'i s**t myself every time i got to the edge of the monster drop'

THE MONSTER DROP SLIDE AT PROFESSOR PEABODY'S WAS A RITE-OF-PASSAGE FOR KIDS IN THE '80S AND '90S 09:53, 01 Jun 2025 Any child of the '80s from the north west who spent

their holidays in Blackpool is likely to have fond memories of Professor Peabody's Playplace. Located in the Winter Gardens' Olympia Exhibition Hall, Professor Peabody's was a

colossal playground paradise for youngsters who loved nothing better than attempting to defy gravity. Children could enjoy the ultimate playground experience, complete with rope courses,

climbing nets, ball pits, a space ride, and a massive bouncy castle. Parents could enjoy a few hours of freedom while their little ones were occupied, relax with a cuppa at the café, or

perhaps pop into a nearby pub. Parents could rest easy knowing that staff members were on hand to free any children entangled in the climbing nets or marooned in the ball pit. As you went

in, a cardboard cutout of the professor greeted visitors to the multi-tiered venue. The rule was simple - the higher the floor, the bigger the thrill. Forget the Pleasure Beach, this was

where kids truly tested their mettle. Different play areas on the four floors served different age groups, although this wasn't strictly policed. Some equipment was relatively tame,

like the slide that ran alongside the stairs from the top floor to the ground. However, as an adult looking back, some of the play equipment now seems to be a bit of a health and safety

nightmare, the M.E.N previously reported. Article continues below Take the Monster Drop slide. It was a sheer drop from top to bottom that felt like plunging into the void – it was

practically an extreme sport for those who dared. Kids who were tall enough made their way to the top, where staff members – who seemed to be barely adults themselves – would hang kids off

the terrifying edge by their arms before letting them go. Angela Van-Oyen, 42, is one of the few people who still have photographic evidence of the mega slide. It had a spattering of

stickers that kids would attempt to stick on as they went down. Back then you'd be lucky to have a disposable camera from Boots. She said: "I remember it being much bigger -

terrifyingly so. "And there was the stickers that could be put on as you were going down." Ben Cassidy, 38, from Blackpool, was aged nine when he first experienced Professor

Peabody’s in 1992. He said: "The Monster Drop was aptly named. It felt at least a thousand feet off the ground. Hard to say how tall the top of it actually was, but big enough to have

to climb up steep stairs at the side of it. "The set up was basically a vertical drop, and some bumps at the bottom, to slow you down - and prevent death! Imagine a letter L, and the

part that juts out from the vertical has two wavy lines on it, like water drawn on a map, or a sign. "I seem to remember that someone would dangle you down, holding you by the arms.

There were stories of kids breaking an arm, and I definitely saw some that came away with bruises, cuts and scrapes." For years, a Facebook group dedicated to the lost venue - 'I

lost the skin off my arms on the monster drop at Professor Peabody's' - has been a place for people share their photos and memories. Posting images of herself on the train and ball

pit, Joanne Houghton said: "So many happy memories of running myself ragged in this place for hours." Mike Payne posted: "God, I loved this place. My mum and dad used to

leave me here while they went elsewhere with my sisters. I loved Blackpool in the 1980s and have nothing but happy memories." Other people posted their memories about specific areas of

Professor Peabody's, such as the maze tunnel. Duncan Beech said: "That maze tunnel was mind-blowing as a kid. Think it was one of my favourite things in there." Heidi Jones

remembered: "I got lost in the maze tunnel looking for my cousin who scrambled off and left me. Ages later my mum came into find me crying in a corner, lol." Of course, Professor

Peabody's most heart-stopping attraction was the terrifying Monster Drop slide. This piece of equipment caused more scuffs, scrapes, and friction burns than any other. Leighan Mason

said: "I worked at Peabody's every summer between '89 and '92. Really happy memories. I was a teenager and [then] in my early 20s. "I remember when kids really

wanted to go down but were too nervous, we used to dangle them over the edge and let them go (they asked us to do it). They used to always come back for more until they could do it

themselves [...] The best summer job in the world." Marie Laird posted: "[I] nearly ripped my arms off trying to stop myself going down the slide. The fear was real when I was

nine". Dan Mould said: "I can remember how high that slide made me feel. I literally s**t myself every time I got to the edge. We went here all the time with my nan, grandad and

cousins. I remember climbing over her on that big net to [those] cars you wiggled the bars on the gain speed. Mega times." Lizzie Price said: "We went with Brownies on a trip from

Formby in around 1983 and were told to wear shorts and t-shirts. We got there and sadly weren’t allowed on the Monster Drop because of the skin removal risk." Keelie Walker said:

"[My] brother's friend went down the Monster Drop in a cheap shell suit (approx 1990) and it set on fire." Michelle Susan Green said: "I still have scar on bottom of my

back from [the] Monster Drop." Of course, the Monster Drop wasn't the only attraction where kids would come a cropper. Clet Halstead, who worked at Peabody's in the early

1990s, said: "I lost count of the amount of toddlers that would get stuck midway on the cargo nets that used to go over the tops of the venue. Felt quite heroic with a petrified toddler

clinging onto you for dear life as you climbed to 'safety' with them." While Simon Wilsdon commented: "Anyone remember the big hamster wheel they had? About four or five

could cram in at the same time. If you fell... well, it was like being in a washing machine!" Article continues below But perhaps Jayne Glynn perfectly summed up the fun of a visit to

Professor Peabody's back in the day, saying: "I spent many a Saturday at Peabody's with my best mate Sarah. I never went on the Monster Drop, but my mate did and badly grazed

her arms. Used to get a fit of the giggles in the ball pond. "I remember the scramble nets, too. Got my foot stuck in there once. Oh, what fun. No health and safety issues in those

days. If you didn't go home from Peabody's with a bruise or graze, you hadn't made the most of it, lol." JOIN THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS WHATSAPP GROUP HERE