VISITORS came from far and wide to visit a traditional agricultural show in the heart of the south Cumbrian countryside.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Black Combe Country Fair

Gleaston Village Dog Show

Barrow Park Family Fun Day

Grasmere Sports and Lakeland show

Ulverston and District Equine Club dog show

Millom and Broughton show

Cartmel Show

North Lonsdale show results

Cumbria Steam Gathering

Coniston Country Fair

Hundreds of people took their chances with the cloudy weather to see what this year’s Hawkshead Show had to offer.

With a variety of stalls offering a range of authentic Cumbrian products, visitors were spoilt for choice when looking for something special at this year’s event.

Maria Whitehead, co-owner and director of Hawkshead Relish, said she was proud to be at the event.

She said: “Hawkshead Show is an annual showcase for the Hawkshead area, bringing together the village and rural community as well as the local businesses.

“Hawkshead Relish is proud to be very much part of the community with our shop and production based here.”

In addition to the tempting stalls that surrounded the field, visitors could take advantage of the family fun and games that included a bouncy castle, zorb balls and donkey rides.

The horticultural tent was full as exhibitors flaunted their best selections of homemade cakes and breads among flower-arranging displays, artwork and vegetable and egg classes.

However, the main attraction came from the animal kingdom as exquisite horses took to the field for ridden horse classes and showjumping.

Francesca Hoggarth, from Waberthwaite near Millom, won overall show champion for her fell pony, Banksgate Brando.

She said: “I was really chuffed – what a special day.

“I’ve always had riding horses but we bought a fell pony for my husband and I just fell in love with him.

“It’s a real honour for a fell pony to get this award because they are often a little a little overlooked because of the bigger horses.

“I’m so pleased because I’m really passionate about trying to promote that breed.”

It was a successful event for farmers across the county who saw excellent results in the sheep and cattle sections.

The show’s animals were a big hit with all visitors, especially the younger members of the crowd.

Kate Hobson, from Leeds, said: “My daughter’s really excited to see the showjumping.

“We’ve been staying at the campsite opposite and when we found out what was going on we were really excited.

“These kind of things really appeal to us because there’s so much to see. It’s just another way of life.”

Mao-Mao Wu, from Bromley, Kent, also visited the show while on holiday with his in-laws from China.

He said: “We’ve never been to anything like this before – it’s quite interesting – especially for the children who get to see all the different animals.”

The show also attracted a number of more local visitors, including Noreen Whalley from Dalton.

She said: “We always come to the shows.

“We come so we can see all the riding.”

Show president, Dr Jane Rimington, was delighted by the success of the event.

She said: “It’s gone really well.

“We’ve had a lot of exhibits and the weather has been good to us.

“We seem to have had a lot of people locally as well as tourists.”

Dr Rimington believes the show is a vital part of the community.

She said: “This is one of the things that binds the community together. It allows us to showcase what we do in the Lake District and shows a bit more about what we’re about.”