Travellers head to Appleby horse fair for week-long celebrations
THE Appleby horse fair will kick off next week as travellers are already descending on Cumbria for the week-long festivities.
Families and their horses are set to arrive in their hundreds for the historical celebration on the streets of Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria.
Visitors from the Gyspy, Roma and Travelling community normally descend from miles away to attend the week-long jaunt.
Today, horsemen and women were seen heading along the A65 near Hellifield, North Yorkshire, as they made their way to the traveller meet-up.
The fair was meant to be on the first weekend of June – but the date was pushed back a week to ensure it doesn’t fall on the same weekend as the Queen’s Jubilee.
Travellers ride traditional horse and bow top carts along country roads towards the site.
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And some owners are expected to ride their horses into the River Eden as part of an Appleby tradition.
The washing of horses dates back hundreds of years when animals were cleaned and ready for selling.
In 2020, the fair was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic, but huge crowds descended on the area last year.
Glammed-up women were seen strutting down the streets of Appleby-in-Westmorland, in their finest clobber last August.
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In 2021, seven people were arrested at the annual traveller festival – but the chaos didn’t dampen spirits for the hundreds at the historical celebration.
Tens of thousands of travellers are expected to have attended the event which honours their heritage and culture.
It is the biggest traditional Gypsy fair in Europe and attracts around 20,000 Gypsies and Travellers.
Some 10,000 caravans and 30,000 visitors will gather for the week-long festival, which is usually held in June.
The fair originated in the 1770s on Gallows Hill where sheep, cattle and horse dealers went to sell their stock.
By the 1900s it had evolved into an event for Gypsies and Travellers.