Top 5 Skate Spots UK
In this article, we will take you across the UK from the top hot spots to skate. Whether you are a street skater or a park skater, Join us as we talk about historic spots and hidden gems.
Folkstone 51
Folkestone 51 is the world’s first purpose-built multi-story skatepark. F51’s design, location and conception aim to change the way we look at city spaces and how we can incorporate more sports facilities.
Folkestone has three floors, The Bowl Floor, The Street Floor and The Flow Floor.
The bowl floor is home to the world’s first concrete suspended bowls. It features pool coping, tiles, oververt, skateable pillars and extensions. It was designed and engineered by Maverick Skateparks.
The street floor features 700sqm of skateable timber. It features a wide range of street-inspired obstacles such as stair sets, ledges, handrails and more. Designed and engineered by Cambian Action Sports.
The flow floor features 650sqm of skateable timber. Featuring volcanoes, waterfalls, blends, skateable pillars and hips.
Pitt Street Skatepark in Portsmouth
Pitt St. is an indoor skatepark based in Portsmouth and it’s built in an old Sainsbury’s Supermarket.
Long-term skateboarder and founder of Pitt Street Skatepark, Jacob Skinner, said: “As a child, skateboarding was my outlet and I want to give others the opportunity to use it in a positive way. We are really passionate about changing the view of skateboarding in the community, it’s also so important to remember that you are never too old to skate. We want to bring the community together through this venue and encourage people of all ages to get involved.”
Pitt St Skatepark welcomes all wheels this includes BMX riders, Inliners, Quad Skaters, Scooter Riders and Skateboarders. The park includes ramps, rails and ledges including the smooth supermarket floors.
Southbank in London
Southbank Skatepark for a lot of people is the birthplace of British skateboarding and has been home to skateboarders and graffiti artists for the past 40+ years. In 2014 it gained the attention of the media as the re-development of the area put it in danger of extinction, however, it was avidly fought for by skaters and local enthusiasts through the Long Live South Bank campaign and won.
Over time the area has shrunk but features a smooth street section with a 7 stair, a small whippy quarter pipe, and a selection of ledges and banks. There is also a railing to stop tourists from wandering a bit too close and getting in the way too also equipped with lights and sheltered from wet weather.
Dean Lane in Bristol
Dean Lane or the ‘Deaner’, as it is known locally is one of the original skateparks in the UK from the 70s when skateboarding first became popular and it remains a popular spot even today. Its crusty DIY transitions are built into a hill, the cracks and imperfections make it much tougher to skate than modern skateparks but this has helped create its reputation. “Nothing meaner than the Deaner,” as the locals say.
Dean Lane is made up of two flat banks,a series of ramps, and curved banks. Bowled corners, a large pump bump also a mini ramp with a bowled edge on one side and an open side on the other. It is different from many of the other more recently built parks in its layout and it is more transitions-focused.
Projekts in Manchester
Projekts MCR was set up back in 2004, transforming disused land under a busy flyover into a vital space for Manchester’s community of skateboarders.
Projekts MCR Skatepark welcomes riders of skateboards, scooters, inlines, rollerblades and BMXs. They offer a wide range of skateboard classes for all ages and abilities including adults-only classes on Wednesday evenings, and women and girls-only classes on Thursday evenings. They also have kids-only classes on the weekends as well as sessions for home-educated children on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during term time. As well as this, they run a roller skate and inline-only class on a Monday evening. If the group lessons are a bit much (or not enough) then they also offer private lessons as well as beginner-friendly holiday sessions.
There are two sections of the park, a large concrete plaza and a smaller concrete park with a few more transitions. The plaza section includes rails, ledges, banks and quarters. The smaller part of the park includes a wider range of transitions with hips and transfers available, plus some ledges and smaller rails, with a layout that flows around in a square.
