Park playgrounds

Sure, these still exist all over the British Isles, but they are VERY different to the ones I remember as a child and contain totally different play apparatus. Do you remember when swings really WERE swings? The junior versions were box-seated with a drop down bar to keep the little one in, whilst the ones for older children were simply wooden-seated suspended by chains. All of them had wooden seats, and some had rigid metal suspension bars instead of chain hangings. Then there were roundabouts- there were two different kinds, the flat-base sort with grip rails and the more adventorous 'spider-web' design. The latter were mounted about 3 feet off the ground and were at least 10, if not 12-sided, held together by a network of steel bars. These could reach an incredible speed if spun hard enough by enough kids, and were huge fun to ride on. A curious addition to these were 'shuttlecock' roundabouts- shaped like a cone, they were wigwam-style semi-roundabouts with wooden seating and metal frames, that not only span round but rocked from side to side to a limited extent as well. They only really worked if they were evenly balanced, you couldn't really ride them yourself, and would make an ominous 'clang' noise if pushed too far in one direction. AND not to forget climbing frames- built from no-nonsense welded steel tubes, these came in a huge variety of shapes, from simple square networks through to sailing ships, rockets, and even radio telescopes! They often had vent holes in their sides, which would make an eerie whistling noise whenever the wind blew through them- if you were the last kid in the playground and it was getting dark, this could be really spooky. I also recall rocking-horse rides; long-bodied, with horse's heads, these would swing backwards and forwards and could accomodate up to six youngsters, but were not hard to get going on your own, so you could always enjoy them even if you were the only child present! In the late '70s, 'Sputnik'-style rides came on the scene- round-bodied, they had a ring around them with four seats attached, and were self-controlled by spinning a central wheel- the faster you span the wheel, the faster they went, governed by complex gears inside the machine. And slides- AAHH, slides! They were so much taller and challenging back then, often wooden-sided and sometimes up to 20 ft tall. The steps were often made by a company called 'Wicksteed' based in Birmingham, whose name I recall being made in wrought-iron work on each step. Nowadays, park playgrounds have been health & safety-ised beyond recognition- gone are roundabouts and such similar things, swings are made of canvas straps suspended from ropes, and slides are of tiny size mounted upon wooden frames. You can't really blame the authorities, as the old rides we remember COULD be dangerous (i.e. standing up beneath a fast-turning spider-web roundabout could smash you skull, and a blow in the face from a wooden swing could ruin your mouth for life, etc.) But I'll always fondly recall those old rides, and they can still be found in remote corners of Wales, the Isle of Mann, the Channel Islands, and other places that have devolved government. SO- what was YOUR favourite ride??!!