Rural Past Times is a family-friendly country show held on the second weekend of August as it has done for the past nine years. This year’s event, held on August 10 and 11, was the last time it will be held at Pestalozzi Village as the property has recently changed hands and the organisers are looking to secure an alternative venue.
The purpose of the show, which runs for two days, is to provide an insight into the history of farming through the ages, as well as rural crafts, handicrafts and cottage industries associated with the agricultural community.
The weather this year was unpredictable and windy with threats of downpours which thankfully on Saturday at least, failed to materialise. The organisers put a huge amount of effort into making the event an enjoyable and safe place to be and with plenty of parking and a very reasonable entrance fee of £6 it was very good value for money.
High above the exhibitors, overlooking the whole event were two 40ft poles, erected especially for the occasion and with the opportunity for anyone to have a go at scaling them with ropes and safety harnesses. It wasn’t for the faint hearted but many achieved the climb to the top, the reward being a toot on an air horn to mark their success.
There were sheep and duck races, a varied selection of tractors which proudly meandered around the arena, military and agricultural vehicles, heavy horses, live chainsaw sculpturing, a ploughing match, traction engines, dog show, live music and various rural crafts on display.
The site is sloping but thankfully a tractor and trailer ride toured the site which made getting about so much easier, the kids loved it, nearly as much as the mums and dads.
As well as the beer tent there were stands and stalls catering for all culinary tastes and it was noticeable how clean the whole site was as visitors automatically dropped their rubbish into the many crane bags dotted around the site.
Despite the windy weather and the threat of rain it was a really enjoyable day out, so nice to do something with the family which didn’t involve computers, mobile phones or technology.
Hats off to the organisers for creating such a successful event, thanks too to all the contributors, many of whom had driven long distances and spent, time, money and plenty of effort getting there and helping to set it all up.
Next year’s venue will be announced at some future point. Don’t forget to mark it in your diaries if you missed it this year, the date of the second weekend in August will hopefully remain.
Image Credits: Nick Forman .