Fairground attraction
WHO hasn’t enjoyed a fun day at the fairground in Southport over the years?
Take a look at our photos and see what you remember, on our rollercoaster ride back into the past.
Southport Pleasureland opened for its 2017 season on Saturday, April 1, with a whole host of new rides – and the return of favourites such as the giant observation wheel, which allows people to look out from Southport’s highest point along the coast as far as Blackpool and Liverpool and to get an eagle-eyed view right across the park, the town and beyond.
The park originally operated from 1913, although a fairground had run on different sites in Southport in earlier years.
Before its demise in 2006 it was operated by Blackpool Pleasure Beach, until Blackpool closed the site suddenly and, to the dismay of local people, destroyed historic rides such as the Cyclone.
The wooden rollercoaster, which stood on the Southport seafront, opened on Good Friday in 1937. It was severely damaged by a hurricane in January 1961, but was quickly repaired and reopened in time for 1961 season.
The ride was then damaged by fire in 1984 but was immediately rebuilt.
Sadly it didn’t survive the chainsaws, as workers from Blackpool destroyed it in autumn 2006.
One attraction which brings back particularly fond memories is the Fun House, which opened in 1955, with features such as the Wheel and the Social Mixer. A ghost train ride now stands on the site where the Fun House used to be.
The fair’s original Ghost Train opened in 1931 and ran for more than 65 years, with a replacement continuing the tradition to this day.
Who remembers the River Caves? The ride which opened in 1922 took people in boats around different scenes of a lost world including dinosaurs.
There were so many other memorable rides over the years too: the Sky Ride, which opened in 1975, the Wild Cat (1978), TraumaTizer rollercoaster (1999), Space Shot (2002), Gallopers (1950), Caterpillar (1914), Chewits Log Flume (1991), Himalaya (1985), Haunted Inn (1949), Noah’s Ark (1930), the Looping Star (1985), and so many others.
Southport has more than a century of fairground memories at the Pleasureland site – and there are big plans in the pipeline to make the park even bigger still.
Southport Pleasurereland remains free entry, with another busy fairground season ahead.
WHAT are your memories of the fairground at Southport? Send us your memories and pictures by email to: visiternews@southportvisiter.co.uk or message us via the Visiter page on Facebook.