Abandoned: The Wigan Pier Experience's 'Waterways Garden'

Mr H visits the now forgotten and abandoned canalside 'Waterways Garden' on Wallgate in Wigan which was part of 'The Wigan Pier Experience' in the 1990's until it closed along with the 'Way We Were Living Museum' in December 2007 due to falling visitor numbers..
The canal themed garden had many exhibits including a crane and a scale model of a pair of lock gates which are now just rotting and disappearing into the undergrowth.

[HolyFreakinDragonSlayer]

I used to live the way we were museum and the historic wigan pier. My father used to take me as a kid in the 1990s. Happy memories x

[jason]

I remember going to that when I was at primary school. The way we used to live.

[thirdratecontent]

I had a day out there in the late 80s. Nice vid 👍

[StillOnlyc]

My Grandfather worked there, I visited there when I came back from New Zealand. I really found Wigan to be my home ❤️

[martinfillingham]

Remember drinking cider on that steel canal barge as a youngster, also remember the live actors we sat a lesson in there while at school, , memories, , ,

[Gerard-hukp]

The Way We Were
I came here with my wife nearly twenty years ago
Returned after her passing away in 2018
Was appalled
Place ridden with overgrown grass and broken walkway rails cordoned off area
I nearly wept

[KenGITV]

Thank's Mr H. Let's not forget the Queen of England was summoned to officially open the site. For 3 weeks we had a PortaCabin at Trencherfield Mill for a Special Event Amateur Radio station with aerials on the Mill roof. We told the story of Wigan to people around the world. I still proudly keep my Certificate and Badge denoting my position of Assistant Piermaster.

[emmapullan]

I remember drawing that building as a kid on a school trip I do believe it was toilets. And now it's all houses 😢

[garethparr]

Went to the way we were when my kids were little they had a 1900 classroom and various other displays highlighting just how poor people were in Wigan back then it was a really enjoyable afternoon but sadly I think with all the cuts that came in the wake of the financial crisis a few years ago it had to go. Shame

[alanroberts]

My mum and dad (sadly no longer with us) visited wigan pier many moons ago when in its heyday, really enjoyed the classroom experience, .
Always sad to see something go to ruin especially when it seemed to be doing well, bit like Liverpool garden festival site, now trust me that was amazing, but looks like a rubbish dump now. ah well the council in there wisdom seem to think diffrent from us regarding the upkeep of such places.
Thanks for the look back tho Roy.
cheers
AL. oh by the way just started a new hobby, Magnet fishing, that place looks ideal for a few relics :)

[boltonphotographer]

It's council owned and up for sale.
A recent application was made to reuse the space for various art exhibitions in conjunction with Wigan and Leigh college but the application was denied with the reasons of looking to sell the space privately.

[exploringwithchris]

Shame for this place used to lovely when I was a kid loved watching the barges come on Wigan council make this a nice place again

[lesleyfarrington]

Thought this was all being redeveloped into bars, galleries etc.

[singaporemick]

Roy the little crane you saw was used to lower gates to block off locks for maintenance, you can still see them along the Leigh branch of the canal with the gates hanging on them.
One of the waterways men recently told me that the home guard used to put these gates in there slots to block of sections of the canal every night during the war
If Adolf had bombed the canals he could have caused a lot of disruption to the canal transport and some flooded towns and villages.

[neonskyline]

Sad thing is, a lot of Britain is left to rack and ruin and neglect, nice video never the less

[deborahking]

Charlie asks, does anybody remember a pub in wigan called eddisons? The landlord was called rowley, tried looking on Google for Pub but as Im not from area don't remember road.
Visited a couple of times 1991 he took us to Riverside club, cheers,Charlie.