Appleby Horse Fair
The largest gathering of Gypsies and Travellers in Europe, where 10,000 Roma and Traveller families bring hundreds of horse-drawn caravans and 1,000 horses to the Eden Valley town of Appleby for a week of trading, washing horses in the river and living traditions unchanged for centuries.
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"The combined agricultural show for the Brough and Kirkby Stephen area showcases the sheep farming traditions of the Cumbrian Dales, with horticulture, vintage machinery, and livestock classes in the dramatic Upper Eden valley."
Brough and Kirkby Stephen Agricultural Show
"The Fellside Royal since 1864, a pure Eden Valley agricultural show in a remote Cumbrian village with sheepdog trials, fell races, quoits, children's fancy dress and the quiet pride of hill farming families on show."
Dufton Agricultural Show
"The 120th year of this tiny, utterly traditional Lakeland show at the foot of Helvellyn, with open sheepdog trials, foxhound and terrier judging and a fell race while the ancient sound of Cumbrian dialect fills the valley."
Patterdale Dog Day
"Since 1852 the Showfield at Grasmere has hosted Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling, fell guides racing, hound trailing and tug-of-war on the August Bank Holiday Sunday, and in 2026 entry is completely free."
Grasmere Sports
"Two September days at Crooklands, where Cumbria's livestock and rural skills are given the space they deserve, Herdwick sheep competing in the ring with the Lake District fells as the weather behind them."
Westmorland County Show
"Crabs (crab apples, thrown from a cart) in the morning, greasy pole and hound trailing through the day, and in the evening competitors push their faces through a horse collar to achieve the most grotesque expression possible, since 1267."
Egremont Crab Fair and World Gurning Championships
Villagly Award · Best Gurn in the UK ✦ Weird and Wonderful"For nine days every August this Wharfedale village fills its gardens, walls and doorways with handmade scarecrows, and half the fun is the treasure hunt of finding them all."
Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival
✦ Weird and Wonderful"More than 70 scarecrows on a single themed trail wind through a Pendle Hill village each August Bank Holiday, with hot food, children's quizzes and a raffle raising funds for the local hall and church."
Higham Scarecrow Festival
"A tiny Northumberland hamlet between Alnwick and Craster springs to life each August Bank Holiday with a scarecrow trail quiz, tombola, sausage sizzle and refreshments raising funds for the village hall and church."
Rennington Scarecrow Festival
"A Lune valley village fills its lanes with themed scarecrows for two weeks, ending in a fair on the green."
Wray Scarecrow Festival
"One of Cheshire's best-preserved black-and-white timber-framed villages runs an annual scarecrow trail through its lanes and cottage gardens, where the handmade figures compete for prizes and the village itself, looking entirely unchanged since the Elizabethan period, provides a backdrop that no other scarecrow trail in England can match."
Great Budworth Scarecrow Trail
"The world's first Fairtrade town fills its independent high street with fairy-tale scarecrows placed by residents themselves, finishing with a funfair finale at the sports club."
Garstang Summer Festival and Scarecrow Trail