Woolsery, short for Woolfardisworthy is a small village close just inland from Clovelly. Their agricultural show, going for over 100 years used to be held just outside the village, but these days it is held at Clovelly Court, a beautiful stately home with views across Bideford Bay (on a good day that is!).
I love Woolsery Show, still a proper Agricultural show with stock shows and big tractors, plus of course the trade stands, a food marquee and a craft tent which is where you will find me on show day. It seems to me that the standard weather for most shows is wet and windy, mud is quite often included in the show attractions (I went to a North Devon Show a few years ago held on the old show ground just outside Torrington and it was a proper mud bath, great fun!). This year Woolsery was also a tad muddy, but it was the winds that gave the most entertainment, gusting between 40 – 50 mph! All the craft tent exhibitors turned up (eventually) but many of the outside stands didn’t, just too windy for a little gazebo. Now as you know I am used to setting up my stall under a gazebo, do it every Friday, but on Monday last week I was very glad to be in a big steel framed marquee, mind you even that ‘sung’ in the wind and rattled and shook, sometimes quite alarmingly, but never took off! The organisers did a great job of getting the stallholders and sellers into the ground to set up, even the poor folks without 4 wheel drive vehicles who had to park at the entrance to the show ground and either walk their kit in or in many cases the organisers helped out by ferrying people in their 4X4’s. Thankfully I have a landnrover, so was able to get in and out without too much sliding about, some of the bigger vehicles though weren’t so lucky and had to be towed in/out of the showground, I have a lovely picture taken at the end of the day with a tractor towing another tractor towing a lorry, brilliant. 🙂
Despite the conditions (the sun came out in the end) lots of people came to visit the show and everyone enjoyed the day. I love the heavy horses and got a few (slightly blurry as couldn’t keep my camera steady in the wind) photos of these beautiful creatures.
Looking forward to next year already. Thank you Woolsery Show for another great event, see you next July.
