white elephant but ignored the warnings and pressed on with the project. The derelict, graffiti covered Archaeolink building was recently sold to a private buyer but the details, price and future use of the property are being kept from the public. You may believe that this is to spare the councils blushes but who can say for sure?

Ave got to RIP that with my FPV Quad.........love your channel keep up the good work!

I live in Edinburgh. I went to it in the year 2000. The only time I've ever been to Irvine because my Dad was picking up relatives from Prestwick Airport. Never had any reason to go to Ayrshire let alone Irvine at all since.

Very interesting video! Shame it had all its custom taken away. I've subscribed!

It’s a shame on how it’s closed. Used to love visiting the place when I was a kid. Great production!

I use to love this place! GSC is nice but this place was special. It's a shame it never got used as anything else a few years back the fence / security pods were not around it you could get up on top of the grass roof. Like you said everything was still inside and untouched. Shame the building is huge and could have many possibilities to be something new and drive some life back into that area.

Humble dryer probably cause this 😂😂😂😂

I visited it in 2000, while it was good. There's little reason to go back for a 2nd/3rd time.

I can't believe what happened2 this I worked on that we were doing the plumbing and heating can't mind the day there was a total eclipse of the sun well done 4 making this video

I always thought it would make a great concert venue.

I remember it being built and opened.

Im going to assume i was part of whatever went into the capsule. Although i have no memory of doing it, i was one of the people that went there with Ardeer primary school.

For a while i thought this place was a weird dream i had as a child

Best thing about Irvine beach park is the car park used for dogging 😂

Another council back handed scam

Potential for a James Bond movie set

My mate had a boat in irvine harbour and the boat club thats dwindled. The magnum centre is gone . New flats popping up hopefully the area is thriving again .... I done a wee drone vid over a tear ago across there and seen van in rear service entrance so there must be security or maintenance ongoing

Never got there when it was open as only moved to Scotland in 2002 but have walked down to it and was surprised to see it’s as if they just shut the doors yesterday intending to go back. It should be sold and the money reinvested as obviously it’ll never be a commercially viable option to reopen it.

There are three main conditions to be met in order for a footfall dependent attraction to flourish. The first one is - location….

I was one of the children at the time who got to put something into the time capsule there was loads put in it

Brilliant - but sad.

A spot likes this needs a leader with incredible proactivity to get out there & keep getting out there to keep visitors coming

What I find crazy, is how much other development is going on around that area of Irvine. They could easily repurpose the building! They're developing an open theater area if I recall and they have that huge space just over the bridge opposite the plans!

Well done

Could there be a future possibility to build more infrastructure around the exhibition venue as to make it a STEM centric theme park & research institute complex?!

That's really quite sad, but it would make a great location for a Doctor Who story about a research base on some remote planet.

Sad story, I hope it becomes an opertunity for another idea.

The indoor ski place is gone now aswell pitty cos that was pretty good and i used to go more than once a year

I see the Big Idea every day from the Glass works so sad to see it fail 😢

Last year i took a walk on the Stevenston side to check it out only to be met by Security Guards and patrol vehicles. The whole area that was once the ICI facility is now being developed into a marina and housiing with the Big Idea becoming an aquarium. I chatted with the Security Guards getting this info from them before leaving the area, the area near the Stevenston side of the footbridge wasn't fenced off as then but was planned to be. So there may be a future for it...or not.

I went there once as a kid. Loved it. Shame to see this video tbh :(

I'm not sure Abdullah will even be able to read the message left in the time capsule if there is one. 😞

Make a good flight museum or something. We have a habit in Scotland of ignoring the signs of it’s a shite idea as people push on with a bad idea and run with it thinking it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Feck sell it to a data company at least do something with it.

they should encourage camping in the dunes.Few yrs ago i was in Lithuania and camping was popular in ancient dunes on a similar remote spit

I remember there was a small sea aquarium across from it as we'll

Perhaps if they opened up a camping site or similar it might have drawn visitors from the length and breath of the UK as well as from abroad. It does seem a tad way out just for a day trip.

Overlooking the Big Idea - 2 elderly gentlemen from the area told me that for "environmental/toxic chemical reasons," it was agreed that nothing should ever be built on that piece of land. So what happened? They built a public attraction on it. Anyone have more info?

My family live there, it did look better when I last visited.

Sounds bad but a few years ago me and my pal went round the long way all the way round and people before had broken a window and alarm was on so me and my pal just went and explored late at night place is still untouched and the photos you see in this video is just the exact same what we seen was crazy that’s been like that since 2003 also was still big idea merchandise sitting there and took a big idea calculator that’s still in the packaging in my house but if you go over now there is a big green fence around the place and signs of dogs guarding the area. Also there is security they just ask what your doing and if u do get close they do say about no entry into the big idea and will be followed until u leave the land

I had a look on google earth and most of its surroundings on the site looks abandoned

Never new the building existed and I live north of the Clyde.

It’s not missing the middle part of the bridge, the bridge is automated used to move to close the gap

What a shame. It seems symbolic of so much in this country--so much potential, but just abandoned and left to rot.

Why was the bridge cut off?

If you have a boat you can sail across to the other side or fly with a paramotor or micro helicopter for 1 person

I was waiting for you the get in a boat and go in 🙄

Why is there a section missing out of the bridge? Thank you.

The footbridge is retractable to allow boats to pass through.

It’s 2024 now, and god knows what will happen this I hope a miracle happens and it will reopen, but it might not which is sad because you only get this type of stuff at Glasgow so 😢

worked there from day one and we doing ok until the Glasgow science centre opened and offered free buses to school to visit them, that killed the main income stone dead. I was one of the bridge operators which was fun. look to the awful mpl company to see how they are stripping the nature reserve of sand for gold bumnkers across the UK and due to a wartime development order dont need any planning or local council oversite to do what they want..

What about opening it back as a healing centre with swimming baths and an outdoor pool somewhere families can go and experience a scientific based healing experience with infra red saunas at a reasonable price people can afford there are many scientific healing technologies out there

0:36 O love this artist's representation of a really large turd. It speaks volumes.

What did you do to the colour in the video. Irvine's water is not and has never been blue. It's always been greenish brown

Same as the eco bollox centre on Bodmin moor in Cornwall a complete and utter waste of a few million pounds.

Needs Fact checked most of the money that got sunk into this place came from the national lottery, European investment, private investments only around 500k came from the Scottish government It was owned and operated by noble enterprises also the bridge is not missing the center section its simply retracted to its fully open position

Only paperwork RUBBED!!!!!!Smoking suit Gangsters!!!!!💰💰💰💰💸💸💸💸

The Ayrshire council is struggling

It was a bit short sighted shutting down...

The shit idea 😂

Would have made a good casino

i used to work in it, i found it good and exiting even the theatre was good, but just pointless, the big idea was a bad idea

Make the MPs pay for there failure.

So 😔

Can't help but wonder who made money from the failure. There is always someone who is profiting from it. Guess it isn't interesting enough for an indepth investigation, in particular the financial side of it. Failure is rampant in public and private funding schemes.

It's a shame. I think the big idea was a good idea, but just maybe it was in the wrong place. Who's to know? But any chance to spark the interest of science in children is a great opportunity, it's just a pity that the big idea no longer has that opportunity.

Is Ayrshire abandoned now?

Why do they not do something with it.........