Dinosaurs have been a key part of the attraction of Blackgang Chine for generations of visitors.

Did you know that one of Blue Peter’s best-known presenters, John Noakes, featured the dinosaurs being flown into the park during Easter 1972?

According to the County Press reports from 50 years ago, the dinosaur zoo was the idea of Mr R. Dabell, whose family had run Blackgang Chine for well over a century at that point.

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Meeting Shadow and Rex, in 2022.

I remember these static dinosaurs, from my childhood years. They had been flown into the park by helicopter in 1972, but in recent years, it has been dinosaurs of a different kind who have been wowing the crowds.

In 2014, I was one of the first people to meet the new dinosaurs of Restricted Area 5, who were amazing animatronic dinos who could move and roar — my three-year-old son, Matthew, found them fascinating and a bit scary at the same time!

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The Blackgang Chine team also introduced Shadow and Rex, who have become well-known for their walkabouts — they have even been to London.