First visited the old derelict site in January 2010 with Georgie.
Report here
http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=46604

Some new info off the BBC Liverpool news
Liverpool's International Garden Festival site is expected to re-open in the spring after a seven-month delay, developers Langtree have said.
The Festival Gardens park was due to open in July but the main contractor working on the development, Mayfield Construction, went into administration.
The waterfront site hosted the garden festival for five months in 1984.
The redevelopment project has restored the site's Chinese pagodas, Japanese gardens and water features.
When opened the park will be managed by the Land Trust.
'Horticultural excellence'
Steve Barnes, of Langtree, said: "We want it to be perfect and it is going to take a little longer, but it is worth getting right.
"There are seven water features on site and most of them flow from one to the other through a system of pumps and wheels so it's quite a complicated system to get right.
"What is important is that the park when it is open is something which the public and we can be proud of."
More than three million people visited the 1984 International Garden Festival which was billed as a "five-month pageant of horticultural excellence and spectacular entertainment".
Built on a former refuse dump it contained more than 60 individual gardens from countries around the world, a Festival Hall, public pavilions and miniature railway.
The site has been derelict since 1997 when Pleasure Island, a leisure and entertainment facility that occupied the site, closed.
Restoration work costing £3.7m, funded by the former North West Development Agency, began in February 2010.
Part of the site is due to be developed into residential property

Me and Georgie had discussed checking this place out for a long time but the timiing was just about right with most of the restoration complete.Strangely,its ground to a halt again with some parts imcomplete and the lakes mainly drained.

Visited with Georgie

We started off in the still dereclict part althought the old cafe and various other stuff has been removed since our last visit,plus we played avoid security but it was an enjoyable visit of the site.

The old Go Kart seating remains.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8898.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8903.jpg
The good old Dragon slide remains but sadly it has been chopped in half was hoping to see this restored and placed in the new play area.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8906.jpg
The sign for the "New" park
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF9068.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF9071.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8933.jpg
The newly installed bridges.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8937.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8940.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8965.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8984.jpg
Entering the Japanese Garden Section,Walkway incomplete.
http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8986.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8988.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8996.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF8992.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF9015.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF9022.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF9029.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF9033.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF9043.jpg

http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu312/Kevsy21/New%20Garden%20Festival%20Liverpool%20Dec%202011/DSCF9041.jpg

It was a pleasure to see this place long before the general public.
Thanks for looking.

Great pics. Can't wait to visit.

Great pics. Can't wait to visit.

Thanks for the comment.:)

Great pics -looking forward visiting this when it finally opens, Is the developed part of the site big or is a quick wander, I can never tell from your pics, or ones posted earlier on the Garden festival site thread in the constuction projects section.

Marvellous revival. Do you think the gardens should be renamed The Heseltine Gardens in honour of Liverpool's lion-maned champion?

Great pics -looking forward visiting this when it finally opens, Is the developed part of the site big or is a quick wander, I can never tell from your pics, or ones posted earlier on the Garden festival site thread in the constuction projects section.

Thanks,the newly developed part covers about half of the old site approximately.
There are plenty of walkways and trails you could spend a few hrs here easily.
Just hope someone finally takes responsibility for the site and it does open eventually to the public after all the constant delays.

Some excellent photos there :)

Marvellous revival. Do you think the gardens should be renamed The Heseltine Gardens in honour of Liverpool's lion-maned champion?

He got a very warm reception when he done a lecture at John Moores University not long back.Don't know if the majority of local people would want it named after him?

Nice photos Kev, really looking forward to seeing this place again myself

Nice photos Kev, really looking forward to seeing this place again myself

Thanks Carlin,forgot you were a member on here.:)