Clarence Pier

File:Southsea Clarence Pier.jpg

Clarence Pier.

Clarence Pier is an amusement pier in Portsmouth, Hampshire. It is located next to Southsea Hoverport. Unlike most seaside piers in the UK, the pier does not extend very far out to sea and instead goes along the coast.

The pier was originally constructed in 1861 and boasted a regular ferry service to the Isle of Wight. It was damaged by air raids during World War II and opened in its current form in 1961.

The main entrance to the pier from the road is via a striking pavilion building with distinctive yellow and blue cladding and a small tower. This originally housed an amusement arcade and cafe although in more recent years, the upper floor has variously been used for "Pirate Pete's" indoor children's playground, a Wimpy bar while the 'Golden Horseshoe' amusement arcade and Coffee Cup (originally a prize bingo hall) remain on the ground floor.

A smaller building, perpendicular but not physically joined to the main pavilion houses another amusement arcade, the "Clarence Pier" (Originally called "Wheel Of Fortune") and some small gift shops. The upper floor was originally used as a public house, but in 1994 it was converted into 'Jurassic 3001', a futuristic dinosaur themed dark ride. The ride's exterior featured an animatronic triceratops, whose head protruded from the side of the building and roared occasionally at passers-by. The attraction closed in 2001, yet all ride signage and theming on the building remained until the end of 2011. The upper floor space previously occupied by this ride underwent a conversion to apartments, according to planning publications, in 2012.

A Building at the side of the Funfair houses an arcade called "Games Wharf" and "The Boat House" (originally another Coffee Cup).

The main funfair operates on a free admission, pay-per-ride token-based system. In the early 1980s, the amusement park was named "Fun Acres" and as well as the whole pier itself, it also took up 3500 sq metres of land or so to the North West of the Northern part of the pier. This part of the park was cleared and redeveloped as Another arcade called "Southsea Island Leisure", The Clarence Pier Public House, a crazy golf course and a Premier Inn during the 1990s, therefore the park itself is significantly smaller than it used to be. The old part of the park contained the 56-seat Corbiere Spherical Ferris Wheel and a ghost train among other attractions. The token booths were shaped as mushrooms.

File:Clarence Pier as viewed from gosport.JPG

The pier viewed from gosport

One of the main landmarks of Clarence Pier until the mid-1990s was the Super Loop ride, since removed. The Ferris wheel was sold and relocated to Pleasureland Southport. One ride which lasted the duration and remains to this day is the Skyways roller coaster. A new addition to the pier is a pirate-themed crazy golf course situated behind the Clarence Pier arcade.

"Mind The Baby, Mr. Bean", an episode of British TV comedy series "Mr. Bean" was filmed on location at Clarence Pier (as well as other locations in Southsea). This was prior to the closure of the North Western part of the park and the closure of the Wheel Of Fortune public house. The episode shows the Super Loop, Skyways roller coaster, and many of the park's other attractions from that time. Clarence Pier was also the filming location to the teen pop band, "S Club Juniors" song, "Fool No More" filmed mainly on the dodgems but the rollercoaster, 'Skyways' can also be seen in the video.

Attractions

Operating

Name	Opened	Description
Solent Wheel	2016	Clarence Pier's Newest ride is a 110 ft wheel located next to the waltzer.
Flying Dumbos	2015	an Arial Carousel ride themed as elephants.
Air Balloon Ride	2011	A flying and spinning ride themed as balloons. It was originally located near Skyways, but was relocated next to the Speedy Coaster and Dodgems for the 2016 season.
Speedy Gonzales/Speedy Coaster	2011	A Junior Coaster themed as the Looney Tunes character Speedy Gonzales.
Balloon Wheel	2010	a Ferris Wheel themed as Balloons. Was originally located in the space between the Waltzer/Twister and the now-removed Formula 2000, but was moved next to the back of the Golden Horseshoe arcade to make way for the Solent Wheel.
Skyways	1981	A Galaxi Roller Coaster. Today it remains the oldest ride at Clarence Pier that is still standing.
Twister	Unknown	A traditional Twister Ride.
Carousel	1990's	A traditional Carousel.
Dodgems	Unknown	a traditional Bumper Cars ride.
Sky Trail/Pier Pressure	2011	A High Ropes Course.
Tea Cups	Unknown	A small Teacups ride with 5 cups seating upto four children each. This set underwent a major renovation for the 2016 season with the addition of the Disney artwork.
Waltzer	Unknown	A traditional Waltzer.
Circus Train	2016	A Juvenile train ride with a locomotive and three carriages. This is the first ride at the pier to be operated via a remote control unit, carried by the person operating the ride.

