Glorious sunshine greets day one of Great Yorkshire Show

The Stray Ferret is running a live blog of the Great Yorkshire Show brought to you by Lister Haigh. We will keep updating this page with stories from the showground throughout the event. 

Day one of the Great Yorkshire Show has opened to fabulous weather and a sell-out crowd.

This year’s show run for an extended period from today until Friday. It will mean that the maximum capacity of 26,000 a day can spread out for social distancing.

Visitors are encouraged to take a lateral flow test before they arrive to prevent the spread of the virus.

Are you a local stall holder? Send an email by clicking or tapping here.

4pm – Harrogate farrier competes on world stage at Great Yorkshire Show

Harrogate’s Toby Pedley has been making horse shoes alongside the best in the world at the Great Yorkshire Show.

The local farrier competed at the forge today near the white gate and will be there for the rest of the week.

2.30pm – ‘World first’ virtual skydive raises funds for Yorkshire Cancer Research

Bethany from the Stray Ferret tried out Yorkshire Cancer Research’s ‘world first’ virtual sky dive at the Great Yorkshire Show today.

The charity has a stall in the Welcome to Yorkshire section of the show. People can donate £10 to try out the virtual experience over Whitby Abbey.

Dr Kathryn Scott, chief executive of Harrogate-based Yorkshire Cancer Research, told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s great to be out here fundraising again. We are really proud to be here and it is amazing to be able to see people again.

“Even the sun has come out, we are very pleased. Cancer research is not cheap. Something key for us is that we help people get their cancer diagnosis early.

“We also need to treat cancer better but it is all expensive and that is why fundraising events like this are so important for us.”

Dr Kathryn Scott with Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive James Mason and a Yorkshire Cancer Research volunteer.

1pm – Meet the Great Yorkshire Show coronavirus marshals

If you have been at the Great Yorkshire Show today then you may have seen the coronavirus marshals, who are new this year.

Coronavirus restrictions are in place as the show dates falle just ahead of the expected lifting of all lockdown measures next week.

Marshals Nirmala D’Cunha and Peter Butler told us about their role:

“Well it’s mostly going to areas where people are crowding together, just to remind them. People have been absolutely great.

“We are carrying around masks as well in case people need them. People should be able to enjoy the show but also be safe.

“It is still an infectious disease and we need to be careful. The restrictions may be going next week but we still need to be sensible from then.”

12pm – A photo gallery from the first morning back at the show

We have been taking some pictures around the Great Yorkshire Show this morning. Can you spot yourself in our gallery?

10.35am – Have you seen the dancing sheep Nobby, Dougal and Susie?

Did you catch the dancing sheep? Our reporter is down at the show today speaking to visitors as the first day of the Great Yorkshire Show gets underway.

10.20am – Everything you need to know about the Show’s covid restrictions

For the first time the Show will be held over four days and have a limit of 26,000 visitors each day.

Other covid-safe measures include:

8.40am – Gates open to first visitors

Visitors keen to get into the Great Yorkshire Show arrived early this morning as soon as the gates opened.

We spoke to one of the first people through the doors. Gillian is a dedicated visitor of the show and told the Stray Ferret:

“I am excited to be back. This is my 50th visit to the show. I have been every year since I was 12-years-old apart from the two that didn’t happen.

“Every year I go to about 22 different shows but there is only this one in Harrogate and another in Driffield going ahead this year.

“I am from Hovingham near Malton so I set off at 6.30am, I thought I would be at the front row of the car park but I am on the fifth.

“It seems everyone is excited to be back to do something normal again.”

Great Yorkshire Show organisers ‘tired but excited’ for return

Organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show may be exhausted after they were forced to cram a year of planning into four months but they are excited for its return.

The Great Yorkshire Show, which was cancelled last year, starts at 8am on Tuesday and finish at 6pm on Friday.

Tickets will not be available on the gates this year and all tickets for this year’s show are now sold out.

It will be a very different event this year with visitors urged to test before they travel and follow social distancing measures.

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But the organisers hope that the Great Yorkshire Show 2021 will act as a signal that normality is returning after coronavirus.

Nigel Morgan, head of operations, told the Stray Ferret:

“We didn’t realise when we announced in March that the show would go ahead just how many challenges there would be.

“I have encountered more challenges in the last four months than in the last 15 years. I feel worn out but excited.

