appleby Fair 2008

The annual horse fair in Appleby exists under a charter granted by James ll in 1685. It is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom. For a week in June around 25,000 gypsy and traveller people from the UK and Ireland gather to buy and sell horses, meet friends and generally have a good time.

Horses and ponies are washed and exercised in the river Eden under the trained eyes of RSPCA officers. On Flashing Lane adjacent to the temporary caravan park at Fairhill, horses are raced at high speed for fun and for when being shown off to perspective buyers.

Meanwhile, the young girls in their brightly coloured best , Sporting permatans and the shortest of skirts and shorts, brighten up the town the young lads and the tourists.