Appleby Horse Fair

If you say "horse fair" in Cumbria, most people will think of Appleby, but in fact the event stretches far wider than that. It also lasts much longer than the first weekend in June, as people arrive and leave at the speed of a horse and bowtop caravan. 

Shoeing a horse at the fair

And it seems to get longer every year. This year the first caravans crossed the county boundary at Kirkby Lonsdale well before the end of April; that's in spite of an agreement with the authorities that roadside stopping places wouldn't be needed until the week before the fair. 

BBC Radio Cumbria's Martin Lewes, went to meet some these early arrivals to the fair, and guaged the reaction of the locals in the Sedburgh area too. Click the link below, to listen to Martin Lewes' report...