“It might feel slightly different but it will be a similar format to previous shows. We are ready to open the gates.

“When we first made the announcement the government was planning to lift the remaining restrictions in June but that was pushed back.

“That meant that we fell under the coronavirus restrictions which are set to lift on July 19. So we were put into a different ball game.

“In the last few days we have worked with public health officials who are happy that we have met their requirements.”

Mr Morgan added that he and his team are now “ready to rock and roll”.

Hive of activity as Harrogate prepares for Great Yorkshire Show’s return

Harrogate has been a hive of activity today as organisers and contributors prepare for the return of the Great Yorkshire Show.

There has been some last minute shearing and pruning ahead of the grand opening at 8am tomorrow morning.

The show will run for an extended period from Tuesday until Friday. It will mean that the maximum capacity of 26,000 a day can spread out for social distancing.

The Stray Ferret will be at the show all week, with our coverage brought to you by Lister Haigh.

Malcolm Neesam History: The birth of the Great Yorkshire Show Ground

This history is written for The Stray Ferret by celebrated Harrogate historian, Malcolm Neesam. 

This week sees the 70th anniversary of the establishment in Harrogate of a permanent site for the Great Yorkshire Show. Since its premiere in 1838 at Fulford, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society had held its annual show at various locations in Yorkshire, including Harrogate, when its invariable location was on the Stray.

First Hound Show in Yorkshire 1859  Photograph: Yorkshire Agricultural Society

On one occasion, in July 1873, a special track was laid across the south Stray to assist the Great Yorkshire Show.

According to the press:

“Special railway constructed on south Stray in connection with Great Yorkshire Show. Line reaches Stray over Paley land before crossing Stray near the highest of the two bridges before curving round to opposite Prince of Wales Hotel where it reaches a block composed of tons of ballast timber.

“About the centre of the rails a large landing stage has been erected. Up to this landing stage a double line of railway has been laid, about 320 feet long. From the landing stage to the block two and three sets of rails are laid; whilst there is a small line at either end for shunting and other purposes…

“Now it is completed – and probably today the first load of implements will run along. The siding is about equidistant from Leeds Road and the show yard. Therefore everything will have to be carted the short distance from the landing stage to the show yard, which, we apprehend, will be entered at a gate on the west side.”

In the event, the Great Yorkshire Show at Harrogate was a huge success and the turnstile receipts for 38,491 people being over 3,000 more than any previous show. But it is well that nobody has tried subsequently to build a railway line across the south Stray.

The event returned to Harrogate in July 1926 and the Royal Show followed in June 1929, when it was attended by the Duke of York, later King George VI.

Great Yorkshire Show 1937  Photograph: Yorkshire Agricultural Society

By the middle of the 20th century, the show’s governors felt it was time to have grounds of their own, and in June 1949 they wrote to Harrogate Borough Council to say that they wanted to make the “Hookstone site” their permanent showground.

In making this approach, it was clear that the Yorkshire Agricultural Society was seeking the help of the corporation in acquiring the land. The council had already set up a special sub-committee to consider the terms on which the society’s application might be recommended to the Finance Committee.

The council welcomed this application with open arms, as it would bring an important attraction to Harrogate on an annual rather than a sporadic basis, and also took the Stray out of the matter, where opposition to any enclosure had become an embarrassment.

As well as an agreement with the council, the society had to acquire land from Hookstone Wood owned by a Mr Otty. In October 1950 the town clerk advised the Finance Committee that agreements had been reached both with the corporation and with Mr Otty.

Things then progressed with some speed, as the society intended to hold its 1951 show at the new permanent site. At the 1951 AGM, the show director, Sir John Dunnington-Jefferson, announced that there had been increases in all sections of the show, following the news of the permanent site of 200 acres.

Great Yorkshire Show, 1953 Photograph: Yorkshire Agricultural Society

Access to the site would be through a 21ft carriageway at the southern boundary, which Harrogate Corporation, at its own expense, would continue through Hookstone Wood. This demonstrated the corporation’s enthusiasm for the project.

When the 1951 Great Yorkshire Show opened at its permanent Harrogate site on July 10 1951, the three-day event attracted 63,900 visitors and entrance fees of £20,000.

Another aspect of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s move was that it, together with Hornbeam Park and the privately owned Rudding Estate, acted as a much-needed barrier to the expansion of housing estates to the south of the town.

