Give your honest opinion on Appleby fair !

Be as honest as you can as its important for the future of Appleby Horse Fair!

Did you enjoy this years event?
What would you like to see changed or is it fine as it is?
Do you think it can ever be returned to the golden days of the past!

I think the fair gotten too big and needs fewer stalls

sad ta see gypsy fair messed up should nar have bin alowed to get like this i recon best hold it in january the cold weather wil sort the real gypsies art from rest of um cos only the travellers wil stick it art. it will also get shut of half the crap stals to. better than noffin the way its goin. bok pal

This year it was like walking round Blackpool front with a load of stag nights on, the stalls have spoilt it and attract the wrong type of folki, all the old faces don't come anymore and the police walking round with rubber bullet guns no wonder! Stopping the grais being rode and drove down the high street has spoiled the buzz of it, and the wooden barriers they have put up down the Flash are an accident waiting to happen, it needs someone a real traveller to take the reins and guide Appleby back to what it once was! Englands best horse fair we don't need quantity there just quality.

i Have only been visiting the appleby fair in the recent years. however i do attend with fellas who have never missed the fair in some sixty years. The general impression formed is that the fair cant be closed due to the charter. But it seems that the way things are going due to the behaviour of the minority all that is required is to sit back and wait for a tragic climax, resulting in closure or at best driving all the good folk away.
From my point of view it would be a terrible shame if the Appleby fair were to close and also stow. I have a great interest in wagons and horsedrawn vehicles and attending the fairs is a must. I have learned so much from attending these events and got to know some very genuine people.

keep it going and sort it all out thats what should happen once its gone it gone

more horses less people = less police

It is so sad to see yet another old tradition dying out before our eyes. I have some kalo rattie as my grandmother was a pure Romani. I have been to Appleby twice, and met and got to know some of the tacho Roms, the real Gypsies, and a better people you cannot find. I have also read much about Appleby during waggon time.

Sadly it is the modern world that has killed off the traditional Gypsy way of life. Land development, urbanization and increasing regulation have deprived the Gypsies of their freedom and their ability to earn a living.

Appleby may have turned into a giant Sunday market, but at least it still exists. It is great to see the old vardos there even if the atmosphere seems more like a steam or vintage car rally, but consisting of preserved waggons. What may well ultimately close Appleby is the local authorities saying they can't afford to meet the cost of organizing it any more.

It is therefore important that the fair should be preserved as a part of the national culture and heritage, and not allowed to die. It is equally important that Gypsy culture is preserved and people educated about it.

Many of those who object to the fair are not locals but wealthy folk from the cities who have second homes in the area and don't like the congestion etc. But the fair was there long before they arrived and will hopefully still be there long after they have gone.

what does it matter if they have a future or not the countries f----d anyway why should these fair be any different. but they were great when they were smaller and with their charactors, you will not see that again.

I'm American and my family has been horse traders in the Kansas/Missouri area as far back as we can trace our history. My sister and I both learned to ride about the same time we started learning to walk and have been doing the AQHA & Arabian show circuits for years along with rodeos here and there.

I first started seeing Vanners & Drums about ten or so years ago at competitions. I'm not sure when or how I learned about Appleby fair but I have wanted to see it for a long time now.

As owning a horse became less of a necessity and more of a status symbol my family has had to adapt to this change. Sometime in the 40s and 50s my grand parents stopped selling horses and mules to farmers and started selling trained horses to circuses. My father and his partner catered to the rodeo crowd and started dealing Arabians and Quarter Horses. I imagine that the same changes that affected the horse trade in my country also affected the Appleby Fair.

This is simply my own opinion, but I feel like in order to survive sometimes you have to adapt to what is going on around you. Why not try to revive this as a legitimate equestrian affair and try to model it more along the lines of a serious horse show rather than a country fair.

been to appleby for years for the horses and to catch up with family and friends
but appleby is dying and it needs the cancer taking out
yes you have police with guns but on the other hand you have drug dealers etc firing guns and using swords at each other driving up and down with their music full blast early in the morning now alot of people are saying there not going or their not taking the kids because its only a matter of time before a kiddy is shot dead they have wrecked the fair and i know its not all down to travelllers

