Beloved holiday park open for 30 years leaves no trace after closing forever | UK | News

This was a place where entire families would descend for a week or two of classic British seaside fun. It was one of the largest holiday camps in the UK, with hundreds of chalets, fun fairs, indoor games rooms and swimming complexes.

But if you tried to find it today, instead of rows of chalets and a train and tram system, you’d find a housing estate, a gravel car park and a cliff-top green space. You can have no idea the scale of what was once here, or the tens of thousands of people who came from all over Britain to enjoy it.

Butlins resort (later to become Barry Island Holiday Resort) was a sight to behold. Generations of the same family, from grandparents to toddlers, would come here to find the chalets (colour-coded yellow, red or blue) that housed four people and included a lounge, kitchenette with stove, refrigerator, two bedrooms, a bathroom and toilet.

Its location was remarkable; Nell’s Point is a cliff-top headland lying on the south Wales coast between Barry Island’s two famous beaches. The camp was all inclusive and had everything you could want for a family holiday in a seaside holiday park. It was considered serious value for money.

It featured one of the largest indoor entertainment complexes in the UK, the Tropical Indoor Reef Club swimming complex, and the focal point of the camp: a huge outdoor pool with superb channels and a stage for regular entertainment. To overcome all this, you can take the Timmy train or Tammy tram every day between 10.30 and 17.30.

The entertainment on offer was almost limitless, from indoor bowling to five-a-side football matches, visiting the ‘pop box’ to star in your own music video and being filmed dancing to a song of your choice with a variety of elaborate computerized backgrounds added.

There were four different family shows a week in the 2,000-seat Gaiety Theatre, while large groups performed seven nights a week in the Gaiety Ballroom, and the camp had competitions such as Best Dressed Woman, Glamorous Grannie, Lovely Legs and the Miss Majestic Beauty Pageant. There was over £2,500 in prize money.

There were even more competitions at the Princes Ballroom, including Bonnie Baby, Father and Son, Fancy Dress, Mr Macho and Picture of Health. The Pig and Whistle show bar featured showgirls, performers and comedians from 8pm, Ebony’s Lounge had a more sophisticated atmosphere and Co Co’s disco didn’t even open until 11pm (in those days it was used for children’s events such as the Whiz Kids Wakey Wakey Club).

Princes Shopping Center had a large supermarket, hot bread shop, sweets, pharmacy and hairdresser, while Boulevard shopping center had photo, shoe, rock and confectionery, toys, fashion, cigarettes, drapery and beachwear shops.

Inspired by an unhappy holiday on Barry Island in his youth, Billy Butlin signed a 99-year lease on the headland at Nell’s Point and Butlins, which opened in 1966.

Despite its success, Butlins announced in 1986 that Barry Island would not be part of the company’s future and it closed on New Year’s Eve. The camp reopened in May 1987 as Majestic Barry Island and was later renamed The Barry Island Resort following a complete renovation under the management of the late Rick Wright, who was hailed at the time as the “savior of Barry Island”.

The Redcoats became the Bluecoats after Butlins threatened legal action over the use of the name in 1991, and things continued happily for many years.

It’s hard to believe that something like this could even be possible in the 1990s, but it did happen. In 1992, at the height of his fame, Michael Jackson was performing at the now-demolished National Stadium in Cardiff as part of his Dangerous world tour.

The camp’s entertainment manager, Martin ‘Scott’ Clowes, decided to advertise that Jacko would be passing through the camp to wave to fans on his way to the concert. He took the entire holiday park out in the hope of catching a glimpse of the megastar. “Jacko, we love you,” read the homemade banners.

But instead the Thriller superstar was wearing a blue jacket and shiny gloves, wearing a Michael Jackson mask that Clowes had bought in town, dangling out the window of a Mercedes passing by at high speed. The entertainment team even took elaborate precautions to amp up the prank by bringing in two security guards, arranging for a police escort and playing Michael Jackson music by the pool.

