Henley Agricultural Show - morning Saturday 12/9

Had a different start to today and headed off about 10 minutes away to the Henley Farm and Country Show. This show is bigger than the Molyullah Sports but not nearly as big as the Melbourne or Sydney shows. Just the right size as far as I am concerned. We were so taken with everything we forgot to take photos of ourselves at the show but did take quite a few photos anyway.

We arrived around 9am and left around 12.30pm so did not manage to see everything on offer but we loved what we saw.

A local pony club ran the show jumping, there were Clydesdale horses, pony trap events, a dog show, a very popular sheep show & shearing exhibition, falconry display, motorcycle display racing (and jumping!) display, a grand parade of livestock and vintage vehicles, as well as the handicraft, baking, gardening and vegetables, and scarecrow exhibits. Our first exhibit was the display of giant tortoises and I have never seen them before. They were enormous and the children were allowed to engage with them. So lovely to see.

We bought an amazing cheese and ham toastie and cuppa and sat enjoying our breakfast listening to the Royal County of Berkshire cadet band

The stalls had great items for sale and we bought some soap dishes, cakes, and some hunting styled gift wear made from used shotgun cartridges. We had a long chat to the owners of this stand and exchanged cards in case any of our hunters wanted to purchase his artwork or any of his customers want to hunt in Australia and stay at the cottage.

We really enjoyed ‘The Sheep Show’ where a chap not only demonstrated shearing but entertained and educated the crowd on the varieties of sheep and what they are good for, the plight of the farmers, and even got his many sheep to dance for us!

We also enjoyed the falconry display, the horse and carriage competitions and just mixing about with country folk. The flowers were amazing - I have never seen hydrangeas in such deep colours.Read more