Hello I am 47 years old and have visited the fair for most of them years. The fair is an annual gathering for genuine Romany and travelling people alike. I truley beleive that the fair should go on in the traditional ways. However the fair has changed over the years not for the better, to many people driving 4x4's with music playing, The washing out and trotting of the horse has some what changed, "My horse it better than yours" attitude, come on guys settle down have fun and lets have a deal like the old days, it's only once a year enjoy it! make the most of what you have.
Fred3156

I have been reading all the comments with interest. Four generations of our family have travelled to Appleby Horse Fair to peddle goods, this is part of the tradition of the old fairs, hawkers & pedlars, however these days we sell from market stalls.
My father in law used to sell his coloured cobs & fancy pots from his wagon on Fair Hill until the fair slowly changed and he sold his wares from the market field. 15 years ago he died whilst trading at the Fair, tables of fancy cups in front of the wagon & half a dozen dealing horses tied at the back! We have continued his legacy since.
The fair has changed in those last 15 years, we used to sit out at night, soaking the atmosphere, listening to the flash, meeting old friends. Our children so looked forward to going. The last couple of years have been a nightmare at night on the Fair field, youngsters driving up and down in 4x4's and a general lack of respect for the traditions & ways of the fair. Two fit men taking each other on in the traditional bare knuckle way is one thing, machetes, guns and swords are another and I can understand why the Police presence is overpowering. It is the wildness of this younger generation that has contributed to the fair traders packing up and leaving earlier each year, 15 years ago the Tuesday was the busiest day, every one stopped for the trots.......the buses used to come on the Tuesday too, two years ago we left on the Monday, last year we left on the Sunday,
I am going to the fair this year & hopefully still selling my fancy pots but for the first time in 20 years am not camping on the field, I now consider it too dangerous. However my children will stop with some horse dealing boys on the other side of the flash as there never seems to be as much trouble up there.
Its first & foremost a Horse fair, without the dealing boys & the waggon men there would be no fair, secondly where you get a gathering of folk, the trades will peddle their wares and for hundreds of years this has worked hand in hand, a time to purchase pots and pans, china and glassware, special clothes for the little ones but I do agree the stalls at the back of the market field are more like a sunday market, you used to buy goods at Appleby that you couldnt buy anywhere else....and that was good.
So lets just get some old fashioned respect back........from every person at the fair for what ever reason they happen to be there............so we can all enjoy it again!

why are some people are some people out to ruined all our romany gypsy ways and our culture the fair as been there for hundreds of years and its a shame that some people dont appreciate what thay got.its a hard life being a traveller today the same old prejudice are still there many of us are settled down now to the gorger way of live with our houses and our drive ways shools for the chavvies . but still its the same drity gypsy / pokies diddikoy . it dont matter how u can try to be a gorger u can still see the needey in your salfe its in our blood if your a true gypsy there only so much we as a gypsy people can bend to pleses this soctety to day. i under stand needs have changed but leave the old fairs alone its part of our history horses wagon trailers trucks dealing the good life

applby is tip of the iceberg ant it. The truth is aint it. It's all about money and we lost over things important. And we aint lernd anything from past and hisdtory. Its juss a gorgous car boot sale. Should be a day for stalls and lovy traditionol stiffs. Kind times and warmf. Now its only rippin and robbing as best us can. Keeps markets away from the horses as far as possible. an folks should keep horses awayfrom stalls to. We can be modern an organisd and keep cultur alive. Im ashamed that so many trashers still dont treat horses right and respect em. No wonder RSPCA is on us all the tim to. So many people hates us cos we dont respsk them and so they dont respeck us. Why aint we learnd from the past why? There was kids rud and fowl mouthed to gorgos women and families. I saw and heard it. som of you oldeer uns to are like gangsters, and behavor genral is embarasing for a lot of us who know beter and car e about the old ways when we spoke well to us and othvers we beter chang or wed have nothing left. K B Albert.

fanks to you. you hit the nail on its head. Speaking the truth was out off fashun but MRSL is a good un. fnks. PS my great grand pa and grand pa Thomas david Vickers traded horses ther and his bruvver went on to build travelers wagons. some off us will nkow the name. K B. notrot.

sorry but it shows us you dont understand us peoples at all. The old moo n al turn to chees befor you see on e ov us in a top hat trotting a paso fino to muzik! what is yuo a fink in off '? We are struglin to keep far as psible from control. CHANG for us is like when your cowboy saw barbdb wirre across the plans of ur west. We do not hold with wires, control or being organised but only just as familys. you see r we are your red indians an we aint for contolin an we aint and cant chang. see if we do we wil be jus like you. hop not to insult you but fink again sir ! PS me grand pa worked wid american mules an cowboy GI whn they was comin off th e ship from america dutring ww2. missouri men was the best mule men. we had 200.000 mules from america then for hour army and the chindits . K B.

