The big clean-up begins! Aerial pictures reveal scale of rubbish left behind after four-day Appleby Horse Festival enjoyed by thousands of traveller families
- The famous fair, lasts four days and attracts around 10,000 people to the town of Appleby, Westmorland
- Aerial pictures taken of the grounds, now strewn with rubbish, show the aftermath of the annual event
- The fair has existed since 1685, under the protection of a charter issued by James II
Advertisement
Attracting thousands, the annual four-day Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria can often be a raucous event, but with the festivities comes a whole lot of rubbish.
The tradition, which has continued through the ages, is meant to prepare the animals for their debuts at the Westmorland show that attracts traveller families, horse breeders and Shetland pony lovers alike.
The famous fair, lasts four days and attracts around 10,000 people to the small town of Appleby (population 3,000) – many of whom are travellers and stay on site in caravans for the duration of the fair.
Aerial pictures taken of the grounds, now strewn with rubbish, show the aftermath of the annual event, which has existed since 1685, under the protection of a charter issued by James II.
.
As Appleby Horse Fair ends the big clean up begins in the picturesque village of Appleby in Westmorland, Cumbria
Thousands of travellers have left the biggest gypsy festival in Europe, and masses of rubbish has been left in the fields where they were staying. During (left) and after the festival
Rows formed where lines of caravans parked up show the extent of the rubbish left after the 10,000 fair goers depart
Cardboard boxes and single use plastics are strewn across the fields after fair goers depart and the seagulls move in
Plastic crates once full of food stack up on the grounds one family appears to have had difficulty moving their caravan due to a breakdown
An overturned Portaloo lay among the rubbish left in fields this morning by Travellers leaving the Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria
Children play among mounds of rubbish left in the fields of Appleby after the biggest traveller festival in Europe
Children play with pieces of rubbish as the efforts to clear up the usually picturesque fields of Appleby begins for another year
An upturned Portaloo lays among tarpaulin and mounds of rubbish accumulated in just four days of festivities
Poor weather saw rain blight the final day of the fair, but sun now shines over the piles of plastic and cardboard left behind
Three fair goers can be seen picking up litter on the site, including what appears to be a single mattress left on the ground
A tractor can be seen making its way round with a trailer to pick up the debris from the site, as several vans remain
A tractor uses a loader to scoop up some of the rubbish left on the ground in a clean up that could take weeks to complete
A scenic view stands in the background of the temporarily trashed site of Appleby fair, the same rubbish issue has occurred in previous years
Travellers leaving the Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria this morning in a traditional gypsy caravan
Hundreds of travellers enjoyed the river today after yesterday’s flood warning was lifted in Appleby, Cumbria
A woman riding a horse in the river Eden during the Horse Fair in Appleby, Cumbria, which is an annual gathering of travellers
Two ladies dip into the cool river water with their horse while three boys and a girl stampede through the waves along the water’s edge
By longstanding tradition horses at the fair are walked and washed in the river Eden in advance of being debuted
Two riders take a plunge with their horses on the last day of the horse fair. One appears to have fallen off her horse
Travellers seen parading through the streets of Appleby on horseback as they made the most of the last day of the annual horse fair
Two women splash through the River Eden on their horses. Riders were warned to be careful near the river as recent rains could make it more likely to flood