The Boating Lake

There's not much left of Eastham Pleasure Gardens now.  The bear pit survives more or less intact (in which lived two brown bears) and some of the wall of the boating lake; that being a euphamism - access via a rather unnerving looking chute at one end.  Apparently, there was an open air stage, bandstand, cafés, a 3,000 capacity ballroom (burned down in the 1950s) and the all important zoo with an inventory that would impress even today (although the living conditions wouldn't).  The whole thing disappeared in the 1920's but in it's Victorian heyday this must have been something as 1,000s of people came every day on paddle steamers from Liverpool to a landing stage a few metres from the gate.

Today it's known as Eastham Country Park, and it was fun to wander around with Kylie, but I kept trying to imagine what it would have looked like 150 years ago.