The four-day show at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate started today.

All 140,000 tickets are sold out, with 35,000 visitors expected each day.

Here's a look back at what happened on day one.

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5.32pm: Smooth departure

Vehicles are leaving the car park without any problems. It is muddy here and definitely bring your boots or wellies if you're coming on other days. But there's no problem getting around.

It's the best part of the day now with lots of people milling around and enjoying the occasion before the official closing time of 6pm. 

5.21pm: Fine end to wet day

Spot the difference in the two photos below. The first was taken in driving rain this morning. The last couple of hours have been dry and feels about 10 degrees warmer. 

4.01pm: Local craft beers make show debut

Three local independent breweries have joined forces to run a craft beer bar at the Great Yorkshire Show for the first time.

Daleside, Harrogate Brewing Co and Turning Point are serving customers in the ever-popular food hall. Each brewery has provided three ales so customers have a choice of nine, plus a cider.

Harrogate Brewing Co owner Joe Joyce said having craft ales introduced a new element to the show and appealed particularly to younger people.

One of the Daleside bar tenders even had the surname 'Beer' when we dropped by.

Separately, Theakston occupies the large space at the back of the food hall that for years was run by fellow Masham brewery Black Sheep.

The picture below shows (from right) Aron McMahon, Turning Point director, Jess De Beer (Daleside bar tender), Joe Joyce and Julie Joyce (Harrogate Brewing Co owners). The woman on the left vanished to serve a customer before we could get her name.

3.24pm: Burst main fixed!

Good news for traffic leaving the showgroud tonight. The burst water main on Rudding Lane at the junction with Crimple Lane has been fixed. The lights have been removed and the road is now fully open.

3.12pm: Car park update

The rain has eased to a light drizzle but overall it's been very wet. We've had a wander to check on the state of the car park and although it's wet, there are no signs of cars having trouble getting in and out at this stage. The forecast is drier tomorrow before rain returns for the final two days.

1.54pm: NFU outlines key issues facing Harrogate district farmers

The Stray Ferret has spoken with Angela Kirkwood (pictured above), a council representative for the York East region for the National Farmers Union, in the NFU tent here at the showground.

On a day of torrential rain, it seemed appropriate that climate change featured high on her list. We also asked her what farmers can do to reduce pollution in the River Nidd and River Ouse. 

You can read the interview here.

1.17pm: Car parks 'extremely wet'

It has been raining all day and although there are no reports of vehicles getting stuck in the car parks the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the famring charity which organises the show, has urged visitors leaving this afternoon to "be aware that the car parks are extremely wet".

In a post on social media, it added: "Please take care returning to your vehicles and drive very carefully until you are on a hard surface. Please be patient as our car parking stewards are working to keep you moving as safely and quickly as possible in the conditions."

12.18pm: Ripon Farm Services showcases new combine

It would be a lie to say the rain has lifted but it has got lighter. Definitely a good day to sell ponchos and umbrellas.

Show regular Ripon Farm Services is showcasing its ultra-wide T5 combine. Elsewhere, the food hall is proving as popular as ever and the WI stand, unsurprisingly, has a queue for food.

10.36am: Car parks coping with rain

The heavy rain brings back memories of 2012 when the show was cancelled after one day due to the state of the car parks. But there had been weeks of heavy rain in the run-up to the show then. We have just spoken to the press team, which said there were some delays this morning due to the weather but the car parks are currently operating normally. 

9.45am Travel guide

If you haven't set off yet, check out the travel guide we published yesterday, which includes a load of handy information for visitors, whichever direction they're coming from. The burst water mains on Rudding Lane is still being fixed, which is adding to travel problems.

9.30am: Morning  traffic issues

It's not a great start, weatherwise. It's already been raining for several hours and the Met Office is forecasting that it will continue like this until about 3pm.

Traffic is usually busy on the morning of the GYS, and this morning is no exception – cars are doing their traditional go-slow along Otley Road, the main route into Harrogate from the Dales.

But today there are some complicating factors. A burst water main at Rudding is reportedly causing delays, and planned roadworks between Killinghall and New Park threaten to slow the flow of traffic from the north.