Scarborough

I love vintage seaside attractions and was therefore delighted to find the vintage Water Chute in Northstead Manor Gardens, Scarborough. Located right next to the station for the North Bay Railway, close to Peasholm Park and originally dating from 1932, this is one of only three water chutes left in the UK.

The water chute operates by running down a short ramp from a timber cabin, into the lake’s waters. You are then hauled back up the ramp, backwards, by a big cable, before being released down into the lake for a second time.

In comparison to modern day log flumes, it’s actually quite a sedate ride with little danger of getting really wet. But if you think back to how it must have felt to ride the water chute back in 1932 when people weren’t used to fast rollercoasters and fairground rides throwing them all over the place, it must have been quite an exhilarating ride after a genteel walk round the nearby Peasholm Park.

History of the Vintage Water Chute

The water chute was designed by Charles Wicksteed, a name that many parents may have spotted on playground equipment across the UK. The Wicksteed company (now Wicksteed Leisure Limited) still make playground equipment and the words of their founder are proudly written on their website:

“The Play Ground should not be put in a corner behind railings, but in a conspicuous and beautiful part of a Park, free to all, where people can enjoy the play and charming scenery at the same time; where mothers can sit, while they are looking on and caring for their children”

The vintage water chute in Scarborough is the third oldest in the country and one of only three surviving such rides from before the Second World War. Historic England describe it as “as an evocative example of early 20th Century amusements aimed primarily at children and families, with a rider experience that is the same as when the ride first opened”.

The first water chute was opened in Earl’s Court in London in 1893 and this was followed by chutes at Southport Pleasure Beach (1903) and Blackpool Pleasure Beach (1907). They were incredibly popular in their day and I’m particularly intrigued having seen photos of the one that was next to Southend Pier in Essex.

Remaining vintage water chutes in the UK

Today two more vintage water chutes survive. The most famous example is at Wicksteed Park in Kettering (linked to Charles Wicksteed as the name suggests) and in East Park, Hull. When we went on the water chute in Scarborough the man running things was incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the chute and about Charles Wicksteed himself. He informed me that the Hull chute has been modernised and electrified over the years and as such is often broken. That’s certainly backed up by this article about the boat derailing only months after it was reopened with great fanfare following a refurbishment.

Scarborough’s Vintage Water Chute

The vintage water chute in Scarborough is run by the people behind the neighbouring North Bay Railway. You buy tickets for the chute in the shop bit of the railway before climbing up to the top of the chute to take your ride.

Tickets cover two goes on the chute and at the time of writing (April 2024) are £3.50 per person.

The water chute was refurbished by the owners of the North Bay Railway back in 2007. At points before that the ride was part of the Kinderland activity park that was on the site but time saw it become derelict and under threat of permanent closure. The water chute became Grade II listed in 2017.

What else to do in Scarborough

Looking for other things to do in the Scarborough area? Why not see where else we have visited in this North Yorkshire seaside town here.

I’ve always been a fan of a municipal park. Years ago I used to have a regular client that I visited on the train. To get from tree station to his office you could walk through the park there which featured the usual flowerbeds and fountains, but also a delightful aviary and a small boating lake. My colleague and I would often take the longer route round the park and many a conversation took place about what made a good park and why we didn’t seem to create good ones anywhere any more. Country parks with vast lakes still get built, or you get “community spaces” shoehorned in between buildings, but it’s ages since I think I’ve heard of a good municipal park in a town or city.

As a child we have many holidays in Scarborough and one memory I have very clearly is of visiting Peasholm Park in an evening, just as it was getting dark, and seeing colourful lanterns all lit up around the lake there. I’ve always wanted to go back and see how accurate my memory was and finally this latest trip gave me time to do so.

History of Peasholm Park

Scarborough’s Peasholm Park originally opened to the public in 1912 and has remained a municipal park since that day. It was particularly popular in the pre and post World War Two days. The park saw a decline in use in the 1970s as the number of people visiting Scarborough (and other similar seaside towns) decreased, but Heritage Lottery Funding has helped restore much of it. In 1999 Pesholm Park was granted grade II listed status by English Heritage.

Peasholm Park is orientally themed, with a pagoda on an island in the middle of the boating lake there. It is said that the design of the pagoda is based on that seen on Willow Pattern pottery. With a waterfall leading from the pagoda down into the lake it is certainly not quite what you expect to see in a municipal park in a Yorkshire seaside town!

If you want to find out more about the history of Peasholm Park then the Peasholm Park Friends have a useful page on their website.

Visiting the park

Peasholm Park is free to visit and is open twenty four hours a day, 365 days of the year. As well as on street parking on neighbouring streets, and along the North Bay’s seafront, there is also a pay and display car park at the north end of the park, opposite the North Bay Railway.

What is there to do at Peasholm Park?

Peasholm Park offers so many different things for all members of the family. As well as just walking around and soaking up the atmosphere visitors can take in the Peasholm Glen Tree Trail which features rare and unusual trees. During one piece of restoration work the Dicksonian Elm, which was though to be extinct, was found to be growing in the Peasholm Glen.

The lake is a central part of the park and in season visitors can hire rowing boats or dragon shaped pedalos to go round the lake on. Hire tickets are purchased from one of the buildings near the lake before queuing up on the lakeside to take one out. I was delighted to see that lanterns are still strung along the edges of the lake, although we only visited during the daytime and so didn’t see them illuminated.

There are plenty of benches for people to sit and take in their surroundings, and also an ice cream kiosk, a cafe, bandstand and a putting green. Signs point to a pitch and put course, but that seemed to be abandoned and overgrown when we tried to find it. Interestingly it still features though on North Yorkshire Council’s uninformative webpage on the park.

Naval Battles on the lake

Possibly one of the most surprising things that goes on at Peasholm Park are the naval battles on the lake. I’ve not been fortunate enough too see these in person, but three times a week in the summer the Battle of Peasholm is reenacted on the lake. 20ft electrical and man powered replica boats take to the water and since WW2 act out the Battle of the River Plate. It all sounds utterly bonkers and I do hope to return to see it for myself but until then I’m making do with this description and a couple of videos I’ve found on YouTube. The best has to be when it was featured on The One Show back in 2022 though.

What is nearby?

Whilst visiting Peasholm Park, you might want to see what else is in that part of Scarborough. Right across the road from the north end of the park is the North Bay Railway. This short train ride can take you right out to Scalby Mills Station, which is right next to the Scarborough Sealife Centre. It makes a great alternative to driving there.

That’s not all the North Bay Railway has to offer though. In the gardens next to Peasholm Station, you can also ride on the vintage Water Chute, go on the Sky Trail or take to the lake in a boat or a zorb ball. If all that sounds too strenuous you can also just pick up an ice cream and enjoy watching others.

A short walk from there takes you to the refurbished Scarborough Open Air Theatre. Built originally in 1932, the theatre actually closed in the 80s, but then 2010 saw the venue reopen after a major renovation. Now tube venue has welcomed the likes of Kylie and Westlive with Status Quo and Tom Jones due to play there in 2024.

It is also a short walk from the park along the north bay seafront where you can find crazy golf and a skate park as well as the usual array of ice cream vendors. Marine Drive is a fantastic spot for a bracing walk (and great for kids on scooters) and it’s a brilliant location to watch the waves come crashing in when the weather turns. Be warned though that if the sea is particularly wild then they will close the road for safety reasons!

What else is there to see and do in Scarborough?

Want to know what else we’ve got up to on previous trips to Scarborough? Then take a look here for posts covering things we have done in Scarborough over the years.