HOLLYCOMBE Steam in the Country finished its bumper season with a Hallowe’en themed Fairground at Night spectacular.

The attraction, based near Liphook, entertained visitors with steam-driven rides such as the Razzle Dazzle, considered the world’s first ‘white knuckle ride,’ the Golden Gallopers, a favourite with children, carousels, steam railways and the Big Wheel.

Hollycombe’s Haunted House, the oldest in the world, which recently underwent extensive restoration, was open and ready to ‘terrify’ visitors, who also took a stroll reflecting on themselves in the famous Hall of Mirrors.

The Haunted House was built by Orton and Spooner in 1915 and acquired by Hollycombe in 1991 – quickly becoming one of its most popular attractions.

After enjoying the rides, spectators could sit back and relax in the Bioscope, a pre-cursor to the modern cinema and typical of travelling shows which first brought films to the public.

Hollycombe trustee Brian Gooding told The Herald: “Everyone loves a fairground at night.

“The atmosphere created by the lights and sounds of steam is unique and these evenings always prove to be the most popular.”

Hollycombe Steam in the Country offers visitors a nostalgic look at how Victorians and Edwardians used to enjoy themselves, featuring a number of popular fairground sideshows of the period, as well as a trip down memory lane with the sights, sounds, smells and atmosphere of a vintage fairground.

The estate also ownes a working waterwheel with an engine central to the development of steam power and the industrial revolution of the Victorian age, dating back to 1850.

The waterwheel came to Hollycombe from a farm in Bramshott, prior to which it worked in Cornwall.

Run entirely by volinteers, Hollycombe Steam will be closed during the winter and opens its doors again in April.