COUNTRYSIDE-lovers donned their finest tweed for the 65th anniversary of the Game Fair at Ragley Hall.
Billed as “Glastonbury for the green welly brigade”, this year’s Game Fair – from Friday (July 28) to Sunday (July 30) – marked its sapphire anniversary and as usual, did not disappoint.
Crowds piled in to experience the mammoth countryside celebration, complete with clay pigeon shooting, stalls, falconry demonstrations, top game-themed cuisine and even the odd celebrity face to spot.
First held in 1958, the annual event is not tied to just one location – it has been hosted at 28 different country estates over the years in all four corners of Britain, from Hampshire to County Durham and Powys to Dumfriesshire.
No other game fair has been running as long as the Game Fair and none are as large. It spans 450 acres and regularly attracts 120,000 visitors as well as 1,000 exhibitors. People travel the length and breadth of Britain to go there.
The much-loved event is a one-stop-shop for fieldsports, both for seasoned pros wanting to chew the cud with colleagues and rookies looking to have a go for the first time.
And more and more well-known celebrities are publicly putting their names to the event. TV chef James Martin was once again the face of the on-site restaurant. Lifelong fisherman, river campaigner and comedian Paul Whitehouse hosted the Sunday lunch and Mancunian actor, angler and environmentalist Jim Murray was there to promote Activist Anglers.
There was even a cameo from Vinnie Jones.
