Best village fêtes 2009

This summer celebrate everything that is quaint, eccentric, traditional and British by heading to a really good village fete. There’s everything from cake stalls and bric-a-brac to face painting and local produce, with a few unexpected oddities in between. We’ve picked some really good ones that are well worth a visit.

South East

Kingsclere church fête

Newbury, Berkshire; August 31st  – Held in the churchyard of St Mary’s church. Highlights include a dog show, a knobbly knees competition, climbing the church tower, and a bucking bronco.

Overton village fête

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Hampshire, July 11th –Held in the Old Rectory garden, in a truly beautiful setting; surrounded by the Hampshire Downs, and within a stone’s throw of the River Test. Highlights include a teddy bear hunt, pole-jousting and an army assault course.

Tandridge village fête

Surrey, July 11th – Held in the Glebe Field, on Tandridge Lane. Highlights include the national egg-throwing championships, terrier racing and ‘slippery pole fights’.

Bury village church fete

Held in Bury, West Sussex in the walled garden of Dorset House school. Highlights include tombola, a while elephant stall and a raffle with fab prizes – proceeds go towards a new church spire!

South West

Gittisham village fête

Devon, July 11th – Held through the whole village. Highlights include a duck race, a scarecrow competition and a ceilidh.

Bishops Lydeard school fête

Somerset, July 4th – Held at and around the primary school. Highlights include morris men, cream teas and maypole dancing.

East

Stiffkey village fête

Norfolk, August 30th – Held along Stiffkey high street. Highlights include dog races, Punch and Judy and ‘soak-a-bloke’ or ‘drench-a-wench’.

Crowfield village fête

Ipswich, Suffolk, July 18th – Held all through the village. Highlights include a flower show, a fancy dress competition and children’s races.

West

Six Ashes vintage vehicle rally and village fête

Shropshire, July 5th – Held at College farm, Six Ashes Road. Highlights include vintage motorbikes, tractors and cars galore.

Avon Dassett village fête

Southam, Warwickshire, August 1st – Held on Lower Field. Highlights include falconry, dressage and a treasure hunt.

North

Marton Wakes fête

Near Macclesfield, Cheshire, July 18th – Held across the village. One of the oldest fetes in existence, highlights include a craft fair, donkey rides and morris men.

Oxenhope village fête

West Yorkshire, July 18th  – Held on the Millennium Green. Highlights include a ‘beat the goalie’ competition, cream teas and an egg-and-spoon race.

Wales

Gwyl Y Felinheli

Gwynedd, July 5th – Held on the village green. Highlights include a lumberjack show, singing on the beach and a parade.

Tircoed village fête

Near Swansea, July 11th – Held across the village. Highlights include live music and dancing, and local foods.

Scotland

Middleton village fête, Midlothian, August 22nd – Held at Middleton village hall. Highlights include fancy dress competition, cake stalls and children’s games.

Celebration in the Park, Dundee, August 8th – Held in Baxter Park. Highlights include belly dancers, fairground rides and the local heat of the ‘Sprint Dundee Challenge’.

Are you having a village fete this year? Emailholly_kirkwood@ipcmedia.com and we’ll add it in!