The best family-friendly country shows in Britain
Prize livestock, steam engines, show jumping and the finest Victoria sponge you will ever queue for. The great British country show is a proper day out, and most of the best ones happen in villages and small market towns.
1. Royal Cheshire County Show
Two days on the Cheshire Plain where the county's farming tradition meets its food obsession: supreme cattle champions, extraordinary local cheesemakers, and a show that has been held at Tabley since 1949.
See it on Villagly →2. Hurst Show and Country Fayre
The Thames-side village of Hurst holds its two-day show each late June with livestock, horticulture, show jumping and a country fayre that draws the farms and market gardens of the Loddon valley together in one of Berkshire's best-attended traditional summer events.
See it on Villagly →3. Bloxham Steam & Country Fair
Run by the Banbury Steam Society, this Oxfordshire field fills with steam engines, shire horses, tank driving and a Battle of Britain flypast.
See it on Villagly →4. Saintfield Show
81 years of County Down agriculture at Glenbrook Farm, where livestock classes run from poultry to pedigree cattle alongside craft stalls in a village show that has never forgotten why it started.
See it on Villagly →5. St Clears YFC Show
The Carmarthenshire Young Farmers' Club summer show: a bilingual, energetic all-day event combining traditional livestock classes with a lively showcase of rural Welsh community life.
See it on Villagly →6. Royal Cornwall Show
Three days of Cornwall at its most itself: cattle, cream teas, local crafts, and the Atlantic light slanting over the showground.
See it on Villagly →7. Royal Three Counties Show
Livestock, horticulture and countryside pursuits at the foot of the Malvern Hills. Three counties, one great show.
See it on Villagly →8. Kelsall Steam & Vintage Rally
One of the country's largest commercial-vehicle gatherings sprawls over 75 Cheshire acres with lawn mower racing, tractor pulling and a falconry display.
See it on Villagly →