the camp opened, still only partially complete, in the winter of 1949. To celebrate its opening, Butlin ran a mystery flight, where guests, who had paid $129 (2011:£) each, were taken on a flight to the resort without being informed in advance. Butlin did not celebrate for long; he required a further $2.25 million (2011:£) to complete the camp, and American tourists unaccustomed to the holiday camp concept had little interest. In an attempt to save the camp, Butlin sold the hotel leases to an American firm. By November 1950, the subsidiary company handling the Caribbean resort was ordered to be wound up by a court. Butlin admitted defeat and focused his efforts back in Europe. In the late 1940s Butlin successfully opened hotels outside the Skegness and Ayr camps, so he now saw his opportunity to expand into this market. Butlin began acquiring hotels in Saltdean, Blackpool and Cliftonville. Further camps In the 1960s Butlin created a series of new camps at Bognor Regis (opened 1960), Minehead (1962) and Barry Island (1966). Barry Island remained part of the Butlin's empire until the 1980s, while Bognor and Minehead remain part of the company today. On 2 July 1960 Butlin planned to open his holiday camp at Bognor, but because of flooding it was not ready. Butlin offered his patrons the chance to be re-sited at Clacton or to stay and help complete the camp's construction. A number opted to stay and help, and received a free bottle of champagne as a reward. Once opened, the camp quickly became popular, accommodating around 5,000 campers and another 5,000 day visitors. In the winter of 1961, Butlin began work on his camp in Minehead. The site opened to the public on 26 May 1962 having cost £2 million to construct. Over the next decade several attractions were added to the site. A miniature railway was added in 1964, chairlifts in 1965, and a monorail in 1967. Butlin's inspiration for his holiday empire had come from a holiday to Barry Island in his twenties, when he had been locked out of his B&B all day by his landlady. He finally decided to build the last and smallest of the camps there in 1965. Butlin took out a 99-year lease on the headland at Nell's Point, Barry Island, in 1966. Building work began there in the winter and the gates opened to campers on 18