Saturday, July 23, 2005

The Land of the Dead



I've just returned from visiting my brother in the Lake District, and on the way home the family and I called in at Morecambe 'holiday' resort. Now I've visited many such resorts in the past, and as a kid I loved them, but I've noticed that lately, most of them are abysmal. In this instance, the attractions hunched empty and unused on the sea front. A few forlorn chip shops, gaudily painted signs and boarded up buildings are now what constitute a holiday destination on the west coast.

It's no wonder bookings at such resorts are down - I wouldn't fancy spending a week in one, that's for sure. The worst resorts seem to be in the North of the country, as down south and around Cornwall, the towns and villages seem to be maintained - perhaps it's a money thing, something to do with the north/south divide. Even the small funfair in this resort was terrible, with half the attractions looking liable to collapse. The people strolling around looked like zombies, and the people running the ‘attractions’ didn't look old enough to be out of school.

This particular resort once had Frontierland Western Theme Park - now closed and abandoned, which I took a couple of photographs of, mainly because it inspired me. I know there have been numerous books on abandoned funfairs before, but the same could easily be said of vampires (which up until yet I have not penned a tale of), so it's another story on the back burner. It's a shame such places are left to rot; now the only cries are when someone cuts themselves on the glass that litters the floor after they've broken in to smooch around. What was once a popular holiday destination is now the fodder of a horror writer.

2 comments:

Mostly Another Gaudy Grouch In Exile said...

I like the way your words flow. May you realise your dream in time to come.
Thanks for dropping by! Climbing is one of my passions. Hope you find time to do it again. Where you come from, there must be many places to climb. Unlike Singapore.

Shaun said...

Unfortunately where I live, the landscape is flat. There's not a hill or mountain for miles. Not even an indoor climbing centre. I would love to climb again, but after celebrating my 40th birthday yesterday, I feel I'm getting a little long in the tooth.