There are now just a few days to go until Hull Fair opens once again. Though there are often new arrivals each year, plenty of old favourites also keep coming back too.
The legendary fun fair’s past is something that many people look back on fondly with memories of the sights, sounds and experiences they enjoyed as children.
They are probably still planning a visit to the Hull Fair of today – it next rolls into town ready for opening on Friday, October 10, 2025 – possibly with their own children or grandchildren now in tow, ready to enjoy the rides, food and more. For many who grew up in the 1980s, this set of fantastic photos will bring back happy memories of nights out at Hull Fair.
The rare colour images capture the sights of a packed evening at the fair – and bring the sounds, smells (and stomach-churning moments) flooding back as well. We’ve plucked them out of the Hull Daily Mail archives as attention begins to turn to this year’s fair.
Rides such as the Meteor and the Supreme American Skyliner can be seen in the photos. And there are stalls including Roll a Ball, Hook a Duck and the ever-popular bingo.
While the exact date of the pictures is not now known, they are likely to have been taken between 1985 and 1987, as one of the shots shows Gordon the Gopher puppets for sale! Colour pictures were rarely taken by Mail “snappers” at the time, because newsprint was still very much a black-and-white business.
The photographer’s name has, sadly, been lost to time, but the evocative images they captured – from steam rising from the fryers at Bob Carver’s, to the excited faces of children who will now be in their forties – have thankfully survived.