Game Fair - game on!
After a two-year absence, one of the greatest and grandest countryside events is back with a bang. Philip Reynolds hears what’s in store
The Game Fair is back and in rude health. That’s the upbeat message from James Gower, the fair’s managing director. He said that Europe’s largest outdoor countryside festival will be better than ever when it returns to Ragley Hall in Warwickshire over the weekend of Friday 23 to Sunday 25 July.
Mr Gower said that ticket sales were 400% ahead of schedule and that following the cancellation of last year’s show because of the coronavirus pandemic there was a pentup demand and passion for the fair, which he said was “gearing up to be a once-in-ageneration event”.
Certainly the 120,000 visitors expected at Ragley over the weekend are in for a treat, with myriad attractions provided by more than 230 new exhibitors.
To whet your appetite there is the Shooting Line, part of the most comprehensive outdoor shooting exhibition to be found in the UK. The ground is run by E. J. Churchill and whether you are an experienced Gun or novice shot there will be something to test your abilities on the have-a-go stands, plus demonstrations from experts. A team from BASC will be on hand to provide lessons and the CPSA will be offering you a chance to bust 10 clays with an instructor.
In keeping with our environmentally conscious times, visitors will also be able to try out the latest lead-free sustainable shotgun cartridges.
Naturally shooters will want to keep their four-legged friends sweet and take in the scurry, pick-up and scramble events. They may even espy some glory and enter the Gundog Working Test Challenge, new for 2021 and aimed at amateurs, with an prize of £2,000 for two overall winners.
Your field companion may, however, regard such as a busman’s holiday and prefer to walk around the Game Fair Gardens, look at some Traditional Crafts, do a bit of shopping, hope for some handouts from the James Martin onsite restaurant or have their two penn’orth worth with Charlie Jacoby of the Fieldsports Channel in the Carter Jonas Game Fair Theatre. Then there is the Katara International sponsored Falconry Village, with a large selection of birds of prey.
If this has not exhausted everybody by now and the lucky ones are contemplating a bit of shut-eye on the glamping site, you should allow for one more treat if you are there on Saturday night (24 July). In the open-air cinema there will be a special showing of John Macnab, a dramatisation of John Buchan’s novel about three high-flying poachers.
You will then be free to relax with a sundowner after this but only if you remember to buy your tickets first. And, talking of which, the Game Fair has announced a special deal whereby if you buy a ticket for two days you get the third free, a considerable saving, especially for families.
What are you waiting for? See you there.