The sound of children having fun in a playpark is timeless.
Playgrounds today, with soft, cushiony floors, are much different from years ago when metal climbing frames and slides were anchored in concrete.
Breaks, bumps and bruises were a rite of passage for generations of Dundonians before health and safety began to make its way into the playground.
And let’s not forget getting your legs burned when the metal slide heated up in the sun.
Most of the playground equipment was built on concrete or gravel.
None of which made for a very pleasant or soft landing.
How did our elder relatives survive?
We have opened up our archives to look back at some playparks from the 1960s to the 1990s, when hazardous play equipment started being replaced.
Some are long gone, never to return, but will always evoke happy memories.
Some have stood the test of time, although the ground is softer.
How many of these Dundee playparks do you remember?
Beechwood
Councillor Charles Farquhar opened a new playpark in Beechwood in 1996.
The playpark, behind Beechwood child and family centre, was funded by Scottish Enterprise Tayside, Scottish Homes and Dundee City Council.
Playgrounds had become risk-averse by the 1990s.
The kids were squealing with delight.
Baxter Park
Parks and green spaces are the lungs of Dundee.
The best of them, Baxter Park in the Stobswell area, is one of only three parks laid out by the celebrated landscape designer Sir Joseph Paxton.
The playpark has always been hugely popular with families in good weather.
Douglas
These children were having fun on the swings at the Douglas playpark.
Check out the little girl lying on her tummy on the swing to the left of the picture.
Was it all too much for her?
The metal climbing frame in the background looked popular.
Dryburgh
This might be the strangest Dundee playpark from our archives.
A stone mound, concrete wall, stone steps and tree stumps were among the attractions for children at the Foggyley Playpark in 1964.
Split lips and splinters were commonplace.
Forthill
Children playing at Forthill playpark in April 1970.
It must have been a chilly spring day because mums and kids are all warmly wrapped up.
From all accounts, the climbing frame was not for the faint of heart.
And can anyone remember the wooden roundabout?
Fintry
The playpark at Fintry Drive at the back of the shops in April 1964.
The play area expanded to accommodate more equipment and is still there to this day.
Fintry was also home to the adventure playground at Finlathen Park in the 1980s, which included rope bridges, scramble nets, fireman’s pole and the death swing.
Hilltown
Smiling faces all round in July 1985.
Mothers and children try out the new playpark in Stirling Street.
It was opened by the Lord Provost along with representatives of the Scottish Development Agency, Manpower Services Commission and Dundee District Council.
Workmen demolished all but half a climbing frame on safety grounds in 2005, before new equipment began to appear.
Kirkton
Children playing on a chute in the playpark near Ashmore Street in September 1988.
The Kirkton playpark received complaints after opening because the landing area of the steep chute was surrounded by concrete.
These lads didn’t seem too bothered, though.
The council began gradually installing bark to provide a safe playing surface.
Lochee
The year 1987 saw a large wooden replica of a space shuttle taking centre stage at the new Black Street playpark, which was constructed on derelict land.
The spacecraft featured a chute and climbing frame.
Black Street was located just off Lochee Road and the space-themed play park included swings alongside a sandpit with a digger.
Who needs Cape Canaveral?
Menzieshill
Youngsters playing on the “spider” climbing frame in Yarrow Terrace in Menzieshill in July 1969.
This contraption would be seen as a health and safety nightmare now.
These days, playgrounds are much safer, though perhaps a little less exciting.
Mill O’Mains
The Wild West corner of the Mill O’Mains Park, which opened in April 1980.
The park provided a range of facilities including a football pitch, tennis courts, playground with an adventure fort and a bowling green.
The wooden fort was hugely popular with kids – and vandals.
It was pulled down in the 2000s.
Tait’s Lane
Lord Provost James Gowans officially opens the Tait’s Lane Playpark in July 1983.
Look at the little lad on the left who seems to be sneaking into the shot.
Maybe you recognise the boy in the Celtic top or the girl wearing the rah-rah skirt?
Victoria Park
High-octane thrills at Victoria Park in April 1977.
A couple of girls were doing the loop-the-loop on the swings.
It was a long drop if you fell – surrounded, of course, by concrete.
Whitfield
A group of young boys playing on the turntable in a Whitfield playpark in August 1972.
How many injuries were caused by kids falling off this piece of equipment?
In the background are Quarryfield and Whitfield Courts and the neighbouring tower block, which housed Greenfield and Kellyfield Courts.
Do you remember playing on the turntable?
It’s the final image in our gallery of Dundee playparks.
Did our pictorial trip back in time jog any memories for you?
Let us know.
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