Westmorland County Show
Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor
The Westmorland County Show is an enormous traditional county fair dating back to 1799, where tourists and shoppers mix with agricultural professionals and chefs. All kinds of delicious local foodstuffs are on offer, plus horse-racing and other animal competitions. The County Show also provides agricultural training and education.
Described as ‘Miss World for sheep’, the Sheep Show introduces visitors to the different breeds of this useful animal and includes a shearing competition. There are also competitions for every other kind of farm animal – cows, pigs, horses, goats, alpacas, terriers, hounds – with rosettes to be won as the farmers and breeders and their charges go head-to-head.
Meanwhile, in the Forestry Arena, enormous Cumbrians compete with axes of all kinds, to show off their traditional skills. This includes a terrifying Speed Trial, but you can be sure these guys know what they’re doing. The Countryside Arena, similarly impressive, features a display of Cumberland and Westmoreland Wrestling – the traditional martial art of the region – plus Bird of Prey displays, Gun Dogs, Fly Casting, and Working Ferrets.
The Learning for Life Marquee showcases the work of children in the schools of South Cumbria and North Lancashire, with plenty of interactive arts and crafts displays and all sorts of things to learn about the countryside. The Women’s Institute Marquee exhibits top of the range crafts made by the older generation, who show as much grit as the kids, turning out knitted specialities, jams, and ornaments of high quality, as part of a themed competition with proceeds going to local good causes.
You’ll also find the largest all-local Food Hall in the north-west. Naturally, you can acquire real Cumberland sausage, but there’s also a range of bespoke booze. And, while some think cured meats the preserve of the Mediterranean, the specialities on offer here say different.
