The weather was fantastic. A beautiful warm summer's day with the temperature somewhere over 20C and blue skies. Almost needed suntan lotion.

We drove through the back roads from Bowness on Windermere to Appleby-in-Westmoreland. It took less than an hour and wasn't too far as we were on skinny roads all the way.

The Tufton Arms, where we are staying, is in the centre of town, in the market. We drove in to the parking behind the hotel about 11AM and have parked the car for the weekend. The alley where we parked was full when we came back after our first walk, so our timing was perfect.

After checking in, we wandered out into the crowd. It wasn't too bad at that time but was very busy when we came back at 3PM. About 250 yards from the hotel is a bridge over the river. The gypsies bring their horses down and walk them through the river to wash them down and cool them off. People look at this from both sides of the river and the bridge.

Running parallel to the river, on the bank furtherest from the hotel, is a road. Down by the bridge there were at least 100 horses and carts and they were racing up and down the hill to the fair ground which was a mile further past the bridge.

We walked to the fairground. A number of the local residents have set up stalls in their front garden selling food and drink.

In the fair grounds, there were hundreds of stalls by people selling things that are mainly related to the gypsy way of life. There were all the harness items that you could ever hope to see, both new and old and one one stall an auctioneer was selling them. I aw a full set of harness gear go for UK Pounds100, which seemed awfully cheap. For the NZ black powder shooter, there were plenty of cast iron items, such as Dutch Ovens and kettles, to keep them happy for any reenactment that they may attend, but all were too large or heavy to bring back on a plane.

Two things really stood out. First was the smell of the horses. It's all through the town and fair grounds. It's not unpleasant but must have been a continual aroma in the days prior to the motor car. The second was mainly at the fair ground, but also around town, and that was the rubbish. In the fair ground a saw the remains of an old council metal rubbish bin, that looks as if it has been stolen several times, and that was a bout it for rubbish bins. The farm on which the fair is being held is just littered with rubbish under foot. We had something to eat and put our rubbish in a collection that was growing, but whether it will be collected and removed is doubtful.

And now for the people. There are plenty of tourists and over 200 police in town to keep things under control. Apparently the gypsies get fueled with booze and scuffles break out. There's plenty of ambulances and RSPCA people around to.

Then there are the gypsies. The girls from three to thirty are either overdressed or under dress, with plenty of flesh showing. Colors are selected for their brightness. Most have spent weeks on a sun bed getting an exaggerated tan, and the makeup has been trowelled on. One young five year old had lipstick on that would have done a hooker proud. The older women are well dressed, but not as outstanding as the younger ones. Of course, the flashier ones are prancing along in high heel shoes on the farm land which has a spring feel at the moment. Rain is forecast and that will soon turn to mud.

The boys are not too be outdone. They have all had a fresh haircut, whether it be short back and sides, or a mullet with a long pony tail, or something close to a crew cut. Any hair that is over an inch long is plastered with mousse to hold it shape. None are wearing hats. All look fresh and healthy and a number have been working hard on their physic, but there are a number too who are very skinny.

The older gypsy men, up to forty or so, look as if they are doing okay. We didn't see any really fat people and they were all smiling. The older gypsy men, especially those working around the horses, were quite weather beaten and really looked as if the know what they are doing.

Horse and carts run and race, from the fair ground to the river and back. The police have blocked off the roads, so the horses have a more unrestricted run. People walk along the footpaths on either side of the road to keep out of the way. Some horses are just trotted up but others are really running for real.

There's all sorts and sizes of horses from foals, ponies to almost Shires. They come in all colours and I have noticed that many have lots of hair on their legs and under their bellies. I even saw a couple of horses with hairs above their top lips, like moustaches. We will have to try and get photos of them.

There doesn't appear to be any formal program. Things just happen, I guess. Horse trading will go on and deals will be done. There was a caravan for sale. The vendor wouldn't tell me what he wanted for it, but said some really well restored Redding caravans went as high as UKP 200,000. Luckily we can't fit that in our luggage home either.

We had a cup of tea in the local church. It was good to see that such a facility was being used creatively.

We have attached a few photos. I don't know how many we have taken, but Lynette and I have both gone through camera batteries during the day.

The internet service is not that hot.  I was using mobile access, but that has died due to overload.  In NZ

the mobile providers have temporary cell sites that they put in at busy locations like Mt Maunganui during the Christmas period.  They could do with the same at Appleby.  Even the hotel WiFi is not that hot because there are so many users in town and the internet pipe out of town is being overloaded.

From the bridge, looking down onto the horses bathing.

Some of the girls got involved with the horse washing.

Dame Edna would have been proud of those glasses.

Above and below.  One of several caravans for sale.  This could have been expensive.

Some of the young girls out on the prowl.

Lynette wanted to take this wedding carriage home for use on Wacky Island.  Luckily we couldn't fit it in the luggage. 

One of the more ornate caravans.

Even a modern caravan can be dressed up to look something special.

The back end of a dressy caravan.

One of the hundreds of horse drawn carts that were on the road today.