Lowestoft, Electric Boating Lake, Kensington Gardens c.1955

Photo ref: L105090

A general view of the youngsters queuing for their ride on the boating lake was that they wanted the fastest boat, to that end rumour had it that certain boats were quicker than others, and my friends and I would often give up our places in the queue, so that we could have the speedier boats say boat number 7 or number 9, or so we thought. They always seemed quicker when someone else was in them, but unfortunately it proved not to be the case,they never were.

I went to school nearby (South Holme High) and in the summer, my mum would pick me up from school and sometimes take me on the boating lake. Brilliant memories to see that picture. We lived in London Road South from 1955 -1957, in a flat above Whatley's bakery, then moved away to Kings Lynn.

Our paternal grandfather loved to take us on the boating lake. I suppose it wasn't operational during WW2, so most of the memories will be of the 1950s. Perhaps, he used us as an excuse to go boating himself? The other photo of 2 young girls in 1955 could be my two younger sisters, though the older thinks she wasn't allowed to drive the boats herself.

This boating lake has been my favorite fun thing to do when my parents took me to Lowestoft for our annual holidays. We stayed with a Mrs Hutchins who ran a small but perfect boarding-house. We always stayed with her and her little dog. Our little dog Nan came everywhere with us and on holiday was no exception. She meant everything ot us all and loved to chase her tennis ball and fetch it from the surf ...see more