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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
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Katie Williams

Edinburgh's lost amusement park that stood for more than 100 years

Portobello is a hotspot for tourists and locals alike when the sun makes an appearance.

It has been the go-to place for decades and many will remember venturing to the fun fair on the coast, more commonly known as Fun City, on Harbour Green.

The showground stood in Portobello for over 100 years and was renowned as the second oldest funfair in Britain until it closed in 1998 and the site stripped away to make way for new flats.

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From dodgems to waltzers and rollercoasters, the funfair attracted kids and young adults for decades.

But as the park began its demise, the iconic rides were sold off to other parks or, in some cases, scrapped for good.

General view of the park in May 1988 (Coasterpedia)

One much-loved by locals and tourists was the wooden rollercoaster named Figure of Eight which dates right back to the 1930s. As we can imagine, it must have felt a little rickety towards the end of its days and the ride closed for good and was scrapped in 1957.

Meanwhile the Nessi ride opened in 1990 but closed around 1995. It was moved to the seaside town of Rhyl in North Wales where the children's village that once boasted an array of rides and attractions.

The Sprinter only opened in 1989 and closed the same year, according to Coasterpedia, before it was transferred to Clacton Pier.

Largs Amusements also got hold of Portobello's dodgems after they closed in 1988 and the Cyclone Twister found a new home down south in New Brighton Palace in 1990.

In the 1990s, an ambitious development was heavily advertised in a bid to make the park not so weather dependent. The site was to be roofed with a Ten-Pin Bowling alley included in the plans. However, this venture failed as there was little room left on Harbour Green for the park to be modernised or extended.

The park that was loved by many finally closed in 1998. The rides were taken out and the site was cleared for apartment blocks by the sea.

With acknowledgement to Coasterpedia.net, below is a list of Portobello's former Fun City attractions, including where they ended up after the iconic seaside funfair closed down.

Former attractions

Name

Opened

Closed

Fate

Figure Eight

1910

1957

Scrapped

Nessi

1990

1995 or later

Relocated to Rhyl Children's Village

Sprinter

1989

1989

Relocated to Clacton Pier

Name

Opened

Closed

Fate

Chair-O-Plane

1970s

c.1978

Travelling UK

Cyclone

1990

1990

Relocated to New Brighton Palace

Disco Waltzer

1971 or earlier

1985

Travelling UK

Dodgems

1987

1988

Travelling UK

Dodgems

1989

1999

Relocated to Largs Amusements

Dodgems

2000

Unknown

Unknown

Ferris Wheel

1978

1980s

Unknown

Jungle Ride

1932

1936

Travelling UK

Miami

1991

1991

Relocated to Coney Beach Pleasure Park

Octopus

1967

1974

Relocated to Sheerness Amusement Park

Octopus

1982

1985

Travelling UK

Paratrooper

1989

1991

Relocated to Bundoran Adventure Park

Swirl

1956

1960s

Travelling UK

Waltzer

1987

1990

Travelling UK

Waltzer

1991

1999

Travelling UK

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