New sculpture gardens at Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Blackpool Pleasure Beach welcomed its first holidaymakers over a century ago in 1896, and is now well established as one of Britain's top tourist attractions.
But today, thanks to the new Sculpture Garden that now forms the entrance to the 42-acre site, the fun starts for its millions of visitors even before they step onto the sand.
Photo courtesy of Paul Beesley
Among the gardens many attractions are eight David Harber water features and sculptures, each combining reflective mixed metal surfaces with the magic of surface tension to create a range of intriguing visual effects.
Their physical form ranges from the voluptuously organic to the strictly geometric, with shapes including spheres, rectangles, monoliths and a Polo-style circle in the form of the Portal metal sculpture.
All appear to be clad in shimmering water which reflects and distorts the surrounding sky and gardens in the manner of a desert mirage.
The sculpture garden is designed to create a peaceful haven for park visitors to meet and rest.
Several of the water features, including The Portal (shown top) are surrounded by retaining walls set at the right height for seating.
The sculpture garden replaces a dodgems ride which has been relocated elsewhere in the Pleasure Beach. This opens up the view of the rides from the entrance which used to be obstructed by the dodgems. This is also intended to ease the flow of visitors into the Pleasure Beach.
Photos courtesy of Paul Beesley
With these and other visual delights, the new Sculpture Garden is a welcome addition to the Blackpool seafront and is the perfect place to meet, pause and relax before heading out into the thrills and spills of Britain’s best-known pleasure beach resort.
See Paul Beesley's photos on Flickr
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