Harbour Park has rides open seasonally and is still known by some locals by its former name Smarts, is an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

in the coastal resort of

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort, and pleasure harbour, and the most populous civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south sout ...

, West Sussex, England. Opened in 1932, it is situated on the beach, adjacent to the working Harbour & Marina. The Park Features traditional rides plus other modern attractions.

History

The park was started in 1932 by

Billy Butlin Sir William Heygate Edmund Colborne Butlin (29 September 189912 June 1980) was a South African-born British entrepreneur whose name is synonymous with the British holiday camp.''#refRiverside, American Heritage Dictionary 2004'', p. 135.#refSc ...

on the site of the old east bank fort and windmill It was easily spotted from a distance by the presence of a large roller coaster on the roof known as "The

Wild Mouse A wild mouse is a type of roller coaster consisting of single or spinning cars traversing a tight-winding track with an emphasis on sharp, unbanked turns. The upper portion of the track usually features multiple 180-degree turns, known as fla ...

". Early pictures of this can be viewed in the West Sussex past pictures archive reference numbers PP/WSL/PC005524 & PP/WSL/TC001729. A picture of the old site prior to construction is also available reference number PP/WSL/PC005512. During the war the park closed from 1941 to 1945, and the building was used for storage and the gathering of troops going overseas. The building suffered bomb damage during that time; but was repaired and reopened after the war as part of the

Butlin's Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one ...

Empire, which was later purchased by the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribu ...

. In 1977, the park was bought from the

by the Billy Smart Circus family and was renamed Smart's Amusement Park. They set about re-equipping it into a family amusement centre with a selection of indoor rides, including a hall of mirrors In 1994, the current owner, Gary Smart oversaw a sizeable redevelopment of the site. The name changed from Smart’s Amusement Park to the contemporary Harbour Park, which reflected the theme running throughout the site and its unique location on the seafront and riverside. Over the next few years, major works were undertaken and the final phase was completed in the year 2000. The roller coasters were removed during this time. Harbour Park entered the new millennium with a new look, whilst managing to retain the Smart family values of providing a friendly, fun and entertaining family venue. In fact, Billy Smart still watches over the park in the form of a magnificent bronze statue located in the main building. 2007 saw another major investment of £750,000 including the addition of a log flume. Supplier DPV Rides of Italy developed a water ride that would feature a 6.5 metre drop, inside a 34×14 metre footprint.http://www.parkworld-online.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/438/Harbour_Park.html Park World online article on the 2007 investments In 2009, the indoor artificial skating rink was replaced by the soft play area.

Attractions

There have been a large variety of indoor and outdoor rides and attractions. Some of the rides are described at the

Roller Coaster DataBase Roller Coaster DataBase (RCDB) is a roller coaster and amusement park database begun in 1996 by Duane Marden. It has grown to feature statistics and pictures of over 10,000 roller coasters from around the world. Publications that have mentioned ...

(RCDB).

Refreshment Areas

*A maritime themed Galley Restaurant & Tea Rooms (serving tea the old-fashioned way with real leaves) *The Harbour Coffee House, which offers a selection of hot and cold food, and frothy hot chocolate with marshmallows *The Riverside Parlours serving hot fresh doughnuts, ice creams, and other light refreshments.

Gallery

Image:HarbourParkEast.jpg , Entrance to the Main Building from the East Image:Guarding_the_Fun_Fair,_Littlehampton_-_geograph.org.uk_-_190853.jpg , Rear west side of the giant slides Image:The Galley Restaurant At Harbour Park Littlehampton.jpg, The Galley Restaurant Image:Billy smart statue at harbour park.JPG , Bronze statue of Billy Smart that stands inside Harbour Park Image:The waltzer at Harbour Park Littlehampton.jpg , The Harbour Park Waltzer (Now Whirlpool Waltzer) Image:The carousel at Harbour Park Littlehampton.jpg , The Carousel (Former) Image:the giant slide at Harbour Park Littlehampton.jpg , The Castle Slide Image:seamens club at Harbour Park Littlehampton.jpg , Seamens Club Arcade Image:Formula one circuit ride at Harbour Park Littlehampton.jpg , Formula one circuit ride Image:Indoor horse ride at Harbour Park Littlehampton.jpg , One of the indoor rides (Note: This ride is now outside, next to the little kids racing circuit.)

References

External links

* {{Butlins, state=collapsed Amusement parks in England Littlehampton Tourist attractions in West Sussex Arun District Butlins 1932 establishments in England