Want the top news headlines sent to your inbox daily? Sign up to our FREE newsletter below Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

This month marks 27 years since Metroland first opened its doors to the public.

Located in the MetroCentre, the £20million theme park opened in February 1988 and was Europe's largest indoor amusement park.

The park featured many attractions which nostalgia fans will love reminiscing about, including the much loved roller coaster, which was somewhat bizarrely renamed "The New Roller Coaster" following a refurbishment in 1996 - despite being the same ride.

Other highlights were the swings (alliteratively named "The Wonderful Wave-Swinger"), pirate ship, a miniature railway (anyone else remember the hilarity at seeing the man on the toilet reading a newspaper?), Ferris wheel, waltzers, dodgems and many more.

Despite calls being made to save Metroland, the famous attraction sadly closed its doors for the last time on April 20, 2008, marking the end of an era.

Relive the theme park's most memorable moments in our gallery of nostalgic photos from our archive.

If you have any stories and/or pictures of Metroland that you would like to share, email them to community@ncjmedia.co.uk and we will feature them here on chroniclelive.co.uk and perhaps in the paper too.

Here are some of our readers' memories of Metroland:

Carla Lorraine Falkland: "Driving to the MetroCentre and seeing the big Metroland letters on the side of the building."

Michelle Morgan: "Cheryl Tweedy singing on the karaoke every Saturday."

Janine Spowart: "Spending hours literally on the pirate ship and the swing chairs, then consuming my weight in slush puppies and chips upstairs on the plastic seats."

Emma Louise Dodds: "I remember going in the soft play area and that big yellow slide that was like a big drop and gripping onto it and having massive blisters on my palms, ouch."

Martin Hedley: "Brought back so many memories as an employee and a visitor as a child and think it's great you had the great thought to bring the memories back. What a wonderful place to work and the people there were amazing."

Claire Fitzy Johnstone: "Met my husband there 24 years ago when we were only 14! Best memories."

Greg Tunney: "Everything just seems completely different from when we were kids. We had Metroland, Lazer Quazer, B&Q Scotswood Road when it was Dixons used to have an awesome soft play. There's nothing like it for kids these days. Oh and not forgetting Warner Brothers."

Kris Tina: "I remember when I was on the pirate ship, wearing flats and whilst getting on the ride my shoe fell off and fell into the bottom near gears and dangerous parts. The mechanics had to shut the ride down for a whole hour! But it was sorted and the ride was back to normal, and I got my ride in the end."

Mark Robert Chisholm: "Metroland disco on a Friday night was mint."

David Fitzgerald: "I remember the opening of Metroland very well. Along with about 10 others in the same group we went there for the opening of Metroland and got to ride the rides and play on the side shows free for the whole day. Our group was from a local children's home and the visit was a real treat for us and we all went back to the care home with armfuls of soft toys. It was a real shame when this indoor amusement arcade closed."

Russ Charlton: "Worked at House of Fraser 1987-88. Used to go ten pin bowling on my dinner hour at Metroland."

Elizabeth Meek: "We used to go to Metroland regularly, the kids loved it but my youngest son was always terrified of the huge dragon which hung above the escalator on the way in. He never got used to it, we had to always enter Metroland from the inside of the MetroCentre."

Margaret King: "What about those swings, loved watching the kids' faces, they went so high."

Carrie Steele: "Aw I loved Metroland! I remember screaming so loudly on that roller coaster once as a kid that the woman stopped it the first time round to ask if I wanted off. I loved it! Happy memories of that place."

And last but not least, a sad memory...

Faye Savua: "I went last year and spent a while trying to figure out where it was - not knowing it had closed."

Email community@ncjmedia.co.uk to share your Metroland memories with us and we will publish the best.