Tens of thousands of travellers flock to Cumbria for first day of Appleby Horse Fair

Tens of thousands of travellers have flocked to Appleby-in-Westmorland for the first day of the world-famous four-day festival.

The Appleby Horse Fair, in Cumbria, is one of Europe’s largest horse fairs and is expected to see 30,000 visitors to the town over the next week, with 10,000 of them from the gypsy, Roma and traveller community.

Aerial photos taken on Thursday showed fields packed with caravans as gypsies arrived in convoys of traditional horses and carts for the fair. 

As the day hotted up, people were seen riding their horses in the River Eden, which runs through the town. 

The 250-year-old event is held just outside Appleby, which usually has a population of around 2,500 people. 

It happens at a crossroads point on Gallows Hill, which was named after the public hangings that were once carried out there. 

It was once thought the fair originated from a royal charter to the borough of Appleby from King James II of England in 1685, but research has found the charter was cancelled before it was ever enacted. 

The gathering is sometimes known as ‘the New Fair’ because of Appleby’s medieval borough fair, held at Whitsuntide, which stopped in 1885.

The ‘New Fair’ began in 1775 for sheep and cattle drovers and horse dealers to sell their stock. 

By the 1900s it had evolved into a major traveller event that brought families from across the UK and Europe.

Nine animal welfare charities – who are all members of the National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC) – work together at Appleby to support the protection and well-being of the horses at the event. 

The NEWC warned that because of high temperatures in the area during the fair, people were ‘being advised to make sure their horses get plenty of extra rest and rehydration to help them stay happy and healthy ‘.

RSPCA Chief Inspector Rob Melloy said: ‘The weather plays a huge role in the Fair and the forecast says it’s going to be a hot one.

‘Just as it’s important for us to drink plenty and not work too hard in hot weather, it’s important for our horses. 

‘They need to have regular access to water, be drinking after being worked and be tied up in the shade. 

‘Owners may need to have more patience than normal as horses sometimes don’t want to drink if they are in an overstimulating environment.

‘Due to the nature of any horse fair, where animals are traded, and especially given that Appleby comes off the back of Kirkby Stephen, owners may not know how much their horse has been worked beforehand so we want to encourage people to err on the safe side and not overdo it, especially in the conditions.

‘Day trippers should not be bringing their dogs to the Fair. Most people know by now that leaving a dog in a car on a hot day can be fatal but unbelievably some people still take the risk and we’ve had to rescue dogs at 14 of the past 15 events. 

‘This isn’t the only danger though, we now know that exercising your dog on a hot day can be just as hazardous, so please don’t put your pet or yourself in that position.’

Yesterday people were seen sat in the bow-top caravans being led by horses along a road in Appleby, ahead of Appleby Horse Fair which begins on Thursday.

In one photo, a man in a grey vest and jeans can be seen leading two decorated white horses pulling the caravan behind them.

And in another, two horses can be seen towing a caravan while two people sit in the caravan at the reins.

On Monday, a man, thought to be a traveller, trotted a pony into a pub ahead of the fair as stunned drinkers watched on in bewilderment.

The footage, captured at the Crown and Cushion Pub in Appleby, shows a white pony being trotted through the entrance and into a bar area filled with drinkers.

In the video, a man in a white T-shirt and shorts can be seen walking in with the pony as stunned drinkers watch on and children get up to stroke it.

It is thought the animal’s owner was hoping to secure an impromptu sale so brought it through the bar of the pub to show it off.

People living in the area have likened it to the Wild West and said there have been numerous incidents of disorder and disruption.

One onlooker said: ‘You can’t believe the audacity of these people to bring a horse trotting straight into a pub.

‘No one blames the landlord, there’s nothing he can do when his pub has been completely taken over, it’s a question of mob rule and there’s nothing he could have done.

‘It was clear that the horse was being put up for sale and was being shown off to potential buyers.

‘It’s bad enough that the streets of the town are taken over for horse trading without it happening inside our pubs as well.

‘Every year we go from a peaceful town to being overrun by drink-related disorder in the streets that make the place look like a town from the Wild West.’

Appleby Primary School will be closed on the first full day of the fair following a risk assessment over the safety of children.

There have also been claims that a travelling families have slashed open hay bales to feed horses and a new bar area will be opened in a field adjacent to the showground despite the objections of locals.

Appleby Fair Community Group (AFCG), set up by local people to oppose the ‘infliction’ of the fair, says there have already been numerous concerns reported.

The AFCG said eggs were thrown at people and passing cars, liquid chucked at people or squirted from water pistols and drunken fights often broke out on the streets of Appleby and neighbouring Kirkby Stephen.