Former Attractions

Name	Opening	Removal	Description
Breakdance	2015	2016	A traditional Breakdance ride. It was owned by an independent operator who sited the ride at the pier for the 2015 season. The Balloon Wheel, the Air Balloon Ride and the Tea Cups are now located where the Breakdance was.
Flying Kiddie Cars	2015	2016	A spinning car ride which was located next to the Breakdance. It was owned by the same operator as the Breakdance and both rides were opened and removed in the same year.
Formula 2000	2002	2016	A car ride for younger guests. Was removed in 2016 to make way for the Solent Wheel.
Swing Tower	2013	2015	A mini Swing Tower. was removed in 2015 and was replaced with a Breakdance.
Extreme Rotor	2012	2014	A Rotor.
Mega Dance	2012	2013	A breakdance. Was replaced with Swing Tower in 2013.
Toon Town Express	Unknown	2012	A kiddy ride themed as trains.
Jets	2011	2012	A small flying planes ride.
FEAR	2011	2012	A touring Horror House.
Walking Waters	2011	2012	Unknown attraction.
Disko	2005	2011	A Disko Ride. The ride was removed in 2011 and the Dodgems have moved into the Disko's place.
The Cyclone	2007	2011	A unique ride with peddels which makes the ride go 360 Degrees.
Chair-O-Planes	2009	2010	a swing ride.
Tri Star	2009	2010	An tristar attraction. Replaced The Extreme and was replaced by the Balloon Wheel in 2010.
Wild River	2000	2010	A traditional travelling Log Flume. The ride was removed in 2010 and the area where it was left empty for a year. Sky Trail and Speedy Gonzales are now in place of this.
The Extreme	2007	2009	A Breakdance type ride. Replaced The Power Tower and was replaced by a Tri Star in 2009.
The Power Tower	2001	2007	A Drop tower which was the tallest spring tower ride in Europe. Was replaced by The Extreme in 2007.
Paratrooper	unknown	2005	An paratrooper ride.
The Bounce	2003	2004	An Ariel Carousel type ride.
Grand National	2003	2004	A ride where guests operate horses on a guided track.
Its A Small World	2001	2002	A dark ride which took guests through various scenes of different countries around the world. The ride is unrelated to the Disney ride of the same name.
Jumping Star	unknown	2002	A small drop tower.
Magic Ring	unknown	2002	A small kiddy car ride.
Monster Express	unknown	2002	A haunted house like attraction.
Octopus	unknown	2002	A small Carousel type ride themed as an octopus.
Jungle Train	unknown	2002	A train ride.
Wave Rave	unknown	2002	A 'Miami' ride.
Big Wheel	1964	2001	A typical Big Wheel. Was removed in 2001 and was relocated to Pleasureland Southport.
Jurassic 3001	1994	2001	A dark ride themed on the premise of dinosaurs returning from extinction in the year 3001. (Also referred to as 'Jurassic 3001 A.D.' on ride signage). This was housed on the second floor of the Wheel of Fortune (Now Clarence Pier) arcade. The facade included a robotic triceratops that roared at guests passing by. The ride closed in 2001, but all theming remained on the building until 2012. The space where the attraction used to be is now apartments.
Aeroplanes	late 60s?	unknown	Aeroplanes you can control (up/down) spinning round a globe.

Ferris wheel proposals

The Solent Eye Ferris wheel was proposed by Billy Manning Ltd for Clarence Pier in 2007. On 17 October, permission for a 130-foot tall (40 m) wheel was granted, but two days later it was revealed that Portsmouth City Councillors wished the wheel was bigger. As a result, the original plans, which were for a 180-foot tall (55 m) wheel, were revived and conditional planning permission subsequently granted on 19 December 2007. It was expected to cost £2 million. The plans were scrapped because the wheel was too large. In 2015, a revived plan for a 110 ft wheel was sent. It was approved and will open in Easter 2016.

External links

• Official website