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Dorset County Show
New layouts, new attractions, and old-time favourites at this year’s not-to-be-missed Dorset county show!
What better way to round off the summer than with a visit to the Dorset County Show – one of the biggest events in the county’s rural calendar. This year, the Show, which takes place on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd September, near Dorchester, has a host of new and exciting attractions happening alongside the traditional spectacle of champion livestock from all over the country competing to be crowned Best in Show.
The world’s largest monster trucks are crushing their way into the County Show. Stand by for an impressive 7.5 tonnes of Big Pete and his sidekick The Grim Reaper as they create mechanical mayhem. You will hear them before you see them!
A new introduction sees a Food and Drink Area devoted to the best of British beverages and food with a particular focus on the array of delicious Dorset producers. This pop-up foodie paradise is the place to try, buy and enjoy local, take in the atmosphere and enjoy onsite or take home to use in the kitchen. Here you will also find a Music Tent along with a massive new Food Hall, Dorset’s biggest larder!
Enjoy the new Hill Top Ring featuring two new attractions. See ponies put through their paces in the thrilling Mounted Pony Club Games and Shetland Pony Racing – think sports day on pocket rocket ponies!
You won’t want to miss the amazing dancing sheep. Meet Nobby the Norfolk Horn and his twinkle-hoofed mates at the hilarious Sheep Show which gives a fun insight into nine different breeds and their wool.
The Show welcomes the county’s famous Dorset Axemen, in the new Axemen Ring. who will be demonstrating the physical power of the forester, woodman and timber cutter before modern machinery came along. Their amazing display features speed, accuracy chopping and crosscut sawing with razor sharp axes and saws.
Tradition comes alive as the colourful vintage tractor parade trundles a timeline of heritage through the main show ring while the Steam Engine Section offers all the sights and smells of the past. Your little ones will love a free ride on pedal tractors in the Fabulous Food & Farming Area. This hands-on area traces the journey of food from field to fork with fun and interactive elements.
Rural pursuits are at the heart of this Show which has been showing Dorset Agriculture, Country and Rural Life for well over 100 years. Visitors can enjoy close-up milking demos, sheep shearing displays, gun dogs in action, falconry and ferret racing in the Countryside Ring. There’s bees, rabbit , poultry, heavy horses, show-jumping, scurry racing and carriage driving and the cutest creatures of the show – cavies.
Green-fingered fans can lose themselves in the beauty of the floral and horticultural marquees and enjoy the stunning show gardens which are created from bare earth within just a few days.
Show organiser James Cox said: “We’re so excited about the new layouts and new attractions for this year’s show. We welcome many visitors back every year, so our aim is to offer exciting new spectacles alongside firm favourites. The new layout will help to maximise visitor enjoyment as we bring together Dorset – from the Jurassic coast to the Blackmore Vale.”
Advance tickets are £19 for adults until 26th August before increasing to £21 then £23 on the Show days. Children up to 16 years old go free. And, if you want to make it a two-day treat, camping on-site is available.
James Cox added: “A daily total of 10.5 hours of entertainment and children go free - value like that makes the Dorset County Show an even more incredible day out.”
Book via the new and easy-to-use Dorset County Show website www.dorsetcountyshow.co.uk
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