The great Appleby clean-up: Gas canisters, mattresses, tents and rubbish are left behind after thousands of families descended on town for four-day Horse Festival
- Some 30,000 people descended on the village in the north west of England
A mammoth clean-up operation awaits the small Cumbrian town of Appleby after 30,000 people descended on the village for its world-famous horse fair over the weekend.
Pictures today show mattresses, empty gas canisters and mountains of rubbish strewn across the otherwise green and picturesque countryside in the north west of England.
It appears council bosses have their work cut out for them as hundreds of cardboard boxes, tents and discarded food wrappers are also seen dumped next to portable toilets.
Tens of thousands of people, including at least 10,000 from the gypsy, Roma and traveller community, have been gathering in Appleby-in-Westmorland since last Thursday.
The six-day event is one of Europe’s largest horse fairs and officially ends on Wednesday this week, although the majority of attendees are expected to begin the journey back home today.
A mammoth clean-up operation awaits the small Cumbrian town of Appleby after 30,000 travellers descended on the village for its eponymous horse fair over the weekend
Pictures today show mattresses, empty gas canisters and mountains of rubbish strewn across the otherwise green and picturesque countryside in the north west of England
Cumbria Police issued a travel warning on Monday morning, telling motorists to ‘drive with care and look out for slow-moving vehicles’ to ‘help ensure everyone gets home safe.’
The 250-year-old event is held just outside Appleby, which has a population of around 2,500 people.
Many of those living in the town left for the weekend to avoid the crowds and all but one pub remained closed.
Those who arrived amid scorching temperatures wasted no time enjoying themselves as they were seen taking their horses for a wash in the River Eden which runs through the town.
Meanwhile aerial photos showed fields packed with caravans as gypsies arrived in convoys of traditional horses and carts.
One 15-year-old boy was left in a critical condition with head injuries after jumping from the back of a moving vehicle at around 6.40pm on Friday.
His current condition has not yet been reported.
Cumbria Police has struggled in recent years to ensure the safety of the event, and some locals have alleged travellers were behind thefts from a local Co-op in a nearby town that left store staff ‘badly shaken’.
A horse is bathed in the River Eden during the Appleby Horse Fair in Appleby-in-Westmorland on June 9, 2023
It appears council bosses have their work cut out for them as hundreds of cardboard boxes, tents and discarded food wrappers are also seen dumped next to portable toilets
Empty gas canisters are strewn across a field in Appleby following horse fair
What appears to be a discarded tent is seen strewn across a field in Appleby following horse fair
Huge empty tubs of mayonnaise are seen dumped in a field next to mattresses following the Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria
Plastic fencing and empty bottles are among the thousands of pieces of trash dumped in Appleby
A family leave Appleby with their caravan amid the backdrop of a sea of rubbish
Disused plastic crates and cardboard boxes are seen dumped on a field in Appleby
The 250-year-old event is held just outside Appleby, which has a population of around 2,500 people (Pictured: Rubbish left behind on Monday)
Many of those living in the town left for the weekend to avoid the crowds and all but one pub remained closed (Pictured: Rubbish left behind on Monday morning)
A campaign group has been pleading for tougher police action amid claims that officers are being hampered by ‘political correctness’ (Pictured: Rubbish left behind on Monday morning)
Cumbria Police issued a travel warning on Monday morning, telling motorists to ‘drive with care and look out for slow-moving vehicles’ to ‘help ensure everyone gets home safe’ (Pictured: Rubbish left behind on Monday morning)
Police are investigating reports that women from the travelling community walked out of a supermarket with three trolleys laden with goods on Tuesday night after using children to distract staff.
A campaign group has been pleading for tougher police action amid claims that officers are being hampered by ‘political correctness.’
A witness told MailOnline: ‘Travellers sent children into the supermarket first to run riot and distract the security guards, that are only employed during Fair time.
‘They were followed by several men who started shouting and behaving aggressively toward the predominantly female staff.’
Yet the event began in traditional style on Thursday with horses being washed in the River Eden and raced along the ‘flashing lane’ behind the main field, where potential buyers gather to haggle over them.
A woman rides her horse through the River Eden during the Appleby Horse Fair, the annual gathering of travellers in Cumbria
A group of women were all smiles on the first day of the Appleby Horse Fair in Cumbria
A girl is thrown from her horse which was startled as she washed it in the River Eden on the first day of the annual Appleby Horse Fair
Due to high temperatures expected over the weekend, visitors to the fair have been advised to make sure their horses get plenty of extra rest and rehydration
The tradition of gypsies and travellers washing their horses in the River Eden (pictured at weekend) stems from the 20th century
Travellers have flocked to Appleby (pictured at weekend) for the first day of one of Europe’s largest horse fairs
People set up a large tent as they attend the first day of the annual Appleby Horse Fair
Fairgoers seemed to be in good spirits as the historic event started on Thursday
A boy rides a horse over a pedestrian crossing at the Appleby Horse Fair, in north west England
Fairgoers have been enjoying Thursday’s warm temperatures on the first day of the fair
Travellers start to arrive at the Appleby Horse Fair. The fair began in 1775, but did not come to be primarily associated with the traveller community until more than a century later
By the 1900s the fair had evolved into a major traveller event that attracted families from across the UK and Europe
A family are pulled by a pony and trap on the ‘flashing lane’ outside Appleby on the first day of the Appleby Horse fair, which returned to its traditional early June dates this year having been put back to August in 2022 in order not to clash with the Queen’s diamond jubilee
The gathering is sometimes known as ‘the New Fair’ because of Appleby’s medieval borough fair, held at Whitsuntide, which last took place in 1885
A man uses a car to exercise his horse after arriving in Appleby on Thursday, June 8
A youth rides a horse along the road in Appleby-in-Westmorland last Thursday
READ MORE: Inside Appleby Horse Fair: Europe’s biggest travellers event that has attracted thousands from across the world for more than a century
Many attendees were sitting in traditional caravans, whilst others were in trailers, their horses pulling them along.
