Mart arrives in King’s Lynn bringing all the fun of the fair

The sound of loud music, screaming youngsters and whirling machines will echo around King's Lynn town centre at the weekend.

Drivers will also face disruption and a shortage of parking spaces, as dodgems, rides and sideshows sprawl across the Tuesday market Place.

The Mart, one of the oldest fairs in the country, will be officially opened by West Norfolk Mayor Zipha Christopher at noon on Saturday.

The Mart will last for two weeks with opening times being noon on Tuesdays and Saturdays and 6pm on other days. It will be closed on Sundays.

This year there is an exciting new ride called Speed Buzz which has a rotating platform and cars that elevate and tilt to spin around at an angle and is the only one of its type in the country.

Traditionally, this is the first funfair in the showmen's calendar where new rides are tried out and old favourites brought back out.

More than five centuries ago, Lynn had two Marts and these were important trading fairs which would attract visitors from as far afield as Italy and Germany.

Over the years trading fairs become less important and the Mart's nature changed from a trading fair to a funfair.

The Mart is also a memorial to the great work of Frederick Savage, who worked with the Showmen's Guild to develop new rides.

Mr Savage lived in Lynn and pioneered the application of steam power to fairground barrel organs and went on to develop a unique industry manufacturing power-driven roundabouts, swings and joy-wheels.