Countless Greater Manchester families looked forward to spending their summer holiday at a now demolished Pontins holiday camp.
Pontins holiday park in Blackpool was the place generations of Mancunians would escape to for a convenient and pocket-friendly holiday for more than 40-years. Based on Clifton Drive North, the camp was technically in Lytham St Anne's it was advertised as Pontins Blackpool and saw business boom after it opened in 1962.
Pontins holiday camps were the brainchild of Fred Pontin, who opened his first Pontins in a former US army base in Weston-super-Mare in Somerset in 1946. Over the years, the holiday camp magnate bought more camps, expanding his empire to 30 sites at its peak.
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Smaller and less expensive than Butlin's holiday camps, Pontins had Bluecoats to entertain guests as opposed to the Redcoats of its major rival. TV stars who learned their comedy trade as former Bluecoats include Bradley Walsh, Shane Richie, Bobby Davro and Lee Mack.
Although there were no actual Pontins camps in Greater Manchester, every year thousands of Mancunians would visit Pontins holiday parks in nearby Southport, Prestatyn, Morecambe and the ever popular Blackpool resort. After Fred Pontin purchased the Blackpool site in 1961, he set about modernising the former Squires Gate holiday camp site into his brand new Pontins.
Later in the 1960s, the original outdoor pool at the site was remodelled and enclosed underneath an arched glass roof. In 1972, a brochure for the Blackpool Pontins site listed its amenities which included a ballroom and theatre, three bars, heated indoor swimming and paddling pool, TV lounges, two cafes, an amusement arcade and even a betting and fish and chip shop.
Outdoor entertainment included a boating lake, sports courts, an adventure playground, as well as on site talent shows, comedy nights, and fancy dress competitions. The blurb inside the brochure states: "When evening falls on Blackpool, and illuminations switched on, the camp swings into high powered entertainment.
"Most people find there's so much going on at Pontin's that they are not bother about going out. And of course here it's all free!"
There was even a creche and day nursery for young children so parents could slip off and enjoy a few hours by themselves. For older children, there was also Captain Croc, Pontins' mascot and leader of the Croc Crew who entertained the children with parties and games.
Blackpool Pontins managed to overcome a terrible tragedy that same year when seven people on board an aircraft died after the plane they were in crash landed on the holiday camp of 2,500 holidaymakers, demolishing a number of chalets. Miraculously, it was only the members of the air crew that died, with one member of the jet surviving after being pulled out of the wreckage by the camp chef.
Despite the tragedy, business boomed at the camp for years to come making it a go to place for holidaymakers all over the north west.
In a newspaper article in 2008, one reporter from the Evening Gazette offered a slice of what life at the Blackpool holiday camp was like over 40-years after it first opened. Writing about their family holiday experience there, the reviewer said: "At Pontins camp, you can begin the day with a feast of a full English breakfast and if you want more, it’s just a case of helping yourself. It’s the same for evening meals too.
"The staff were like supercharged Teletubby ‘Noonoo’, cleaning tables and whisking away discarded food before you could say ‘Bye, byes.’ The entertainment at the camp was for all age groups with the girls specially enjoying the Sooty show, Captain Croc and his mates and Captain Croc’s adventure land with its ball pool.
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"We enjoyed dips in the heated swimming pool and the bingo (oh yes, you can’t beat a good old game of bingo), and footy matches on the wide screen at the Queen Victoria pub.
With all this on offer it's easy to see why Pontins attracted so many families across the north west, including thousands from Greater Manchester, for many years. However, just a year later the seaside institution came to an abrupt end.
The company that used own Pontins, Ocean Parcs, said it was closing down the holiday park blaming the decision on falling visitor numbers. Ian Smith, the company's chief executive, said the decision had been taken by the company board 'with deep regret'.
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He added: "It was not an easy decision for the board to make. We looked at it long and hard but bookings have deteriorated and the level of investment required for a short lease meant it was not commercially viable to continue."
By the time the park closed in 2009, only five Pontins holiday camps remained in the UK. In 2020, Pontins entered receivership and in 2011, the company was bought out by Britannia Hotels.
A few years after it closed the derelict chalets and last remnants of the abandoned holiday camp were cleared and the site demolished.
And while many of the Pontins sites that once held so many fantastic memories for Mancunians have gone, there are still six Britannia Hotels owned Pontins holiday camps operating in the UK, with the nearest sites in Southport, Merseyside, and Prestatyn in North Wales.
Does Blackpool Pontins awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
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