Butlin's Ayr | |
---|---|
![]() Overhead view in 1985, prior to refurbishment | |
![]() | |
Location | Ayr |
Coordinates | 55°25′55″N4°41′06″W / 55.432°N 4.685°W |
Subsequent names | Butlins Ayr (1946–1987) Wonderwest World (1987–1999) |
Operated by | Butlins |
Established | 1946 |
Closed | 1998 |
Butlin's Ayr was a holiday camp located near Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland. When originally opened in 1946, it was named Butlin's Ayr, but in 1987 was renamed Wonderwest World. It closed in 1998 and re-opened in 1999 under the management of Haven Holidays who renamed it Craig Tara.
During the Second World War the Admiralty, who had already taken over his camp at Filey, asked Billy Butlin to construct two new camps; one in North Wales and the other in Scotland. Butlin found 85 acres (34 ha) on the coast neighbouring the Heads of Ayr and opened a camp in 1940. [1] [2]
Butlin took back ownership of the camp from the Admiralty after the war, and in 1947 Butlins Ayr was opened to the public after some reconstruction work. [2]
Heads of Ayr holiday camp contained all of the tried and tested Butlins ingredients: the famous Butlins Redcoats, a funfair, early morning wake up, a dining hall (with the cheers going up when a waitress dropped a plate), indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a ballroom, a boating lake, tennis courts, a sports field (for the three legged and egg & spoon races and the donkey derby), table tennis and snooker tables, an amusement arcade, a medical centre, a theatre, arcades of shops, a chairlift system and a miniature railway. [3]
In 1987 a £25 million investment programme was announced. Work began in 1988 with £12 million used to construct a new swimming pool and upgrade the accommodation. A further £13 million investment followed over the next five years. Once the renovations were completed the camp was renamed Wonderwest World. [3]
In 1947 Butlin began work on a hotel on the site which shared the camp's resources. It was completed in 1948 and opened as the Heads of Ayr hotel. [4] The hotel continued to operate until the 1970s when it was closed and demolished.
On 17 May 1947 a railway station was opened for the use of the camp and the nearby hotel, [5] shortly before nationalisation and the formation of British Rail. It was closed again on 16 September 1968.
In 1999 the camp became part of Haven Holidays along with the Pwllheli camp as part of an internal reorganisation within Rank Holiday Division who owned both Butlins and Haven. Since being taken over by Haven Holidays it has been renamed Craig Tara and the focus of operations has been transformed from predominantly chalet accommodation to mostly static caravan accommodation. Bourne Leisure had purchased the Ranks holiday division in the year 2000 and continued to develop this site as a Haven.
On 17 September 1988, 5 year old Stephen McKerron vanished from the camp whilst on holiday with his aunt and uncle. This led to the largest ever missing child hunt by Scottish Police, as 200 officers searched the camp and a six-mile (10 km) radius from the camp. On Sunday 2 October Stephen's body was found outside the search area by Lady MacLehose, the wife of retired diplomat and former Governor of Hong Kong Lord MacLehose of Beoch, who lived nearby. Despite a fatal incident inquiry finding death by natural causes, questions (as to how Stephen was able to walk so far by himself and whether he may have been transported by some unknown third party) remain. [6]
Butlin's is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families.
Sir William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin was an entrepreneur whose name is synonymous with the British holiday camp. Although holiday camps such as Warner's existed in one form or another before Butlin opened his first in 1936, it was Butlin who turned holiday camps into a multimillion-pound industry and an important aspect of British culture.
A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with terms such as holiday park, resort, holiday village and holiday centre replacing it.
Mosney Accommodation Centre is located in Mosney, County Meath, Ireland and is situated approximately 48 km (30 mi) from Dublin. It is probably best known as the site of a Butlin's holiday camp in the second half of the 20th century and as the site for the national finals of the Community Games. By the early 21st-century, this had been converted into an accommodation centre for asylum-seekers. The centre was served by Mosney railway station, which closed down in 2000. Currently, it ranks as the biggest earning direct provision Centre in Ireland.
