Exhibition showcases Newcastle's Town Moor 'Hoppings'

An exhibition celebrating the 135th anniversary of what is billed as the largest travelling funfair in Europe has opened in Newcastle.

The annual June event - known as the Hoppings, after an old English word for dance - features more than 300 rides, sideshows, and other amusements.

The Discovery Museum exhibition explores the fair's history and the lives of the travelling showmen.

Visitors will also be able to play on vintage slot machines.

The gathering began as a Temperance Fair in 1882, in what was seen as an antidote to the Newcastle Races which had, up to then, been held on the Town Moor.

Through the years, generations of travelling families from all round the country have taken part in what is believed to be the largest such event in Europe, and it continues to attract tens of thousands of visitors.

The Discovery Museum exhibition - which runs until 1 October - features more than 50 vintage working amusement machines, from What the Butler Saw (early moving pictures) to pinball and fruit machines, which visitors can play using old pennies purchased from the museum.

Carolyn Ball, Museum Manager said: "The Hoppings is firmly placed in Tyneside's events calendar and has been loved by people in the area for generations.

"The exhibition will celebrate the history of the famous fair and visitors can step back in time and have a go on lots of rare vintage amusement machines."