Belle vue

[john1955]

;D ;D
Hi all , do you remeber going to Belle vue fair and zoo. We use to go on bank holidays .I think the first you saw when going through the gates was the water chute with big dipper towering overhead. The zoo was amazing because it would be the first time you actually see wild animals also we had rides on the elephant. I was sad when it shut down it would of been great to take our children when they were younger. Manchester could do with something like the old belle vue, anybody agree?
bye john

[lin]

Hi John1995, I remember going to Belle Vue a lot, the fair and the zoo.I agree that it was a shame that they shut it down, and they should do something else like it now.
I live in Cornwall now, but used to go back to Manchester quite a few times every year with my parents, even after I got married and had kids we used to go and took the kids with us, I think this must have been just before they closed it down (not sure when they did close it) but it was early 70's we went....good old times aye?

[Belinda]

Hi John,Belle vue! I loved it.The first time i went i was about four and my parents tried to get me on the elephant,i was having none of it.To this day i regret not getting on that Elephant ;D when my eldest son was small(hes 32 now)We took him all the time,it was a fantastic day out,right on your door step.I think its one of manchesters greatest losses. x Belinda

[tony38337]

Hi Belinda,

I remember that Elephant ride and at about the same age I went on it and never forgot it, do I also remember a Camel? When Belle Vue opened in the spring it held the promise of summer,,, Happy days.

Tony T.

[OLLY]

hiya tony
you are right , there was also a camel ride, I have it on
a dvd of belle vue, from 1932, till closure,
do you all remember the skull of the hippopotimus, in
the glass case, well that was the mother, killed by her
son, which lived on.
olly.

[Lisa]

Hi Olly, I remember the Hippo at Belle View when I was about aged 5 and my parents took me to the Zoo. I stared at the Hippo through some bars when it suddenly yawned and I ran crying to my mum. I was spellbound by them from then on and they are one of my favourite animals. I also remember the ride on an elephant. What a pity they closed Belle View. I think we all have happy memories of it. Does anyone remember the Crooked House??? I remember visiting it and got a shock to find all the lads lined up in the dark corridor waiting for any unsuspecting girls to come along. I think I experienced ONE of my first French kisses in that dark passageway. The sad part about it was you never knew WHO you were kissing.........

williamollerenshaw said:

hiya tony
you are right , there was also a camel ride, I have it on
a dvd of belle vue, from 1932, till closure,
do you all remember the skull of the hippopotimus, in
the glass case, well that was the mother, killed by her
son, which lived on.
olly.

[Mike]

I use to work on the scenic railway in the 1970's
the more people you had on it , the faster it went . i use to work the brake in the middle for a few weeks
manchesterhistory.net/bellevue/amuse.html

Migky

[OLLY]

hiya lisa,
yes I`d forgotten about the crooked house,
were the floors all slanted as well, but where in belle vue it
was I carnt think, the nursery, and some of the green houses were behind the miniture railway, longsight end, three greenhouses at the top, behind the reptile house, and two greenhouses near the football pitch, kirkmanshulme lane side.
olly...

[OLLY]

hiya migky
we used to get changed inside the scenic as well,
but that was in the fifties, we had a duty rosta who was on sicky duty, buckets of water to swill away,
hey, migky can I detect ginger hair, in your avatar.
olly

migky said:

I use to work on the scenic railway in the 1970's
the more people you had on it , the faster it went . i use to work the brake in the middle for a few weeks
manchesterhistory.net/bellevue/amuse.html

Migky

[clancy]

hi Migky, are the faces you have on your profile Elvis, Jimmy Hendrix and Paul Jones. tommy

[Belinda]

tony38337 said:

Hi Belinda,

I remember that Elephant ride and at about the same age I went on it and never forgot it, do I also remember a Camel? When Belle Vue opened in the spring it held the promise of summer,,, Happy days.

Tony T.

