What a surprise to see these travellers walking their horses and old caravans through the town of Barnard Castle. You can imagine the traffic jam behind this small convoy. I asked where they were going as they passed me and the accent was so strong I only caught the words horse fair. I have heard of the Gypsy horse fairs but never seen one. The man in the lead was looking at me very sternly but I smiled and said how beautiful the horse was and he smiled back at me!!
Just a quick iPhone shot.
Another fill in shot so please don't worry about comments.
I can tell you exactly where they are going Pam - Appleby. The biggest horse fair in the country is held there. They arrive in Appleby on the first Thursday of June and used to stay till the second Thursday but now a days a lot start to go on the Monday. There are hundreds of caravans parked on Fair Hill in Appleby including these beautiful horse drawn ones. They come from far and wide. It is quite a sceptical to see. This weekend thousands of people will flock to see the Gypsies and their horses. Appleby is only 7 miles from where we live and we do not go to the town at this time because it can take us an hour and a half to get into town. If you google Appleby horse fair you will find a lot of information and pictures on line.
@shirleybankfarm thanks for the info Shirley! I can imagine how the whole road network comes to a standstill! These three caused a huge backlog through the town. It must be a sight to see!
