This was Highfield Road playground in 1993. On the back of the photo it was described as a 'death trap' and was ready for a full restoration.This was Highfield Road playground in 1993. On the back of the photo it was described as a 'death trap' and was ready for a full restoration.
This was Highfield Road playground in 1993. On the back of the photo it was described as a 'death trap' and was ready for a full restoration.

21 emotive scenes of Blackpool playgrounds - including the lost slides, swings and roundabouts where we played for hours in the 70s, 80s and 90s

We can all resonate with these vintage photos of Blackpool playgrounds from another era.

They are ingrained memories of steep, graffiti ridden slides made from metal which was ice cold in the summer and scorching hot in the summer. And they had nothing but concrete to break a fall. Gripping on to roundabouts with fear of slipping underneath by the ankles and see-saws which flung the lightest child into the air before a painful bump back on the seat. The generation survived what were eventually branded perilous playgrounds. Despite the dangers, most kids from those days had hours of fun but moves in the 1980s to make children’s playgrounds safer were a game changer for future generations. Some of the later photos show those changes – play equipment was lower to the ground, constructed from kinder materials and most importantly they had soft landing spaces. The photos certainly evoke memories.