Here's one we made earlier...
Alright - Dismaland is in full swing and still at the peak of its ticket sales and media popularity. But... why did all that hard work have to be done to the Tropicana when there are plenty of other purpose-abandoned, crumbling ruins along W-s-M seafront?
The Birnbeck Pier is situated about ten minutes' walk from the luckier Grand Pier, to the north. It was opened on 5th July 1867 and was eventually closed for business in 1994 (though the final official excursion was in 1979). In its heyday, Birnbeck was an extremely popular tourist attraction with hundreds upon hundreds of visitors each year - some of which never actually left the pier and its attached "island". It also boasted a number of attractions including a carousel, a licensed bar (putting newsagents everywhere to shame) and a shooting gallery (why don't piers have those nowadays? I wonder). It was even used secretly by the Admiralty as HMS Birnbeck in 1941, and was involved in the testing of the infamous "bouncing bomb", which was itself used by the "Dambuster" pilots to, well, bust some dams.
In 2015, all of this (as well as a rather large portion of the pier) is long gone, and we are left with the twisted ghost of piers past that looks ready to sink into the sea. Bad news for Weston's economy (ahem), but rather fantastic for an aspiring artist/illustrator/designer/person - enjoy.
The Birnbeck Pier is situated about ten minutes' walk from the luckier Grand Pier, to the north. It was opened on 5th July 1867 and was eventually closed for business in 1994 (though the final official excursion was in 1979). In its heyday, Birnbeck was an extremely popular tourist attraction with hundreds upon hundreds of visitors each year - some of which never actually left the pier and its attached "island". It also boasted a number of attractions including a carousel, a licensed bar (putting newsagents everywhere to shame) and a shooting gallery (why don't piers have those nowadays? I wonder). It was even used secretly by the Admiralty as HMS Birnbeck in 1941, and was involved in the testing of the infamous "bouncing bomb", which was itself used by the "Dambuster" pilots to, well, bust some dams.
In 2015, all of this (as well as a rather large portion of the pier) is long gone, and we are left with the twisted ghost of piers past that looks ready to sink into the sea. Bad news for Weston's economy (ahem), but rather fantastic for an aspiring artist/illustrator/designer/person - enjoy.
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