Despite the worries of the local community, travellers were enjoying the sunshine as they arrived for the first day.
Martina Wright was watering her horse Apache at the spot in the River Eden in the centre of Appleby where the tradition has gone on for generations.
Martina, 28, from Newcastle, said: ‘It’s going to be a great weekend, it always is but the weather this year seems to have brought more people out than ever.
‘I always bring Apache down here and give him a swim in the river, he loves it and it helps keep him cool.
‘You have to be careful because it drops off quite steeply into deeper water but he’s a good strong horse and a good swimmer, he loves it.
‘He’s 18 years old and he’s a wonderful horse, he won best horse of the year at Appleby four years in a row for best overall health and the safest swimmer.
‘This is one of the fair’s big traditions. They used to wash the horses in the river and then take them up to the flashing lane to be sold.
‘These days I think people just do it for pictures to post on social media.’
Bridie Gallagher, 36, arrived in Appleby from southern Ireland with her three young children and wider family earlier in the week.
She said: ‘I love this place, it’s the highlight of the year in the gypsy calendar and it’s a chance to meet up with people you haven’t seen all year.
‘The atmosphere and the community is unbeatable and it’s a friendly place where everyone can have a craic and enjoy themselves.
‘I can’t remember so many pubs being closed before and for that reason it seems a little quieter, they’ve tried to force everyone outside of the town.
‘The Crown and Cushion pub is normally full of travellers but this year it’s closed.’
Martina Wright, 28, (pictured) from Newcastle, was watering her horse Apache in the River Eden in the centre of Appleby
A woman climbs out of a traditional Romany caravan during the annual horse fair in Appleby-in-Westmorland
An Elvis Presley tattoo is seen on the hand of a member of the traveller community at the fair
A member of the traveller community washes her horse in the river Eden during the annual horse fair in Appleby-in-Westmorland
RSPCA chief inspector Rob Melloy said: ‘The weather plays a huge role in the fair and the forecast says it’s going to be a hot one’
The RSPCA has advised that horses should not be worked too hard in the hot weather
Long queues formed at the entrance of the world-famous festival in Appleby last week
Travellers in an intricately-adorned horse-drawn wagon arrive at the Appleby Horse Fair last week
The fair happens at a crossroads point on Gallows Hill, which was named after the public hangings that were once carried out there.
It was once thought the fair originated from a royal charter to the borough of Appleby from King James II of England in 1685, but research has found the charter was cancelled before it was ever enacted.
The gathering is sometimes known as ‘the New Fair’ because of Appleby’s medieval borough fair, held at Whitsuntide, which last took place in 1885.
The ‘New Fair’ began in 1775 for sheep and cattle drovers and horse dealers to sell their stock.
By the 1900s it had evolved into a major traveller event that attracted families from across the UK and Europe.
The Appleby Horse Fair has been a mainstay of the gypsy calendar since the early 20th-century.
The tradition of gypsies and travellers washing their horses in the River Eden stems from the 20th century.
After the end of the Second World War, the fair received a further boost as the evolution of transport allowed gypsies and travellers to come from further afield with ease.
The fair has survived successive attempts to close it down, including in 1967, when the local authority cited poor sanitation.
Increased attendance has brought controversy as well, with homeowners in the area complaining about congestion and poor behaviour in the past.
A horse that drowned in the Eden as it was being washed in 2007 triggered an investigation by the RSPCA.
A man with a braided ponytail stands on a horse as he washes the animal in the River Eden
He then crouched on the animal’s back as the horse waded through the river
Scores of caravans are adorning the fields outside Appleby, while horses have been seen out to pasture
Some travellers arrived in traditional horse drawn wagons while others came in more modern caravans
The 250-year-old event is held just outside Appleby, which usually has a population of around 2,500 people
Nine animal welfare charities – who are all members of the National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC) – work together at Appleby to support the protection and wellbeing of the horses at the event
Nine animal welfare charities – who are all members of the National Equine Welfare Council (NEWC) – work together at Appleby to support the protection and wellbeing of the horses at the event.
The NEWC advised that due to high temperatures expected at the event, visitors should ‘make sure their horses get plenty of extra rest and rehydration to help them stay happy and healthy’.
RSPCA chief inspector Rob Melloy said: ‘The weather plays a huge role in the fair and the forecast says it’s going to be a hot one.
‘Just as it’s important for us to drink plenty and not work too hard in hot weather, it’s important for our horses.
‘They need to have regular access to water, be drinking after being worked and be tied up in the shade.
‘Owners may need to have more patience than normal as horses sometimes don’t want to drink if they are in an overstimulating environment.
‘Due to the nature of any horse fair, where animals are traded, and especially given that Appleby comes off the back of Kirkby Stephen, owners may not know how much their horse has been worked beforehand so we want to encourage people to err on the safe side and not overdo it, especially in the conditions.
‘Day trippers should not be bringing their dogs to the Fair. Most people know by now that leaving a dog in a car on a hot day can be fatal but unbelievably some people still take the risk and we’ve had to rescue dogs at 14 of the past 15 events.
‘This isn’t the only danger though, we now know that exercising your dog on a hot day can be just as hazardous, so please don’t put your pet or yourself in that position.’
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