This year’s Great Yorkshire Show starts on Tuesday – the Stray Ferret will be covering the event every day as well as bringing you comprehensive travel updates from 6.30am.  

Our thanks to the Yorkshire Agricultural Society for the fabulous archive photographs in this history.  

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Extra safety measures announced for Great Yorkshire Show

Further control measures have been announced today for next week’s Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate following the increase in Delta variant covid cases.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the farming charity that organises the event, has been working with public health officials at North Yorkshire County Council and Harrogate Borough Council to discuss measures.

It means the 162nd show will be held mainly outdoors and considerably different to previous ones.

Capacity has been limited to a maximum of 26,000 people a day to minimise crowding and to ensure social distancing.

It means about 104,000 people are expected to attend from Tuesday to Friday as opposed to the usual 135,000 that pass through the gates over three days.

Opening hours have been extended from 8.00am to 6.00pm to allow visitors to arrive and leave in a more staggered way to avoid queues.

Ticket sales were temporarily halted while the capacity numbers were finalised, and the final raft of tickets are now on sale via the Great Yorkshire Show website.

Lateral flow tests

Visitors are encouraged to have a lateral flow covid test before they arrive and to download the NHS app before arriving in order to be able to scan QR codes where necessary, such as in hospitality areas.

People working at the show, including catering and trade stands, will be required to have a negative lateral flow test within 24 hours before arriving at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

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Tickets can only be bought in advance only and should be printed out as e-tickets. They will not be on sale on the gates.

This year most of the event will be held outdoors and it has been extended to run over four days for the first time in its history.

Show director Charles Mills said:

“This will be a very special Great Yorkshire Show and one we are all so looking forward to after these difficult times.

“It will be a slightly different show to normal but we have done our best to bring you an event which will fly the flag for farming and celebrate our industry.”

Richard Webb, North Yorkshire County Council’s director of health and adult services, said:

“We, along with partners from Harrogate Borough Council, have been working very closely for some months with the Great Yorkshire Show organisers and Public Health England to make sure the event is as safe and successful as possible, being mindful ofcCovid transmission rates and national restrictions.

“However, we recognise the importance of the show, not only for the people of North Yorkshire and Yorkshire but also for the farming community which has played such a vital role during the pandemic with food supplies and keeping the whole supply chain going.”

Sections that will not feature in this year’s show include the fashion show, the WI stand, the pole climbing competition and the cookery theatre in the food hall although the game cookery theatre will go ahead as usual.

Other safety measures this year

• Track and Trace at hospitality points
• Grandstand capacity reduced to 25% – 30% with tickets purchased in advance
• Extra security to disperse any crowding
• One way system around the Food Hall
• Hall 2 closed to public although the entrance will be a celebrity meet & greet
• Face coverings to be worn in all indoor areas, including toilets and the grandstand, and encouraged when in queues
• Enhanced cleaning
• Table service only at bar areas

 

Great Yorkshire Show to go ahead

The organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate have confirmed the event will go ahead next month after all.

The event appeared in doubt after the government announced on Monday that existing social distancing restrictions will continue until July 19.

The extended period included the show, which is scheduled to take place from July 13 to 16.

This led to two days of uncertainty before this afternoon’s statement from the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, which organises the event. It said:

“We are delighted to announce that the Great Yorkshire Show will take place as planned despite the delay to ending coronavirus restrictions.

“The Great Yorkshire Show was planned under social distancing measures and we are continuing to work closely with North Yorkshire County Council public health to deliver a covid-safe show.

“We are discussing some of the details which may require additional measures to be put in place.

“We have already adapted the show so that most of it is held outdoors this year and it’s been extended to run over four days for the first time in its history.”

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Great Yorkshire Show still waiting to hear if it can go ahead

The organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show have issued a statement saying it is still awaiting confirmation that the event can go ahead.

The event is scheduled to take place in Harrogate from July 13 to 16.

All social distancing measures were due to be lifted next week but Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last night current restrictions would remain until July 19.

Twenty-four hours after Mr Johnson’s announcement, the impact of this on the show remains unclear.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the agricultural charity that organises the event, has already included various social distancing measures into this year’s planning.

They include holding the show over four days, rather than three, capping daily visitor numbers to 25,000, reducing the grandstand capacity to 30% and adapting the show to use as much outdoor space as possible.

In a statement today, the society said:

“Further to the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday night, we continue to await confirmation from North Yorkshire County Council public health that we can deliver this year’s Great Yorkshire Show as planned.

