Carters Steam Fair

Carters Steam Fair roll’s into town with a proud reputation of being the, most enchanting Fun Fair on earth, many of the rides dating back to the early 1900’s and in the case of the Gallopers (Carousel) to 1895.



It all began with former stock car driver John Carter, he had previously wrecked & rebuilt his stock car’s on a regular basis while he was educated at Berkshire College of Art & Slade School of Art.



However Johns respect for authority and petty rules caused him to be asked to leave the places of learning once they had found out he was racing Stock Cars professionally. He then became a show promoter, promoting military vehicle rallies, record bazaars & steam rallies.

In 1976 John saw & fell in love with what has now turned out to be the Carters set of Gallopers (Carousel) where they were languishing on a permanent site. He pestered the owners for weeks until they finally sold them to him and Johns dream suddenly started to become reality.

Over the years Carters Steam Fair has grown & grown and is now by far the finest collection of Vintage Fairground Rides in the world.

John sadly passed away in December 2000 but his legacy has been passed down to his wife Anna and her son’s & daughters. The fair tours regularly from March to October with the winter months spent restoring the fabulous rides and equipment and bringing them back to there former glories.

Over the year’s Carters have been visited by many celebrities including Roger Daltery, Mick Jagger & Princes Diana and the two Princes.

They are often offered large sums of money to sell the Fun Fair, the most famous came fifteen years ago when Michael Jackson offered a multi million pound deal to buy the fun fair and transport it to his US Neverland’s home. Needless to say the offer was rejected.

‘This is the fair to watch out for’

Time Out

‘Carters Steam Fair is simply the best on the road’

Peter Blake

‘A beautiful old stem fair called Carters, it was more like a movie version

of a fairground than the real thing’

Jonathan Ross

‘It’s a great idea, it shows people what fairgrounds used to be like’

Roger Daltry