Roughly the second week I was in London, my relatives took me out to a smaller town outside of Kingston (I think) called Barn Elms, where there was a fair going on. This was not just any fair!
Carter’s steam fair is a collection of late 1800s rides and attractions, restored to working order and most of which use steam to power the rides! The fair took over an entire field and definitley looked like something out of a history book! The rides themselves were magnificently crafted, but also looked as dangerous as hell.
I didn’t get a chance to tempt fate on any of the rides as I was too busy looking at all of the lovely painted signage throughout the fair. Below are some examples!
Here’s a picture of one of the steam engine’s powering the Britannia, a ride that is basically like the Pirate Ship at Playland back home. Between rides, the workers would shovel coal into the furnace of the engine and away it would go again!
Close-up of some hand-painted type.
Beautiful signage. The colours definitely give it the 1800 look and feel. I like the “if you know a better fair, go to it!” haha!