“What we can say is that the Great Yorkshire Show has been fully adapted to be covid-safe and we have been working with the relevant agencies every step of the way.

“The show has also been endorsed by Visit England as part of its Good to Go campaign.

“Measures include adapting the show so most of it is held outdoors this year and extending it to run over four days for the first time in its history.

“A full list of measures are here and these were always going to be in place whether lockdown was extended or not.

“Please bear with us while we await news, and a statement will go out as soon as we have a definitive answer.”

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Great Yorkshire Show ‘monitoring situation’ as lockdown announcement looms

The organisers of the Great Yorkshire Show have said they are “monitoring the national situation” ahead of tonight’s government announcement on lockdown.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to give a news conference at 6pm tonight.

All social distancing measures are due to be lifted on June 21 but Mr Johnson is expected to say current restrictions will remain in place for four more weeks until July 19.

The Great Yorkshire Show is scheduled to take place from July 13 to 16 so the announcement could impact on its plans.

However, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the agricultural charity that organises the event, has already included various social distancing measures into this year’s planning.

They include holding the show over four days, rather than three, capping daily visitor numbers to 25,000, reducing the grandstand capacity to 30% and adapting the show to use as much outdoor space as possible.

This has raised hopes the event will be able to proceed as planned but the situation should become clearer after the ramifications of tonight’s announcement are known.

In a statement today, the society said:

“The Great Yorkshire Show is monitoring the national situation and we are awaiting details from tonight’s announcement.

“We continue to work closely with North Yorkshire County Council public health and Harrogate Borough Council.”

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Tickets go on sale for extended Great Yorkshire Show

Tickets went on sale today for the annual Great Yorkshire Show, which will be extended over 4 days in July.

The show, which is usually 3 days long, will take place this year on July 13-16 to allow for extra tickets to be sold despite a smaller capacity. It is one of the only events of its type to be taking place in Yorkshire this summer, with the majority being cancelled.

The event will take place at its usual site at the Great Yorkshire Showground, with more space being utilised to allow for social distancing measures.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society, which runs the event, made the decision to sell only advanced tickets this year with none being sold at the gate, to allow for a controlled capacity.

There will be a limit of 25,000 visitors a day as opposed to its usual 40,000 a day average.

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The society has planned a number of changes to make the event safer for participants amidst Covid-19 regulations, such as required track and trace, changes to the layout and a one-way system in the food hall.

The showground’s grandstand will only allow 30 percent of its usual capacity to allow for social distancing.

The show will put a halt on the coronavirus vaccinations which have been taking place at the Yorkshire Event Centre on the showground since December.

The event comes after its first cancellation in 20 years last year due to the national lockdown. A number of virtual events took its place including farm tours and online workshops.

 

 

Yorkshire Agricultural Society pays tribute to Duke of Edinburgh

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society which runs the Great Yorkshire Show has paid tribute to Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband, and said he played an “integral part” in the  society’s heritage.

A statement from Buckingham Palace confirmed that Prince Philip “passed away peacefully this morning” at Windsor Castle, aged 99.

The Duke of Edinburgh first paid a visit to the show in 1977 and attended the show on its landmark 150th anniversary in 2008.

He visited the show on the third and final day along with Her Majesty the Queen to meet exhibitors and inspect livestock.

The Queen was patron of Yorkshire Agricultural Society, which organised the show, from 1952 to 1997.

Nigel Pulling, chief executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, said the Royal Family have been an “integral part” of the society’s heritage and paid tribute to Prince Philip.

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Mr Pulling said:

“It is with deep sadness that we learn of the passing of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Yorkshire Agricultural Society sends its sincere condolences to the Royal Family at this sad time.

“The Royal Family and Her Majesty The Queen have been an integral part of the Society’s heritage since it first formed in 1837 and on two occasions, in 1977 and 2008, we were honoured to welcome HRH Prince Philip along with Her Majesty The Queen to the Great Yorkshire Show.”

As part of his engagements with the Queen, Prince Philip often visited North Yorkshire to lend his support to various initiatives and events.

In May 2010, he opened the Scarborough Open Air Theatre and supported military events across the county.

The Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire described Prince Philip as a “hugely charismatic man, who was much loved and respected by so many”.

Tribute have also been paid by politicians, organisations and the Dean of Ripon Cathedral this afternoon.