In between blogging about beer and food stuff, I’ll be talking about my life as a SAHD (Stay at Home Dad). Sometimes we have adventures. This is one of them.
Let me set the scene, there’s a place in Aberdeen called Storybook Glen. It enjoyed great popularity throughout the 80s and 90s, and was a huge draw both for local families and those visiting the area. A proper tourist attraction. In the 20+ years I’ve lived in Aberdeen, I’ve never been there, despite saying that I would. So, with two young kids in tow, I decided yesterday was the day.
Fast forward 30 odd years from its heyday. It hasn’t really moved with the times and rather than move into the 3D UHD of the 21st century, it’s existed in a wee time warp of its own. And it’s pretty messed up.
What were once much loved characters are now nightmare fuel. It’s slightly unsettling, but also oddly hysterical.
See Shrek looking like a meth addict. Bart Simpson looks absolutely deranged. Thomas the tank engine is ready to give up on life. Postman Pat is possibly Operation Yewtree’s next victim. Haunted looking children are locked in castles, as if that’s just normal. It’s amazing. Despite how shite these figures look, there’s something wonderfully alluring about the whole thing. It’s actually in a nice scenic setting, a country glen complete with following rivers. It covers a fairly large area. On a nice day, with a picnic it would be a cool place to hang out.
Next to the glen is a large, modern playbarn, built far more recently. Admission is included with your Glen ticket. It’s very popular, and I suspect that it’s what keeps the whole thing afloat.
So in a nutshell, it’s a fun park of terrifying caricatures of nursery rhyme characters, mother goose icons and children’s TV stars. You can laugh at how crap it looks, you can even feel slightly scared but you can’t help but feel a nostalgic warmth as you step back in time. It’s so bad it’s good. Don’t ever stop Storybook Glen, you just keep on being you.
Here’s some pictures for you to judge for yourself. As they say at the end of Crimewatch:
Don’t have nightmares.
Craft Beer Dad 