Hi Tony,I dont recall a camel,but after the episode with the Elephant my parents probably thought it best to keep me away from animal rides. x Belinda

[Belinda]

mavisredford said:

Hi Olly, I remember the Hippo at Belle View when I was about aged 5 and my parents took me to the Zoo. I stared at the Hippo through some bars when it suddenly yawned and I ran crying to my mum. I was spellbound by them from then on and they are one of my favourite animals. I also remember the ride on an elephant. What a pity they closed Belle View. I think we all have happy memories of it. Does anyone remember the Crooked House??? I remember visiting it and got a shock to find all the lads lined up in the dark corridor waiting for any unsuspecting girls to come along. I think I experienced ONE of my first French kisses in that dark passageway. The sad part about it was you never knew WHO you were kissing.........

williamollerenshaw said:

hiya tony
you are right , there was also a camel ride, I have it on
a dvd of belle vue, from 1932, till closure,
do you all remember the skull of the hippopotimus, in
the glass case, well that was the mother, killed by her
son, which lived on.
olly.

Hi Lisa,could have been Migky ;D x Belinda

[Lisa]

Hi Belinda, It could have been ANYONE.........It couldnt have been THAT bad because we went again the next time we went to Belle View and the boys were there again lining the dark corridor waiting for unsuspecting victims.

belinda2 said:

mavisredford said:

Hi Olly, I remember the Hippo at Belle View when I was about aged 5 and my parents took me to the Zoo. I stared at the Hippo through some bars when it suddenly yawned and I ran crying to my mum. I was spellbound by them from then on and they are one of my favourite animals. I also remember the ride on an elephant. What a pity they closed Belle View. I think we all have happy memories of it. Does anyone remember the Crooked House??? I remember visiting it and got a shock to find all the lads lined up in the dark corridor waiting for any unsuspecting girls to come along. I think I experienced ONE of my first French kisses in that dark passageway. The sad part about it was you never knew WHO you were kissing.........

Hi Lisa,could have been Migky ;D x Belinda

[Mike]

yep tommy , ya got em all ;D

Migky

[Danny]

Hi Migky.I was on the watershute ride in the 70's as a teenager, on this occasion when it came out of the water and shot round the bend at the bottom , it was going like the clappers,which seemed great !! then I realised it wasn't stopping.It smashed into the stationary carriages and shunted them on to the chain that pulls them up to the top.We had come to a stop, then a carriage smashed into us,pushed us onto the chain and we were off again.As it was going up and over the kiosk where you used to pay,I was going to jump onto the roof as I didn't fancy going around again,even if I was for nowt, when a man on the ground told us all it was alright and he stopped the ride.The carriages were all bumper to bumper,he took them to the top and edged them over one at a time.When we were back on the ground , this guy came strolling over with a cuppa in hand,the man who saved the day got hold of him,they had a big blue and he belted him.There were two men behind me on the ride,one hurt his knees on my backrest and that was the extent of the injuries ,that I was aware of.I went off to the Kings Hall to catch up with my Dad ,told him all about it,he didn't make much of it,nothing in the press, I don't even think the bloke with no knees was sorted out. I think if that happened today I'd be sitting on a fare bit of compo.Did you hear about that one Migky ?

[OLLY]

hiya danny
are you from round the gorton area, I worked there 10+ years before you, there was some tails to tell .
olly

[Danny]

Hi Olly,I was born in the old pack horse on oldham rd collyhurst.My parents had a few pubs in that area over about ten years.The last was the britannia inn on ashton old rd.When we were in the Brit I used to go to Belle Vue all the time with my dad, he loved the wrestling.
Al the best Danny

[mauger]

Hello Everyone,
Speaking of Belle vue.Does Anyone have any Belle Vue Speedway Badges,or anything to do with Speedway for cash sale.Just a Question.As i am an collector.and an old Belle Vue Fan from the early 60s.
Peter j

[Belinda]

mauger said:

Hello Everyone,
Speaking of Belle vue.Does Anyone have any Belle Vue Speedway Badges,or anything to do with Speedway for cash sale.Just a Question.As i am an collector.and an old Belle Vue Fan from the early 60s.
Peter j

Hi Peter,welcome to mm.If you keep reading the postings someone might know someone who can help you.x Belinda

[moonshine]

Hi, I remember going to Belle Vue on many occasions. Loved the fairground and zoo. Although living in Zimbabwe I must say that the only way to view the animals is in the wild.
Enjoyed the stock car racing and speedway too.