IT IS ABSOLUTLEY RIDICULOUS THE AMOUNT OF POLICE AND RSPCA OFFICERS THAT WAS AT THE FAIR THIS YEAR. THEY MUST BE TRYING TO STOP THE FAIR ALL TOGETHER AND RUIN THE GYPSY CULTURE AND THE ATMOSPHERE AT THE FAIR. THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE ARRESTED FOR NOTHING AND THE HORSES TOOK AWAY FOR NOTHING AND THE PEOPLE AND ANIMALS HARRASED BY OFFICERS FOR NOTHING IS DISGRACEFUL AND SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT IT! I JHOPE SOMEBODY DOES DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND STOPS ALL THIS HARRASMENT OVER NOTHING !

Travelled by waggon to Fell End [Cote Moor] without problem. I checked the facts beforehand and was pleased with the efforts (long overdue) to protect the traditional ways. I heard and saw Billy Welch on the Sunday and while we have such representation we have nothing to fear.

Spot on Albert. I visited Stow horse fair years ago, and I loved it. I've always been interested in gypsy life, and, truth be told, I envy you your culture. So I'm a sympathetic gorjer. But you've got to tidy up these places! Treat the locals with respect and you'll be treated with more respect. I know there'll always be some that are prejudiced - sod them - but there's plenty that would be a lot more supportive if there weren't so much mess. Maybe gorjer festivals have just as much mess as traveller ones, and I'm sure a lot of the mess at the horse fairs is from visiting gorjers, but I think Albert's hit the nail on the head in that gorjer festivals have organisers who take responsibility for parking, tidying etc etc. It's not on to leave all this to local councils and then moan when they want to close the fairs. I really hope you keep the fairs going, but it's up to the traveller community to make it happen.

As for the complaints about too many RSPCA - I agree with you. I don't like bad treatment of animals, so I treat animals well: we keep chickens and pigs and I try to always buy free-range; but that doesn't mean I see fit to get dressed in a uniform and go round telling other people how to treat their own animals.

(by the way I've seen lots of different spellings and pronunciations of gorjer/gadjo/gorgi - does it vary with region or what? which is most widely used in UK?)

This is a site relating to the fair, it is not Facebook

i am a Canadian , that is quite interested in the vardo traditions, and the caravan as a historical vehicle . What is happening ? Is it not acceptable in England to gather for a historical & recreational event such as this? Should i worry that we won't be welcome to peacefully celebrate the caravan 's historical signifigance?

As a photographer It was a pleasure for me to photograph this fantastic fair. It is truly a meeting point of a vast culture and should be encouraged. We live in a world too dominated by sameness and featureless people. what we need is more chareccters and more tales to inspire rather than more drones in suits telling us we should all be the same. The fair is definitley the hub of the travelling society and I met many interesting and genuine people there so please encourage its continued appearance.

a great horse fair, where all travelers gipsys meet up for a great week, and many gorgers non travlers, come to look, and have a great day travlers from all over the world gather at this fair so many good fairs have now deminished or gone altogether, like musselburgh closed, st bosswells very few go now to this this, is a fair for the young travlin boys and girls to see each other, and the older ones to see there friends and relations, sometimes only once a year they see each, other this fair should be kept running as the good points outweigh the bad, great fair of a culture dying out, but i might add there will always be gipsys, we are proud of our culture and although we have moved on, our traditions stay the same, even with the young, we bring them up that way to know our heretage, for a small community, travlers must be one of the richest small minorities in the world, as many travlers now have moved from rags to riches, you just need to look around appelby fair , bentleys , mercedes , range rovers all in one little comunity we will survive no matter what . looking forward to 2011 appelby ,

drop a big bomb on appleby fair,weeeeeeooooooossssssshhhh,BOOOOOOOOOLMMM!!!!!,problem solved.