Bogtown Boyz
Bogtown Boyz is a vintage slide show featuring 149 pictures of most if not all of the historic UK skatespots featured in the excellent documentary Rollin’ Through The Decades. OK, I haven’t fact checked this since I haven’t watched Rollin’ in a while, but the names are familiar, Meanwhile Gardens, Rolling Thunder, Romford. A rare construction photo as well. I still have to make it through all the shots. It’s a Flash player, so it’s a bit less responsive than straight HTML, but you can sit back and let it play. The only thing missing is volume control for that Tony Alva vs. Jay Adams song, which is great, but tedious after the third time in a row. That tune was a blind link on SkateDaily quite awhile back, I still haven’t been able to find out who the band is.
Our tipster Dean Tyrell is the same guy who sent in those shots of the Sadlands on Acid skateable architecture in Spain. A quick note from Dean:
Check this link to a great slideshow of classic 1970s UK skateparks It was posted only a few days ago, and is probably the best selection of 70s UK skatepark shots i’ve seen. All the best parks of the day are here; Rolling Thunder, which has around 15 b/w shots, Guildford, Harrow, Romford, Woking, all of which had great half pipes and blue tile and coping pools that were a lot of fun to skate.
I revisted Romford recentley, the place is all still intact, although the surface is awful now, eroded by 30 years of rain, except the pool, which is still very gnarly and still pretty smooth and very rideable.
My favourite is the Meanwhile Gardens picture. From it must be 1976, and during the construction stage it appears, with two old ladies looking on in horror as a guy defies gravity and kickturns a mellow bank!!! The background shows London looking very rundown, as it was in the 70s, and the skater is wearing a sweater, scarf and gloves!! I can almost smell the damp air and feel the permanent London drizzle. I’m sure (House of) Neil will be stoked to see these pix, and Lance Mountain too, who may recognise Seth Cutts in the Thunder shots.
Amazing that a free (Update: Not free) public park as old Romford is still out there. Sure, it may have gone to hell in a handbasket, but you can still ride it. Neil first told me about that park when I met him in 85.
Check out Bogtown Boyz.
Ok, i have a nikon SB 600 and i want to take a night show of someone on an object far away. i want to use and external flash, but the camera store in town is fucking retarted and cant even tell me what one is, how to use one or its name. ANY info will help. thanks.
i want the flash under the person and take the shot from like 30 feet away….
You’re on the wrong page here Col, try Amateur Photographer. I thought this blog was about 70s UK skate spots? We had point and shoot disposebles with a clip on flashbar so i can’t help you bro…
Colin has impetus control problems sometimes.
Colin, You need a remote trigger for the flash, if that camera supports it. If not you might be able to get a cheap slave unit that will fire when it detects the flash on the camera. go talk to someone at a real camera store.
i have a d80.. just got it and learning it.. how much is a slave? thanks.
CWR: One possible solution to your flash problem: Pocket Wizard
That “construction” shot is actually the opposite, Guildford Skatepark closed in Autumn ’79, they concreted the drainage holes, poured in water and locked the gates.
A few months later we smashed out the concrete plugs, shoveled and swept the leaves and started to skate it again. By Easter 100 the place was busier than it had been when it was open. In May some kid broke his arm. The park had closed because of Insurance issues anyway, in early June they sent smashed the lips/coping into the bowls, the bottom right photo is, if you look closely, probably taken that day. I would have been there to watch but it was destroyed the day of my Math(s) O’level (school exam for 16 year olds).
We did manage to salvage a 10 foot wide section of the massive halfpipe (check the slideshow, it was so huge you can see the cones in the slalom run in it’s flat bottom) for a few more months but it’s been gone for 28 years now. Some of the young skaters at the local wooden ramp park believe that somewhere in Guildford, the bowls are still there, waiting to be dug up…
“free public park as old Romford” Think you’re getting it confused with somewhere else. You always had to pay. Get out there and ride that park. The best in the UK
PIGCITY
I had the facts wrong. I thought it was a free spot. In a way, that’s even more impressive that they’ve kept it staffed that long. Although you’d think they’d do better with the upkeep if it’s pat-to-play.
thanks rich
well i was just at south bank, they have it partially shut off for some reason but its still rad. i was so glad to skate it. i had to carry my board all day around the tube and to all the other sites with my wife just to skate it for 20 minutes. it was well worth it. click on my name for pics.
FYI. The Rom is 6 quid to get in for a four hour session. It WAS a one of the best in the UK – I used to go there a lot in 79/80 when it opened, but now, sadly, all the original cement bowls and half pipe are so badly deteriorated, that they are practically unrideable, and you’re pretty likely to find all the bowls with a lot of water in the bottom, as was the case when i went there in August this year. I had to bail a serious amount of water out the pool to be able to ride it, like 6 or 7 dustbins full, not just a little puddle. Even then I had to skate around water coming up through the center drain from another bowl. It still has a good surface and was worth the trouble; those old pool bowls are a lot of fun. I’d expect to have to clean up and bail out at a public park, but not at a payer. The Rom is worth a visit,for nostalgic reasons, but be prepared for sketchy ride if you’re used new smooth skate terrain like Dreamland parks, of which one has just opened in Saffron Walden. A piece of quality US crete in Essex. The best park in the UK now for sure.
http://www.dreamlandskateparks.com/essexuk.html
Oh my word…
That takes me back a very long time.
That’s me in the full pipe in Gothenburg 1979.