FLEET - Calthorpe Park

[Denis]

Who that ever skated there could possibly forget Fleet? - that seriously flawed excuse for a skatepark poorly put together with gaping chasms between sections and a  deathtrap super-slidey surface. Some of the upper sections were so loosely bolted on that they tended to slip backwards unnoticed leading all too many painful times to a heavy slam from an axel hang up on the lower section. Skating Fleet was the closest you'd ever get to playing Russian-roulette.

Still, Fleet made a huge impression on me. I loved that little shithole in the end because I had some of my most magical times ever there. Too many unforgettable sessions to recall here - with my brother Simon, Dave Driscoll & Mike Bosley (Boz) like the summer night we illuminated the park with tea-candles so we could keep skating 'til dark.

The local authourity forked out 10k for this project built up of molded sections made from some kind of fibre-glass and concrete composite but they never showed any real interest from the start. After they were delivered, the sections stood idle for many months while skaters ran out of patience and managed to "construct" the park themselves by pushing together the extremely heavy sections to make something that resembled a rideable half-pipe.

Eventually, the council finally completed the park in 1979 but the quality of the workmanship was truly abyssmal. The local hardcore weren't going to be deterred and we made the best of what was a bad job yet still managed to have many months of what was an unforgettable scream. The Council's apathy meant the park inevitably succumbed to vandalism and disrepair until it was finally bulldozed into the earth sometime around 81 or 82.

Me @ Fleet summer 1979...

[Jonathan]

Who that ever skated there could possibly forget Fleet? - that seriously flawed excuse for a skatepark poorly put together with gaping chasms between sections and a  deathtrap super-slidey surface. Some of the upper sections were so loosely bolted on that they tended to slip backwards unnoticed leading all too many painful times to a heavy slam from an axel hang up on the lower section. Skating Fleet was the closest you'd ever get to playing Russian-roulette.

Still, Fleet made a huge impression on me. I loved that little shithole in the end because I had some of my most magical times ever there. Too many unforgettable sessions to recall here - with my brother Simon, Dave Driscoll & Mike Bosley (Boz) like the summer night we illuminated the park with tea-candles so we could keep skating 'til dark.

The local authourity forked out 10k for this project built up of molded sections made from some kind of fibre-glass and concrete composite but they never showed any real interest from the start. After they were delivered, the sections stood idle for many months while skaters ran out of patience and managed to "construct" the park themselves by pushing together the extremely heavy sections to make something that resembled a rideable half-pipe.

Eventually, the council finally completed the park in 1979 but the quality of the workmanship was truly abyssmal. The local hardcore weren't going to be deterred and we made the best of what was a bad job yet still managed to have many months of what was an unforgettable scream. The Council's apathy meant the park inevitably succumbed to vandalism and disrepair until it was finally bulldozed into the earth sometime around 81 or 82.

Me @ Fleet summer 1979...

Denis,

Do you remember the 1st Fleet Park,  at the Country Club?

They converted a swimming pool and poured cement, but didn't use the right consitency, so after a rain it would end up all over your wheels,  alot more sketchy than Fleet2 tha' knows


cheers

J. Evans

[Mark Evans_H]

Loved Fleet.

Bugger to get to, though. And rather a long hike to Kentuckey Fried Chicken for lunch.

[SEan]

Looks the same moulds as the old cheery willingham park.  
They were good moulds for the time. Would still be good by todays standards.

[Alec]

Loved Fleet.

Bugger to get to, though. And rather a long hike to Kentuckey Fried Chicken for lunch.

You used to send me up there on my moped. 

[Mark Evans_H]

I still send you up, Alec!