It's 50 years since Lambton Lion Park opened - and a generation of North East folk will fondly remember family outings and school trips to the unique visitor attraction near Chester-le-Street.
Astonishingly, in July 1972, the roar of lions and the cries of other wild beasts began to be heard across the plains of County Durham as the safari park in the grounds of Lambton Castle threw open its gates for the first time. The lions naturally were the park’s main attraction, but there were also zebras and giraffes, mostly supplied by Jimmy Chipperfield of the famous circus family.
Asian elephants, camels, bears, wildebeest, ostriches and baboons were some of the other Lambton regulars. The park was also home to the world’s second largest land mammal, the white rhino. The initial cost of acquiring all the animals was said to be £60,000.
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The Chronicle, reporting on the exciting new venture, noted: "Seven miles of roadway have been constructed. It winds through the 212-acre park among the animal areas and finally emerges at Lambton Castle where a restaurant, picnic area and pets' corner have been developed."
Around 40 staff were appointed to run the park. Thousands of cars were expected to roll on to the site each week, and with a cost of £1 per car, it was seen as a relatively inexpensive family day out. A car journey through the park would take between an hour and an hour and a half. For those without cars, there would special outings arranged by bus companies - and school children would enjoy educational visits alongside their classmates.
The first guidebook declared: “This undulating, heavily wooded estate with a romantic castle at the centre acts as a perfect backcloth against which to exhibit Africa’s fauna.” The Chronicle, meanwhile, noting the presence of potentially dangerous wild animals, carried the mildly alarming headline: "Wardens have guns - just in case!"
During the park's lifetime, there were several tales of escaped animals. In 1972, the Sunday People reported how 14 African baboons fled their 20-acre 'Monkey Jungle' after vandals broke in. Motorists reported the beasts running back and forth across nearby roads. Most were herded back to the park by police and wardens, but four of the escaped baboons were shot dead.
By 1975, the park had become hugely popular, and there were sometimes three-mile tailbacks of cars waiting to gain entry. That year it was upgraded and relaunched as Lambton Pleasure Park. New features included a ‘Magic Castle’, children’s rides, an adventure playground, and a miniature railway. There was a restaurant, souvenir shops, and a feature called Lambton Airways plane, “which the visitor can board and enjoy some of the thrills of flight”. (The plane later ended up as an attraction in Gateshead's Saltwell Park).
But in 1980, after less than a decade in operation, Lambton Pleasure Park closed - a victim of rising costs and the difficult economic climate of the times. In 2012, the Lambton estate was used as the backdrop for the BBC period drama The Paradise - an adaptation of Émile Zola’s novel Au Bonheur des Dames that relocated the story to North East England and was set in England’s first department store in the 1870s.
And coming up to date, in 2019, an upmarket private housing estate, built by Miller Homes, opened on the site of the former safari park. The builder declared: "Boasting natural beauty, dramatic landscapes, picturesque views and a fascinating heritage, Lambton Park is a real gem in the North East. The homes that we are building will become part of this heritage.”
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