Roundhay Park

fred miller · Post by **fred miller** » Fri 26 Oct, 2007 10:01 pm

hi phil its like i said leeds council are unscrupulous my family paid fore and started the first roundhay park bonfire which the year after the councill addopted now for the last four years the council wont let me have a funfair for the display cause they say its not safe and there is no room now can someone remind me how big is roundhay park !!!

fred miller · Post by **fred miller** » Fri 26 Oct, 2007 10:01 pm

hi phil its like i said leeds council are unscrupulous my family paid fore and started the first roundhay park bonfire which the year after the councill addopted now for the last four years the council wont let me have a funfair for the display cause they say its not safe and there is no room now can someone remind me how big is roundhay park !!!

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Fri 26 Oct, 2007 10:12 pm

David & Goliath springs to mind Fred. I'm afraid it's a sign of the times things like that happen. I do think that if the closure was happening today & not a few years ago you'd probably still be there. Just look at the mansion for example if that had happened along with your fun fair then the public would have lost that too. There's been so much oposition to it they've had to knock there original plan on the head. It's just a real shame the funfair has gone, the park has lost an important part of history. I'm not having a dig at the council since this is a council website but it's a good way of expressing how the public should have there opinion listened too much better than they did before.

fred miller · Post by **fred miller** » Fri 26 Oct, 2007 10:19 pm

hi phil what was happening with the manshion i missed that one not had much to do with roundhay park for the last four years

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Fri 26 Oct, 2007 10:28 pm

It got closed & was going to be turned into council offices... There was one almighty outcry about it.. I'm not sure what's happening at the moment unless someone out there knows!

Post by **chameleon** » Fri 26 Oct, 2007 11:12 pm

oldleedsman wrote: Does anyone remember the maze in Roundhay Park? I don't remember it ever being open but I can remember hiding in it during school cross-country races. There was also a large cafe building nearby that had a cafe at the front and a huge room that seemed to be full of stacked table and chairs.Also donkey rides up the Hill 60 next to the arena.My sister claims there used to be a small zoo in Canal gardens with monkeys. Is there any truth in this? Quite some years ago I used to race at Roundhay in the West Riding Track League cycling events.If you look at the arena, its more of an egg shape, the bottom corner a much tighter curve than the top. This being on the way to the finish line often meant you were travelling at your fastest here - ok if you new the place but visiting riders often met their demise here, being unable to negotiate the bend, and would go flying off the track at a tangent - usually landing right in the hedges of the old maze!

gbdlufc · Post by **gbdlufc** » Sat 27 Oct, 2007 1:17 am

Hello Fred, I have not lived in Leeds for the past 14 years so I have lost touch with a lot of the changes which have taken place. All I can say is I have nothing but great memories from your families fair from the swings/merry-go-round and the great helter skelter, we spent many hours in the park when my dad use to work on the buses (which I mentioned in another thread)and we would get free bus rides to the park and we would always spend ages on the fair and on the lake in the boats, I was too small for the rowing boats so we use to go on the launch I think these were red and one was blue if my memory serves me right.Just out of interest do you still own all these rides? Many thanks to your family for some great times and memories.ps I hope the bloody council dont chase after mi dad for the free bus rides!

fred miller · Post by **fred miller** » Sat 27 Oct, 2007 12:47 pm

hi i still own some of the rides i still have the helter skelter, flying chairs, swing boats the old toy ride the rest have been sold over the years like the train ride wjhich i sold last year and the launch's were red and blue there was some paddle boats for the kids and rowing boats for the older people

LS1 · Post by **LS1** » Sat 27 Oct, 2007 9:38 pm

That has really brough back some memories. I remember the dodgems, then the helter skelter, and some chair swings. Then the chairoplaines and the little train and something else ... cant remmeber it. Thanks for some great times there!Mansion- have a look in now, they have removed the horrible white fences and the interior still looks the same,. Part of it will be offices and a also a learning centre and a cafe. The old Phoenix bar has gone, apparently structurally unsafe and quite a nice building has been erected in its place. It's good to see though that they have renovated the railings there and kept the old ones, and the new replaced sections are almost identical to the old ones. they look good. Something has been done well or a change!I wish someone could tell me what has cost millions though in the park after the grant was spent. I cant see any mega changes that look as though they would have cost into the millions...

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Sat 27 Oct, 2007 10:59 pm

Hey thats good you've still got the old rides Fred. It's better than them been scrapped although i suppose you'd rather have sold them for the younger generation to still enjoy. It would have put a few quid back in your pocket but it doesn't replace memories eh? It might be nice to photograph them as i have a site that covers all that old, forgotten places of Leeds if ever you fancy evoking a few memories from folk Fred