Skip to content

A look back at 100 years of seaside funfair set to close

Getty Images A black and white photo of four women wearing swimwear, lying down in a row on a wooden helterskelter ride and smiling at the camera.Getty Images
Getty Images A black and white picture of a very crowded beach with funfair rides in the background.Getty Images
Beachgoers, like these women in August 1939, have been enjoying the funfair's attractions for more than 100 years
Coney Island Amusement Park and the beach beside it, pictured here in August 1966, have long been popular on a summer's day

It's the end of an era for a seaside attraction which has been in south Wales for more than 100 years.

Coney Beach Amusement Park, which opened in the Newton area of Porthcawl, Bridgend county, in 1918, will close in October.

In a social media post, its owners said: "It's the end of an era, for over 100 years we and other showmen and their families have lived and worked in Porthcawl, helping to make it a busy seaside destination."

It follows a consultation in February on plans by Bridgend council and the Welsh government to redevelop the waterfront with up to 1,100 new homes, shops and restaurants, and the extension of boardwalks and green spaces.