Penychain railway station, commonly known by its former name, Butlins Penychain railway station, is located by an over bridge at Pen-ychain on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales. This railway station is an unstaffed halt on the Cambrian Coast Railway with passenger services to Pwllheli, Porthmadog, Harlech, Barmouth, Machynlleth and Shrewsbury. For many years the station served the large Butlins Holiday Camp at Penychain.
Lochwinnoch railway station is a railway station serving the village of Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line.
Girvan railway station is a railway station serving the town of Girvan, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail, who operate all passenger services from there. It is on the Ayr to Stranraer section of the Glasgow South Western Line and is situated 62 miles south of Glasgow Central. It has two platforms and is the location of one of the five passing loops on the single track line between Dalrymple Junction and Stranraer. Immediately south of the station, the line climbs steeply towards Pinmore tunnel – the climb is known as the Glendoune Bank and has a ruling gradient of 1 in 54.
The Maidens and Dunure Light Railway was a railway in Ayrshire, Scotland built to open up coastal communities by connecting them to the main line railway network.
Alloway railway station was a railway station serving the village of Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was part of the Maidens and Dunure Light Railway.
Heads of Ayr Holiday Camp railway station was a railway station serving the holiday camp and hotel at Heads of Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was opened by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway on the former Maidens and Dunure Light Railway.
Heads of Ayr railway station was a railway station serving the Heads of Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The station was part of the Maidens and Dunure Light Railway.
The Maybole and Girvan Junction Railway was a railway company that constructed a line between Maybole and Girvan. Although promoted independently, it was supported by the Glasgow and South Western Railway, and was seen as part of a trunk line connecting Glasgow with a ferry port for the north of Ireland.
Barry Island was a Butlin's holiday camp located on Barry Island in Wales. It opened in 1966 and closed in 1996.
Craig Tara is a holiday camp located near Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is run by Haven Holidays, who took over and renamed the former Butlin's Ayr camp in 1999.
Butlin's Pwllheli was a holiday camp located near Pwllheli in Wales. The site is now used by Haven Holidays for a caravan park and has been renamed Hafan y Môr. When originally opened in 1947, it was named Butlins Pwllheli, but in 1990 was renamed Starcoast World.
Butlins Skegness, formerly Butlin's Skegness or Funcoast World; is a holiday camp located in Ingoldmells near Skegness in Lincolnshire, England. Billy Butlin conceived of its creation based on his experiences at a Canadian summer camp in his youth and by observation of the actions of other holiday accommodation providers, both in seaside resort lodging houses and in earlier smaller holiday camps.
Butlins Resort Minehead is a holiday camp operated by Butlins, located in Minehead in Somerset, England. It opened in 1962 and remains in use today. It was known as Butlin's Minehead until 1987, and as Somerwest World from then until 1999, when it reopened as Butlins Minehead Resort.
Butlin's Bognor Regis is a holiday camp in the seaside resort of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England. It lies 55.5 miles (89 km) south southwest of London. Butlin's presence in the town began in 1932 with the opening of an amusement park; their operation soon expanded to take in a zoo as well. In 1960, Billy Butlin opened his first post-war mainland holiday camp, moving both the amusement park and zoo into the new camp. The camp survived a series of cuts in the early 1980s, attracting further investment and again in the late 1990s when it was retained as one of only three camps still bearing the Butlin name. The camp has since seen a raft of new construction as the company moves from chalet towards hotel-based accommodation.
Hafan y Môr is a holiday camp located near Pwllheli in Wales. It is currently run by Haven Holidays.
Warner Leisure Hotels is a hospitality company owning 14 country and coastal properties around the UK in North Wales, Somerset, Herefordshire, Berkshire, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Isle of Wight, Suffolk, Hampshire and Warwickshire. Founded in 1932 as Warner Holiday Camps, later known as Warner Holidays and has been adult only since 1994. In the 1990s Warner's started developing country house hotels and changing their existing 'camps' into coastal resorts and hotels.