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
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!
