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Did you ride the rollercoasters when Horne’s funfair came to Dundee?

Secure all loose articles, please, we're off to a place where dreams come alive for young and old.
Graeme Strachan
Charlie Horne with some of the children from the carnival in Dundee in 1990.
Charlie Horne with some of the children from the carnival in Dundee in 1990. Image: DC Thomson.

Keep your hands and arms inside the car and buckle up for a childhood ride back to the magic of the funfair.

Did you secure all loose articles?

Staple funfair rides that provoke joyful memories for the older generations include the Waltzers, dodgems, chair-o-planes and the traditional Ferris wheel.

Adrenaline junkies will remember the Alpine-themed Matterhorn ride.

The helter skelter?

Heading up the spiral staircase before shooting down the curved wooden ramp on a fusty-smelling door mat was a rite of passage for kiddies.

kids having fun on the helter skelter at Caird Park in 1992.
Having fun on the helter skelter at Caird Park in 1992. Image: DC Thomson.

Maybe you liked to try your hand on the side stalls? Hook a duck and win any prize!

Simpler times, when happiness was found in simple pleasures.

Could you score over 50 with three plastic darts and win a goldfish?

The coconut shy was the ultimate in traditional fairground games, while you would need a steady hand and deadly eye at the rifle range to walk away with a prize.

It was a place where dreams came alive for both young and old.

Children and parents ride the carousel
The galloping horses were among the attractions at Caird Park in 1992. Image: DC Thomson.

The whiff of freshly spun candy floss and vinegar-soaked hot chips were memorable aromas which strike a chord with anyone who’s ever been to the funfair.

Horne’s Gigantic Carnival was famous

The Horne family is one of the most famous of the fairground proprietors.

Charlie Horne is the fifth generation to run a fairground, after his great-great-grandfather started the business with stalls and, eventually, a merry-go-round.

In his day they’d move the fair from place to place on steam-powered traction engines, sometimes consisting of seven or more wagons.

The Horne family has been associated with a funfair in Dundee since the 1930s, when they were invited to organise one at the opening of the Magdalen Green bandstand.

“Horne’s Gigantic Carnival” became a fixture of Dundee’s summer season.

Horne's Gigantic Carnival being advertised in 1930.
Horne’s Gigantic Carnival being advertised in 1930. Image: DC Thomson.

In 1930 chair-o-planes, scooter cars and the helter skelter were among a “host of other amusements too numerous to mention for young and old” at Gussie Park.

Did you remember to keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times?

In 1935 the Evening Telegraph reported an accident of an “exceptionally alarming nature” when a man stood up on the Waltzers and was thrown from the ride.

His head struck another car.

He was “badly bruised” and needed six stitches.

How the Evening Telegraph reported the carnival accident in Dundee in1935.
How the Evening Telegraph reported the accident in 1935. Image: DC Thomson.

In 1949 Horne’s brought the first post-war visit of the wall of death to Gussie Park, featuring “death-defying” motorbike riders” and “sensational stunts”.

Horne’s Waltzers and dodgems would take the family all over Scotland and the arrival of the fairground was keenly anticipated by generations of youngsters for decades.

Children enjoying the Pony Express ride at the Gussie Park Carnival in Dundee in 1961.
Children enjoying the Pony Express ride at the Gussie Park Carnival in 1961. Image: DC Thomson.

In 1986 Horne’s promised a “night of thrills and spills” at Gussie Park with attractions including the “Fun House, Speedway Invader, Octopus and the Flying Coaster”.

Horne’s were always looking for new locations.

In 1989 approval was given to stage the funfair at Caird Park and Riverside Park.

A crowd of people enjoy the carnival on Dundee High Street in 1991.
A crowd of people enjoy the carnival on Dundee High Street in 1991. Image: DC Thomson.

More than 70,000 people visited a three-day street fair that was organised by Charlie Horne and started the yearlong celebrations to mark Dundee’s 1991 Octocentenary.

The Octocentenary Fair moved to Caird Park and Riverside in May and was the “biggest outdoor carnival ever in Dundee” featuring rides like the 70ft-high Skydiver.

The cost of rides was “50p for the fourth year in succession”.

The teacup ride and Thomas the Tank Engine were among the children’s attractions, with “15 adult rides” including the Space Dodgems “specially imported from France”.

