Western Daily Press (Saturday)
> The horse-shoeing competition at the Bath & West Festival which this year has taken the place of the annual show.
AFTER an absence of more than two years, large crowds gathered at the Royal Bath and West Showground for traditional country entertainment yesterday.
Although the livestock classes were absent at the Royal Bath and West Festival, it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of visitors to the showground near Shepton Mallet.
The Bath and West Country Festival was arranged as a late summer event to make up for the main show being cancelled for the second successive year.
The three-day Bank Holiday event attracted visitors with a wide array of the food and drink for which the West is renowned and a host of entertainment for all the family.
Legendary cricket commentator Henry Blofeld was on the microphone for the Pet Paralympics and there were no shortage of displays to enthral visitors young and old, including blacksmiths, sheep shearers, steam engines and daredevil motorcyclists. While the prize cattle that have traditionally drawn crowds will have to wait for their return to the showground, there was a smaller farm area, with poultry and alpacas among the animals present.
The main reason that many people will have been visiting the showground this year is to get their Covid vaccine and there was a pop-up vaccination clinic on site yesterday for those who haven’t yet had two jabs.
While some people may have been a little nervous and apprehensive before having their jab, that wasn’t a feeling shared by the judges in the cheese and cider tents, who were preparing to tackle their task with a certain degree of relish.
■ The Bath and West Country Festival continues today and tomorrow. Tickets can be bought via bathandwest.com to be printed at home or downloaded to a mobile phone or bought for higher prices on the door.