Features

THE JUNKYARD: A Year Down The Line

Martyn and Steph Tambling’s skatepark ‘The Junkyard‘ opened its doors at the end of 2014 after months of blood, sweat and tears, plus of course an heroic effort from many friends and family to get the place actually built! The tightly spaced, quirky park with its addictive lines has recently undergone a swimming pool themed facelift, and what with it being a year or so since we last visited, I took a trip down to darkest Cornwall to see what had changed, both in terms of the The Junkyard itself and the Tambling’s relationship with the place.

This vert wall gets a lot of action and a key feature for generating speed around the park. Martyn, right up there with a foot on the wall

Now you have been open for just over a year how has the Junkyard changed?

“The layout of the bowl has remained the same, with the odd addition like our new pool ladder for the skaters, to go with the paint job. We managed to get the unit next door to ours which enabled us to open a small street course room with movable rails etc, as well as allowing us to put in a proper kitchen, a shop and a comfortable area for parents to chill.”

Setting the place up aside, what have you found your main challenges to be up until now?

“I’d say for sure the hardest part is keeping it going financially. Indoor parks are always quieter in the summer so that’s been hard, but that’s just skateparks all over.”

Have you experienced anything with the park which you didn’t expect? Public support/negativity/etc etc

“Yeah, the number of over 50’s that fully rip the bowl has been a real treat to see, so many people have taken up riding or skating again since we opened which is awesome. We run groups too like a girls only night, to help build their confidence as it can obviously be intimidating trying to learn in front of a load of boys. It’s been super popular and the girls are progressing really fast.”

Harry Mills-Wakley in the street room. Photo by Martyn Tambling.

Your Facebook is always full of cool stuff happening at the park, so what have your main highlights of the year been?

“We’re always trying to think of ways to keep people visiting. We do private hire and some of the sessions that have gone down have been sick, so much crazy stuff has gone down in that place it’s mental. The skaters love it – it’s the right sort of size so they can just rip around like a proper pool. Even riding the place, people are constantly finding new lines which nobody saw before.”

What does it mean now that you are a registered charity?

“We plan to just keep pushing forward and keep it fresh and aim big long term.”

Back in for 2016 - Body Jars! Martyn gives his back wheel a seeing to in the deep end.

With a year under your belt and the ‘honeymoon period’ behind you, has having your own skatepark lived up to your expectations? And how has it differed if not?

“To be honest we haven’t had much time to reflect on it all, but yeah its rad to know we achieved the thing that Steph and I wanted to do for such a long time. It’s also really rewarding to see a whole new generation/scene progress and grow in an environment we created.”

You guys always seem to be planning something new, so what’s next?

“We’d like to become more mobile in the summer with events and demos, things like that. Also just to progress within the space we have and to continue to do what we love!”