These are some of the UK’s shortest-lived visitor attractions, including museums, a theme park and a man-made hill.
Some lasted just weeks, and others mere months, despite costing up to £15 million to build.
They have since been flattened or converted to give them a new lease of life.
One was branded a ‘monstrosity’, another boasted a paltry 1.3-star average rating on Tripadvisor, and they all failed to capture the public imagination in the way their creators envisaged.
Did you experience any of these visitor attractions during their short lifespans? What is the most disappointing tourist destination you’ve ever visited?
1. Blobbyland
Noel Edmond's World of Crinkley Bottom, better known to many people as Blobbyland, was a theme park inspired by the presenter's hit TV show Noel's House Party and its most famous character. The attraction opened amid much fanfare at Happy Mount Park in Morecambe, Lancashire, in 1994. But after failing to attract enough visitors, it closed just 13 weeks later. | Submitted Photo: UGC
2. Marble Arch Mound
This £6 million artificial hill beside Marble Arch proved a costly blunder. It was hoped the 25-metre-high hill would attract tourists back to central London as the capital attempted to bounce back from the impact of Covid. But the new landmark, made from scaffolding covered with turf and a number of trees, left visitors disappointed, as did the light show within. It was incomplete when it first opened in July 2021, was forced to close temporarily after plants and grass began to die, and eventually closed for good in January 2022, before being dismantled. | AFP via Getty Images Photo: TOLGA AKMEN
3. National Centre for Popular Music
The National Centre for Popular Music was dreamed up to help boost Sheffield's economy after the rapid decline of its steel industry. The £15 million lottery-funded museum opened in March 1999, celebrating contemporary music and culture, with exhibits including instruments and outfits from the careers of legendary acts. But it never attracted enough visitors, and it closed within 18 months. Following failed attempts to convert it into a live music venue, it was sold in 2002 for a tenth of what it cost to build, and in 2003 it became home to Sheffield Hallam University’s students' union. The building's eye-catching design, with each of the drums representing different aspects of music, continues to divide opinion, with some admiring the unique architecture and others branding it one of Sheffield's ugliest buildings. Its future is today unclear after Sheffield Hallam University announced that the students' union was moving elsewhere. | YPN
4. Granada Studios Tour
This attraction lasted a little longer than some on our list, but was still relatively short-lived. The Granada Studios Tour ran from 1988 to 1999 in Manchester city centre, offering visitors the chance to visit the Coronation Street set, drink in a replica of Emmerdale's Woolpack pub, and ride the Skytrak roller coaster, pictured. The roller coaster itself didn't last for very long, opening in 1997 and closing the following year. | Submitted Photo: Submitted
5. National Fish and Chip Museum
This tiny museum on Parliament Street in York was really just a glorified Papa's fish and chip shop, with a few display cabinets and some information boards telling the history of Britain's national dish. The fryer used to make the fish and chips was itself an artefact, being coal-powered and dating back to the 1920s. There were long queues when the 'museum' opened, mostly due to the fact it was offering fish and chips for just 4p. But the experience and the food left visitors underwhelmed, with one customer branding it 'woeful'. Having opened in June 2019, it reportedly shut just a few weeks later, that August, with a paltry 1.3-star average rating on Tripadvisor. | Google Photo: Google
6. Imax cinema building
This four-storey glass and concrete monstrosity beside the sea in Bournemouth made waves for all the wrong reasons. The Imax cinema opened in March 2002 and closed just three years later. The landmark, which in 2005 was voted one of the UK's most-hated buildings, was eventually demolished in 2013, and a new outdoor entertainment space was created on the site. | Google Photo: Google