As if fate was at work here I was admitted free to Belle Vue on the final day due to the fact that the large gates at the Longsight entrance had been swung open to admit a large coach party of visiting speedway fans so I simply joined them and just walked in alongside. Naughty I know, but in hindsight - appropriate!

An interesting point here is that the cost of admission at the time was 2/6d, the same as a ride on Bobs. Furthermore, it is notable that during all the time I went to Belle Vue those costs often tallied!
 
So to that final Saturday...

I had total of five rides on Bobs and just one on The Scenic Railway.
I would have had more normally, but the repeat rides facility wasn't operating - presumably because of the presence of the many early arriving Speedway supporters.

So, little did I know at the time, but it must have been around 4.30pm that I took my final ride. Certainly if any of the staff on Bobs knew that it was the end they weren't letting on. Probably they didn't know because I was familiar as a 'regular', so I am sure they would have told me.

So, that was it. The end.

Move forward to the Manchester Evening News later the following week. There under the heading "BOBS TO GO" was a short news report of no more than a dozen or so lines which simply stated that Belle Vue's world-famous and record holding rollercoaster BOBS had closed for good and was to be advertised for sale.

Acting on intuition I went into a large newspaper shop in the city centre later the following week and browsed the latest edition of 'World's Fair'. There it was!

One of the middle pages carried a half page advert complete with photo advertising that Bobs was for sale and inviting approaches. "May be seen operating by appointment". I kept the page from the paper and indeed still have it.

Just how serious Belle Vue's proprietors (by that time the Forte Group) were about their "For Sale" notice still escapes me. For sure there was no way the ride's structure could be dismantled like a Meccano set and re-erected elsewhere. It was just not on. Anyone with an ounce of brain would realise that the only way Bobs could rise elsewhere would be by a complete rebuild from the original plans!

Nothing daunted, advertise they did, and remarkably just into 1971 a Manchester Evening News news report stated that a would be buyer had been found! No details of this pending sale were mentioned other than that a deal would be subject to planning permission being granted at Whitley Bay where Bobs aspiring new owner (unidentified) operated his business.

The following week it was announced in the press that "planning consent had not been forthcoming" so the planned sale (if there had ever been one) had fallen through. In the same report Belle Vue wasted no time in letting it be known that as a result of this "failed sale" there was to be no further delays and demolition of Bobs Coaster would commence on Monday January 25th 1971. Yes it was the end, to me it was if I had lost a brother. I was truly bereft.

So, January 25th dawned. The Radio 4 'Today' morning programme carried a brief report presented by Jack deManio, in which the demolition contractor stated that "the job should take no more than four to six weeks". The 'Look North' TV news programme later that day also carried a report in which one of the trains was shown being smashed to bits with a sledge hammer. Heartbreaking.

As it turned out Fred Church's Bobs was made of tougher stuff and it was the middle of May before the destruction of Bobs was completed. Although I had no wish to see the destroyers at work I had occasion to pass down Hyde Road some six weeks after demolition commenced. Two thirds of the structure was still intact still with the proud signs - "BOBS" - still there either side of the highest point.

If anything is certain in this world one thing is that the destruction of Bobs was the huge nail in the coffin that spelt the end of Belle Vue. Within a few short years the Scenic Railway was closed, and subsequently demolished (no pretend sales attempt here). The Water Chute closed and demolished (parts sold to Blackpool Pleasure Beach where there was a rebuild in metal). Some of the smaller movable rides were sold off. The rest of the story including the eventual total closure of Belle Vue is now history.

As for myself, with the demolition of Bobs I was determined never to set foot in the place again - and I didn't. Mind you, Belle Vue in its heyday is the likes of something we can never ever see again.

Truly the NO REPEAT RIDES sign will stay...forever.