Mr Clowes previously recalled: “The mask looked a bit shiny so we powdered it and sat him in the back of the car. It was done as a joke. It was great, everyone was into it, but that’s why I got into trouble. I didn’t tell Rick Wright what was going on and kept it a bit of a secret. He actually got quite angry with me on health and safety grounds. I was a bit annoyed! He was a tough character and I remember I was taken there. They were worried about Michael Jackson’s people and it was something that got out of control.” They thought it was a scam.

“I had to go to the Gaiety Theater that evening in costume and let everyone know it was a joke. People were laughing and joking, they thought it was funny. I was a little worried. I didn’t know if they were going to laugh or lynch me! It was something I’ll always remember, it was a bit of fun that got out of hand.”

From the mid-1970s to the early 1990s, Kerry Instone traveled to Barry Island with her family from Berkshire and Hampshire at least once a year.

“I remember the freedom of being able to go wherever we wanted when we were at camp; my brother and I carried a chalet key around our necks on our shoelace, and if we wanted to go somewhere we went.” he previously told WalesOnline.

“I remember going to the Princes Hall for the indoor fair and pool. I remember so many tables I can almost still smell what it was like.”

“The passage through the Gaiety building, the smell of popcorn, the seafood stall, the shops selling Welsh dolls, the Welsh hats, the sugary striped candy canes, the rock.

“The sound of the arcade at the top, I used to spend hours there every holiday. I also remember playing bingo, it was amazing. I loved the adrenaline of sliding the blinds across and saving up for prizes! There was a Welsh lady on the call, very dark curly hair, glamorous and nice Welsh accent.”

“I remember Toot & Ploot, the Beaver Club, the 913 Club, the fun on the sports fields. I also remember the outdoor amusement park, the skating rink, the slide, the jumps, the tornado, and the skydiver.

“I loved riding the cable cars. I remember a young man called Daz was working on the cable car, I remember thinking that was a really exotic name and I think I may have fallen in love with him!”

Mrs Instone always stayed in the ‘Blue camp’ with her family: “We asked for the Blue A 216 and got it every time, which was lovely. It overlooked the beach, it was gorgeous. Some of us would go down to the beach and write messages in the sand at the chalet for the others.”

“I remember the chalet, the furniture, the bedding, the cutlery marked with the Butlins logo, the whistling kettle, the 50p electric meters, washing my hair with a jug for water.”

The camp continued for another 10 years, with Butlins leaving in 1986. However, maintenance at the camp had become a problem, especially due to the chalet’s flat roof and wooden panels.

BBC program That’s Life! It was even visited to investigate, and a report was published in January 1989 under the title “Barry Sucks. Barry Hell.” He encouraged everyone who was there that summer to send them postcards, and although he actually received 8,000 postcards, only 40 of them were complaints. Mr Wright sued and Majestic received £500,000 in damages.

But storm damage caused further problems in the years that followed, and the Vale of Glamorgan Council threatened to refuse the renewal of its entertainment license unless work was carried out to improve the then 30-year-old site. It was completely closed on 7 November 1996 and sold to the council for £2.25 million. Most of it was demolished in October and the land was sold to Bovis Homes, which built homes there between 2002 and 2003. Part of the camp was still there until 2005, when the two original camp buildings and the outdoor pool were demolished.

What was once a much-loved holiday camp is now a housing estate, a parkland and a temporary car park for thousands of people heading to Barry Island’s beaches on warm days.

Former guest Miss Instone returned after half the camp was destroyed.

“It was very sad,” he said. A security guard ushered me through the door and into the remaining buildings (old, empty shops, theater and ballroom) including the Regency, the pool, the Gaiety. It was so heartbreaking.

“I’ve only been back since it became home, too, and again it was so sad. It’s truly happy days and it makes me incredibly sad that I won’t be able to see a time like this again, but the memories remain.”