The Lightning Skid

Hurtle around at 100 smiles an hour — press the pedal to skid your car for an extra boost!

About the Lightning Skid

Noisy and fast, and beautifully and intensely decorated, the Skid is a very popular ride dating from the 1960s.

Fun Fact: Is this a Waltzer? No!

Many people get the Skid confused with a waltzer because the shape of the cars is similar. Waltzers have hills, similar to our Ark, and the cars spin 360°.

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Who can ride, and what does it cost?

The Skid is suitable for riders over 1.1m tall if they are accompanied by an adult or someone over 1.3m. You must be over 1.3m to ride unaccompanied.

Each rider will need 1 new 2022 token to ride.

A brief history of the Lightning Skid

Built in 1965 by Hayes Fabrication (who also made our Giant Octopus and Austin Cars), the Skid was operated by showman Tom Smith, before being packed away in his yard for number of years.

The Skid was originally decorated by celebrated fairground painter Fred Fowle. After years of use (and a lot of love), the original paintwork was in a poor state, so we faithfully recreated it using the same techniques while we performed a total ground-up restoration of the ride in 2016-7.

The Skid is now back out with the fair and is hugely popular.