Fun fair now consigned to park history

I recently had a meeting with David Taylor, of Taylors Fun Fairs. They have used our site many times over the years for their fabulous fun fair and it was with heavy hearts we both realised, as we talked, that we will not be able to hold the fair here any more.
Allan Blackburn, Owner of GB Antiques Centre and Lancaster Leisure ParkAllan Blackburn, Owner of GB Antiques Centre and Lancaster Leisure Park
Allan Blackburn, Owner of GB Antiques Centre and Lancaster Leisure Park

David needs a large area of hard standing and, as I have mentioned before, now Miller Homes are building on site, we have very little hard standing left. They are developing 71 new houses, in fact, the new show home opened the other for the first time.

The Leisure Park is a huge site - we have 42 acres. We do have grassy areas within the park, which visitors enjoy, but David needs concrete and that’s what is in short supply.

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It’s a real shame as we have worked together for 12 years. In years gone by, it has been fabulous to see the site transformed into a huge fun fair. There were so many rides for young and old alike.

Whether you wanted a quiet, relaxing afternoon ride, or to be a frightened to death, there were more than 20 attractions as well as entertainment, including clowns and balloon modellers.

Best of all, the fun fair was open in the evening which brought a fabulous carnival atmosphere to the park.

Of course, there is a connection between antiques and fairgrounds.

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Souvenirs, novelties, fairground and carnival memorabilia is a hugely popular field of collectables.

Whether it evokes childhood memories or reminders of happy days out, I think we can all feel nostalgic about the sounds, sights and smells of a travelling fair.

Recently we had a carnival horse from a carousel for sale in the centre.

He was not here long and got snapped up quickly. There are even magazines dedicated to fairground memorabilia.

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Look out for the name “Carters” whose back copies can still be found on the Internet on sites like eBay.

Taylors were the people who supplied us with the few rides we had at the Christmas Markets, so where we can work together in future, we will.

The leisure park has seen so many changes over the years, but none more so than in the past 18 months.

I love where the park is now, providing new homes and great attractions for visitors.

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