Isle of Wight Photographs: Blackgang theme park entrance

Isle of Wight Nostalgia - Blackgang Theme Park Entrance

As the cliffs crumble the Blackgang, the owners mastermind a tactical retreat - which means everything changes from year to year. This adds interest to the park but must be a nightmare to manage - in fact the cost of moving the main features of the park to safer areas is estimated to have cost Ł1,500,000 during the final decade of the 20th century! All the photographs on this page were taken within about 20 years which demonstrates the extent of the task.

Park entrance in 1989

The entrance to the park is now to the left of this picture. The blue sign in the distance was the old way in before the road started to disappear.

The old entrance in action (see previous picture). Note the individually painted bus stop signs!

And again in May 2000 - a fence now encloses the old road which forms part of the park.

This used to be the Ship Ashore Pub but has since been closed.

A more recent view

Another view of the Ship Ashore on a fine day with Gore Cliff in the background. The main road from Ventnor ran below this cliff until a major landslip in 1928 made it impassible. There are some pictures of the scenic cliffs near Gore Cliff in the 'Undercliff' section.