Travellers start the party early: Gypsies race wagons down tiny village streets, wash their horses in the river and make last-minute preparations ahead of Appleby Fair

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Gypsies raced their wagons down tiny streets and washed their horses in the river as they made last minute preparations ahead of the Appleby Fair tomorrow.
Locals in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria, have been bracing themselves for chaos as thousands of travellers from across Europe flocked to the town ahead of the six-day event.
In footage posted on social media, a line of Gypsies on horse-drawn carriages are seen galloping down a road causing traffic to come to a snail's pace.
In a video titled 'Appleby 2025 so far', a toddler is seen being held by his mother on the back of a horse.
Gypsies have also been washing their horses in the River Eden as part of a long-held tradition to prepare them for sale and to cool them off.
The fair, which attracts crowds of up to 10,000, will feature horse riding, horse trading, traditional music, dance performances and shopping stalls.
The 250-year-old fair billed as the largest traditional gathering of the community in Europe.
A special police task force has so far dealt with offences of burglary, criminal damage, racist abuse, knife crime and faced a torrent of criticism after finding it necessary to handcuff a 10-year-old boy.
The surge in crime around quaint Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria is causing anxiety among locals because the fair isn't even due to start until Thursday.
So far local sporting venue, Kirkby Lonsdale Cricket club, has seen its pavilion smashed up, as no windows remain in the wooden structure.
There has been petty vandalism at a campsite and a knife waved during a confrontation between locals and traveller children.
All the complaints have led the police to the makeshift camp in a layby at the town's Devil's Bridge where dozens of caravans have congregated ahead of the fair in Appleby, which is 40 miles away.
A field has been handed over by the town for the gypsies to graze their horses as a safety measure to make sure they aren't causing a hazard tethered on roadside verges.
Locals said they have never seen so many Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) people descend on the town so early. And that may well be down to the successful clampdown in nearby Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria's Eden Valley.
For years the town was the focus of the pre-fair gathering but in the recent past locals have fought back, closing down services and pubs and shutting off the places where travellers would usually set up camp.
One Kirkby Lonsdale local told MailOnline: 'They seem to have descended on us this year and have come earlier and in bigger numbers than we have seen before.
'There have been problems caused by gypsy children in the town centre and closer to the camp they have set up in a layby.'
Cumbria Police has warned motorists to expect slow-moving traffic in the next two weeks because of the Appleby Fair.
Detective Superintendent Dan St Quintin of Cumbria Police – Police Gold Commander for Appleby Horse Fair – said: 'Public safety is our number one priority for Appleby Horse Fair which is why we are encouraging all road users to be cautious and vigilant on the roads.
'Drivers need to be aware that the likelihood that they encounter slow-moving traffic is high so please pay extra attention when travelling around the county.
'I ask people to pay particular attention when driving on the A66, where there is the potential for fast-moving traffic to encounter slow-moving, potentially horse-drawn, vehicles.
'Please take extra care, be patient and plan ahead and set off early. Let's make sure everyone reaches their destination safely.'