Countryside shopping opportunities have been pretty thin on the ground this year, so the prospect of 500-plus quality tradestands at next weekend's Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials holds even more promise than usual.
Burghley has always been the place to go for Christmas shopping, but, following the cancellation of Badminton, Gatcombe and the CLA Game Fair, plus numerous other country fairs and shows, it will excite both retailers and spectators even more than usual.
And the one upside to a difficult summer for traders is that many of the shops and their wares, even the old favourites, will feel fresh on the eye.
In addition to the numerous excellent food and equestrian shops, here are Country Life's top 10 recommendations:
1 Cousins of Cheltenham - really sharp, smart clothing, especially the excellent Magic jeans 2 Berkeley Studio - their speciality is Snaffles, but there are lots of other treasures among the tantalising piles of prints 3 Fine Shooting Accessories - exactly as it sounds 4 Flower & Garden - stylish stuff for the garden; we especially like the hare and pheasant cushions 5 Glenalmond Tweed Company - classy, cheerful hats and handbags 6 Green Lifestyle Pavilion - new this year and looks promising 7 Nomad Ideas - the Farquhar family's gorgeous kelim company 8 Rural Crafts Association - there's always something interesting in their marquee 9 Tottering-by-Gently - Annie Tempest's ever-topical cartoons 10 Country Life - visit us on stand H6 for the perfect Christmas present, a subscription (at a discount of up to 40% plus a bottle of Moët & Chandon or Glengoyne whisky)
For a full list of tradestands, visit www.burghley-horse.co.uk
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