For the brave
The Meteor
Our fastest travelling ride, with two counter-rotating arms and a full inversion at the top. Best after dark, when the whole frame is lit.
1.4m+ThrillKingston’s summer fairground · Est. 1958
Meet you on the Green.
For generations, the lights of Kingston Green Fair have marked the start of summer evenings: the wheel turning above the trees, music carrying across Mill Lane, and the familiar smell of hot doughnuts by the south gate.
We’re an independent family fairground with classic rides, modern thrillers, children’s attractions, prize games and a row of food stalls that stays busy long after sunset. Come for an hour after school, make an evening of it with friends, or bring the whole family for one of our Saturday late openings.
This weekend: Summer Lights Saturday runs until 23:00, with the wheel illuminated from dusk and live brass on the bandstand from 18:30.
FREE ENTRY · PAY PER RIDE OR SAVE WITH A WRISTBAND · DOG-FRIENDLY BEFORE 18:00
A proper day at the fair
Big rides, little rides, and the bits everyone remembers.
Kingston Green Fair sits across four acres of the old recreation ground beside the river walk. Our midway mixes long-standing favourites with a changing line-up of visiting rides, so regulars always know where to find the dodgems and carousel while still having something new to try.
There’s no gate charge. You can wander in, meet friends, grab supper, watch from the benches or buy only the rides you want. Tokens are sold at the two red kiosks and on card terminals at most major rides.
Fairground classic
Kingston Dodgems
A Green fixture since 1974. Twenty cars, polished floor, old-school bulbs round the canopy and a soundtrack that gets louder as the evening goes on.
1.2m to driveFamily favourite
The Green Wheel
Take the slow route up for views over the rooftops, the river bend and the lights below. Enclosed gondolas make it suitable for younger children with an adult.
All ages1958first summer on Kingston Green
30+rides, games and attractions
£1.50single ride tokens from
7 daysa week in peak summer
The story of the Green
Same place, new lights.
The fair first arrived on Kingston Green for the Whit holiday in 1958, when a small collection of gallopers, swing boats and coconut shies set up beside the cricket pavilion. What began as a ten-day visit gradually became a summer fixture. By the early 1970s the season stretched through the school holidays, and families were timing birthdays, end-of-term trips and first dates around a night at the fair.
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Today the site is run by the third generation of the Mercer family, alongside long-standing independent operators who return each season. Some rides change. Some stalls have moved three times. The doughnut recipe hasn’t.
We still open the traditional way on busy evenings: lights first along the south midway, then the wheel, then the music. If you arrive just before dusk, you’ll see the Green turn from a park into a fairground in about twenty minutes.
Good to know before you come
Entry is free and no booking is needed for general admission. Ride tokens never expire during the current season, and unused paper tokens can be used on another visit before closing weekend.
Most stalls take contactless. The token kiosks accept cash and card. The nearest cashpoint is on Market Parade, around six minutes’ walk from the north gate.
Opening hours can change in severe weather. Check the What’s On page on the day of your visit for late-opening notices.
Food on the midway
Supper tastes better under fairground lights.
Start with proper fish and chips, finish with hot doughnuts, or do things in the opposite order. Our food row includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten-aware options, plus picnic tables on the quieter east side of the Green.
See food, drinks and dietary information →Mercer’s Doughnuts
Cooked to order, shaken in cinnamon sugar and served in paper bags of six or twelve.
The Green Grill
Burgers, hot dogs, loaded fries and grilled halloumi from the big striped trailer by the dodgems.
Rosie’s Lemonade
Fresh lemonade, iced tea and fruit cups — the best stop when the afternoon sun reaches the midway.
Come down this week
One fair, different mood every day.
Weekday afternoons are calmest for younger children. Friday and Saturday evenings are busiest and brightest. Sunday mornings begin with our low-sensory session before the full midway opens.