[Lisa]

Hi Moonshine, Havent seen you on the Chatline for a while. Hope everything is ok over there in Zimbabwe. Everyone seems to have lovely memories of Belle View. It was the only real entertainment in the Manchester area. Whitsuntide seemed to be a popular time to visit. I used to save up for ages to spend the day there with friends just wandering around even though we'd spent all our money. There was so much to do. Saturday nights dancing at the Queen Elizabeth Suite where the stage revolved during the interval and the band disappeared while they went for their drink. What great bands they had too. The dancefloor was always crowded and you couldnt get near the bar for drinks. I wonder what all those people did for entertainment when Belle View closed down? I agree with you that the best way to see animals is in the wild. I hate to see any creature locked in a cage.

moonshine said:

Hi, I remember going to Belle Vue on many occasions. Loved the fairground and zoo. Although living in Zimbabwe I must say that the only way to view the animals is in the wild.
Enjoyed the stock car racing and speedway too.

[moonshine]

Hi Lisa,
Things are not ok here in Zim and I suspect it will be some time before it is. It's amazing the amount of damage one man can cause.
If anyone is interested they can read about the situation here on : <wwwl.zimbabwesituation.com> .
The sun is still shining but it is cold.

[moonshine]

Addendum: try < zimbabwesituation.com> seems to be quicker.

[Mike]

Think this is how you wanted the link to work?
www.zimbabwesituation.com/
MIGKY

[bodzy3]

Hi everyone, I went on Smithfield Market on Sunday and bought 3 DVDs called the history of Belle Vue !,2&3 also a DVD called Gorton ,Past and Present , they make magic viewing kept me glued to the PC for hours ,I worked at Belle Vue for a while on the dodge-um cars and I remember all the free and easy girls coming to the Crooked House for their french kisses,,and what was that one that blew your skirts up when you came in the door?? Ah the joys of youth
bodzy

[Lisa]

Hi Bodzy, Not so much as the FREE AND EASY GIRLS there Bodzy. I was one of the girls who went into the Crooked House and came out a wiser one !!!! I didnt know what went on inside until a friend and I visited it one day and couldnt understand why there was a hold-up in some tunnel. I soon did !!! As we approached the dark tunnel, someone grabbed me and started kissing me. I couldnt see who it was (was it you? ) I then passed down this line of bodies grabbing at the girls and kissing all of them until I got to the end of the tunnel and daylight. My friend then emerged, hair and clothes all disarranged, like me, and said "What on earth happened in there?" I said "I dont know but shall we go in again?"

[Lisa]

Hi Bodzy, Was it the FUN HOUSE that blew the girls' skirts up? You could stay in there all day and it was a gathering place for boys and girls.

[tonymarley]

`dear lisa
i worked ay belle vue and i
worked in the fountain restaurant
and with ivy and vera i
collected pint pots wiped tables
and got bottles froom the
cellar i used to have right
laugh my mam used to pick
my money up stop me spending
i used play old rock and roll
then i worked in cesaurs palace
johnny eagle used to wrestle
giant haystacks mick mc manuss
dig daddy i met my girlfriend at the time denise
wrestlers i seen all the animals
at belle vue a black panther a
monkey and an elephant
the cuckoo waltz ,with lewis
collin,s was film at belle
vue martin shaw used to play
in the professional s
i used to go on the boating
lake for free i saw johnny morris
all the best
anthon
poem
i think of you all
i tell you all a bout my drems
till the end of time
i think of you bnight and day
my dreams qwill come true
i could work for agatha christie
i should send my writing into
the secret passage into the secret
cellar

[Lisa]

Hi Tony, Nice to see you again. How are keeping? Thanks for the lovely poem. Did you write it? Its a pity Belle View was demolished as it would be quite an attraction now for Manchester. Everyone has happy memories of their time in Belle View. We never seemed to have much money then but we always enjoyed ourselves. A bag of chips would last me ages and, once my money was gone, we would just wonder around watching people on the rides. Happy Days.

[norma]

I also have fond memories of Belle Vue. We used to go to Top Twenty Club every Sunday night. You got to see all the top groups. Also I did bar work there in the late sixties names I remember Ivy & Irene working on the Cumberland suite where they had some excellent functions