We will be in the Lakes District and the Yorkshire Dales for the first two weeks in June. How could we find out about any local County Fairs or Sheep Dog trials? Also would like to know if anyone has biked in these areas and what was your experience as far as good trails, safety, and rentals?
Posted by
Yorkshire, England
62 posts
I'm not sure about any summer fairs but the websites below might give you some idea on the areas.
Posted by
Kingston, Surrey
239 posts
The county shows are still based on the pre-1974 counties, so there is a Westmorland Show near Kendal in September and a Cumberland Show near Carlisle in June. As far as I know, there is no Cumbria Show. The Yorkshire Show is in Harrogate in July. Only the Cumberland Show is on while you're here, but there wil be a host of local shows. Look at the National Park websites, which should have lots of details.
Posted by
96 posts
I have cycled both areas and you can expect narrow winding roads. You can expect short steep climbs going from valley to valley.
The best sites for getting information are cyclinguk ( formerly CTC ) and crazyguyonabike.com.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
This calendar is for Sheep Dog Trials: https://www.isds.org.uk/trials/trials-diary/england/. From having looked at it just a bit, I'd say they usually start early and are hosted at various farm locations that may not have much in the way of visitor amenities.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3398 posts
I would NEVER try to bike in the Lake District. The roads are extremely narrow, sometimes with stacked stone walls on both sides, and a ton of tourist traffic during the summer months. I would save the biking for Yorkshire.
On Facebook try following the Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association ltd page and the Herdwick Sheep Fan Club. They both post quite a bit about upcoming fairs and sheep shows occurring in and around the area. The Cumberland Show is one of the biggest ones in area of the Lakes and it takes place on June 17 in Carlisle.
Here is a website that has lists of all the fairs across the UK.
If you want to find the very small Herdwick shows with local farmers then google "cumbria shepherds meets" and you'll get results for these.