Top things to do and see at The Game Fair 2017

With more than 120,000 people expected to visit the 59th Game Fair across the three day event, we've rounded up the highlights so you don't miss a thing

As the largest outdoor countryside-themed event in the world, the 59th Game Fair is set to attract around 120,000 visitors and 1,000 exhibitors to its brand new venue – Hatfield House in Hertfordshire across three days from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 July. Reaching the new venue could not be simpler, a 20-minute train journey from King’s Cross will take visitors to Hatfield station which is just five minutes’ walk from the event. Plus extra train carriages are being laid on especially.

We’ve rounded up the highlights of this year’s event for you:

High Pheasant, Grouse Butt, Pigeon Stand

If you’re looking for a challenge that is a little out of the ordinary, you need to try these three game shooting competitions. The three courses will give the clay shooter a chance to pit themselves against three of the best Shots of our generation. Simon Ward will be setting the score for the High Pheasant, Lord James Percy will do the same for the Grouse Butt and, for the new innovation for 2017, the Pigeon Stand, you’ll have to be able to keep up with none other than legendary clay and pigeon Shot, George Digweed. The challenge is simple – once the three scores have been set by Simon, Lord James and George on Friday morning, it’s up to you to match or beat them in order to have a chance of becoming High Gun. There will be great prizes up for grabs each day and there will be an overall High Gun prize for the best score across all three stands over the course of the weekend.

Champion of Champions

Held on Saturday 29 July, the Champion of Champions is a must for spectating, if you haven’t qualified. This competition, run by the CPSA, sees the top shooters from each county pitted against each other, with qualifying rounds building the tension throughout the day. Only the top 10 return for a semi-final, which is followed by a thrilling final round for the top five shooters. A great chance to watch some of the country’s finest Shots.

Colts Challenge

Another CPSA-run competition, for which shooters need to have qualified. The top 10 English Sporting shooters aged 16 or under in the country battle it out on Sunday 30 July. A great opportunity to see some of the most exciting young Shots coming up in the sport, and an inspiring experience for other young clayshooters.

The Kitchen Theatre

This year, the Cookery Theatre has been overhauled to include stories from the food producers themselves. So, if chef José Souto is giving a talk about venison, expect the deerstalker that harvested the meat to also be on stage explaining the story of the hunt. There’ll also be a Chef’s Table and bar for full enjoyment.

The Carter Jonas Game Fair Theatre, in association with The Times

This year’s schedule is packed with speakers you might not have seen before, such as Daryll Pleasants, who specialises in training dogs to help with anti-poaching efforts in Africa, or Geoff Dann, the UK’s leading expert on fungi. There will still be some meaty political debate, but there’ll also be a smattering of lighthearted talks and book signings from writers such as Christopher Somerville, author of Britain’s Best Walks.

Fishing Village

In response to visitor and exhibitor feedback, organisers have revealed radical plans for this year’s Fishing Village. For the first time in the event’s 59 years, the dedicated Fishing Village will be located in the middle of the site opposite Gunmakers’ Row, to ensure as many people as possible visit the new-look attraction. There will be two casting pools, one for expert demonstrations with key names such as Charles Jardine, Hywel Morgan and Scott Mackenzie; with the other pool for visitors wanting to tryrods-before-they-buy. Plus there will be a separate river area for have-a-go and tuition, demonstrations and casting competitions.

The Subaru Shooting Line

Run by E.J. Churchill, The Game Fair’s shooting line is Europe’s longest, at nearly 600m long. Top attractions include Rabbit Challenge Pool Shoot, 25 Sportrap, 50 English Sporting Course, Champion of Champions and Colts Challenge.

Airgun Expo

This year, the Fair has partnered with Air Arms to deliver its Air Arms Experience,