Fun-seekers enjoying a ride on the swing boat at Caird Park in 1991. Image: DC Thomson.
Fun-seekers enjoying a ride on the swing boat when Horne’s funfair arrived at Caird Park, Dundee, in 1991. Image: DC Thomson.

The Sea Ray was a “thrilling swing boat in pirate ship guise”.

The Invader was “best described as perpetual motion in three directions”.

Armed with your pocket money, you might have gone on the Matterhorn, which was a “rollercoaster with a swing”, or Tiptop, which took you 45 feet up and tipped you over.

Other Horne’s rides included the Ghost Train, Speedway, Big Wheel, Twist, Simulator, Astroglide, Satellite and Meteorite — and there was even prize bingo.

An ad for Horne's carnival at Caird Park in Dundee
Horne’s carnival being advertised in 1991. Image: DC Thomson.

Horne’s funfair became firmly established as part of Dundee city centre’s New Year festivities, while the rides got bigger and bigger at Caird Park and Riverside Drive.

The Toboggan rollercoaster climbed to a height of 80 feet inside a tunnel.

This ride was not for the faint hearted.

Two young girls have fun on the Mini Jet ride at Caird Park in 1992.
Fun on the Mini Jet ride at Caird Park in 1992. Image: DC Thomson.

The Evening Telegraph said: “You don’t see the drop you’re about to take until you come out at the top and see nothing but sky in front… then you’re on your way down!

“Two rollercoasters will be in action, as the popular Big Apple will be back again.

“Another newcomer is the Miami, a side-swinging, forward-facing ride which Horne’s has had for only the last couple of months.

People holding on, on the Tagada ride at the Dundee street carnival in 1998.
Holding on, on the Tagada ride at the Dundee street carnival in 1998. Image: DC Thomson.

“Horne’s is one of the biggest travelling fairs in Britain and as well as those mentioned already, visitors can enjoy a whole host of different rides and attractions.

“With increasing mechanical sophistication, it is now possible to bring theme park-style amusements to audiences all over the country.”

The Evening Telegraph said Dundee had always been a particularly successful venue for the fair and Charlie reckoned the crowds here were among the best in the country.

Two teenaged girls having fun on the Victorian Carousel in City Square in 1999.
Having fun on the Victorian carousel at Horne’s funfair in City Square, Dundee, in 1999. Image: DC Thomson.

An Evening Telegraph advertising feature in 2000 highlighted the “amazing range of rides and attractions on offer” – including The Bomber, which reached 70mph.

“If white-knuckle rides are your kind of entertainment, then The Bomber is for you.

“It is the first ride of its kind ever built, and at a height of 150 feet and speeds of up to 70 mph, it’s bound to have you hanging on for dear life.

“But if you want to be scared out of your skin, try one of the carnival’s two roller coasters – an unusual boast in itself for a travelling attraction.

“One is extra-special, though – it combines all the thrills and spills of the traditional ride with a terrifying ghost train. Two amazing experiences in one!

“Horne’s Carnival is designed especially for the family, so along with the truly exhilarating rides, you will also find things geared towards the younger members of your group.

“The Big Apple roller coaster is one such attraction, along with the usual carousel, Waltzers and dodgems.

“Along with all the rides, there will be plenty of stalls to enjoy while your knuckles return to their natural colour!”

See the ‘aliens’ at Horne’s funfair in Dundee…

The Waltzers almost prompted a visit from Mulder and Scully in 2016.

Hundreds took to social media reporting “strange, hovering lights” and theories included “aliens”, “a helicopter” and “Dundee City Council looking for Batman”.

Christian Horne, show manager of Horne’s Pleasure Fairs, confirmed the “unexplained lights” were actually coming from the carnival at Caird Park.

He told the Evening Telegraph: “Sorry to disappoint but it wasn’t aliens.

“We have lights on the front of the Waltzers — they move in sequence and create a mini show.

“We were testing them last night, creating a programme for the coming days to attract the crowds.

“We can’t test them during the day, because we can’t see them.

“If anyone wants to come and see the ‘aliens’ they should come to Caird Park this weekend.”

Guides and leaders from the 65th Girl Guides, St Aidan's, Broughty Ferry at the fair.
Guides and leaders from the 65th Girl Guides, St Aidan’s, Broughty Ferry at the fair. Image: DC Thomson.

They did – and they have kept coming over the years.

Horne’s funfair is still going strong to this day and bringing joy to thousands of visitors every year with lots of new and improved attractions and exciting rides.

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