My regular look ahead to events happening next month that would probably be in my events guide, if only they weren’t happening outside the psychological barrier of the M25 motorway.
| The Braemar Gathering | 1st Sept |
| Commonly known as the Highland Games, international athletes will be among those taking part in the “heavy” and “track” events. | Braemar, Aberdeenshire |
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| Ryde Illuminated Carnival | 1st Sept |
| Street parade with illuminated floats. | Ryde, Isle of Wight |
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| Raveningham Fair | 1st Sept |
| The Fair was started in 1976 as the Raveningham Threshing Fair to raise funds for the Raveningham Group of Churches. Since then it has grown in size to become one of the longest established events on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. | Thurlton, Norwich |
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| Faversham International Hop Festival | 1st-2nd Sept |
| Held on the 1st full weekend in September it sets out to commemorate the golden days of hop-picking when families would come to Kent and pass the evenings with music and stories. | Faversham, Kent |
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| Shackerstone Family Festival | 1st-2nd Sept |
| For over 15 years the Shackerstone Family Festival has taken over the village for the first weekend of September. It brings together a large number of different family attractions that are centred around the village. | Shackerstone, Leicestershire |
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| Sowerby Bridge Rushbearing | 1st-2nd Sept |
| Rushbearing dates back several centuries to a time when rushes were simply a floor covering in churches. Each year, it was out with the old and in with the new. Over many years this tradition has gradually turned into a celebration and a holiday involving music, morris dancing and revelry | Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire |
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| The Burghley Horse Trials | 1st-2nd Sept |
| Three days of horse events and shows. | Stamford, Lincs. |
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| The National Gardening Show | 1st-2nd Sept |
| The event showcases the finest in Autumn gardening, with lots of features that are unique to the show, advice from experts, and help on how to grow your own plants and vegetables. | Shepton Mallet, Somerset |
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| Chatsworth Country Fair | 1st-2nd Sept |
| The Country Fair hosts one of the largest Horse Driving meets of the year, one of the biggest hot air balloon lifts in the country after Bristol. | Chatsworth, Derbyshire |
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| World Bellyboard Championships | 2nd Sept |
| 10th annual competition based on the earliest form of surfboarding. | Chapel Porth, Cornwall |
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| St Giles Fair | 3rd-4th Sept |
| The Fair evolved from the St Giles’ parish wake of the early seventeenth century, which later became known as St Giles’ Feast. It is now a large funfair in the town. | St Giles’, Oxford |
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| Blenheim Palace Horse Trials | 6th-9th Sept |
| Famous horse events with show jumping, cross country events and various country fairs and stalls. | Woodstock, Oxfordshire |
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| Findon Sheep Fair and Village Festival | 7th-8th Sept |
| Friday Night begins with a funfair on the green then a barn dance and curry in the marquee. Saturday is the fair itself, with craft stalls, sheep displays, sheep judging and other displays on the green. | Findon, West Sussex |
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| Windsor Driving | 7th-9th Sept |
| Three days of horse driving trials in Windsor Great Park, along with dog championships and a classic car display. | Windsor, Berkshire |
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| The Sheriff’s Ride | 8th Sept |
| The Ride dates from Queen Mary’s Charter of 1553 in which Lichfield was separated from Staffordshire and made a separate County with a right to appoint its own Sheriff. | Lichfield, Staffordshire |
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| Hop Hoodening | 8th Sept |
| Expect Morris men accompanied by the Hooden Horses and lots of hops from the local harvest. The Hop Queen will arrive amidst a bower constructed of hop-bines and everyone makes their way into the Cathedral | Canterbury, Kent |
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| Carshalton Straw Jack | 8th Sept |
| A straw figure made from the previous year’s harvest is paraded around town then burnt at the end of the day. | Carshalton, Surrey |
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| Newent Onion Fayre | 8th Sept |
| As the world’s only event of its kind dedicated to the onion family, visitors have enjoyed fun-filled fayres of live music, entertainment, street stalls and shows for centuries, and this year is hoping to surpass all others. | Newent, Gloucestershire |
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| Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival | 8th Sept |
| The Festival is open to everyone and over 40 crews are expected to battle it out over the 200m race course, watched by several hundred spectators. | Fen Ditton, Cambridge |
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| Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival | 8th-9th Sept |
| All the usual favourite food and craft stalls will be there with a few new additions and lots of great music on both days | Sturminster Newton, Dorset |
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| Duxford Air Show | 8th-9th Sept |
| In an outstanding aerial spectacle, the very best historic and modern aircraft display in the skies over this famous airfield. | Duxford, Cambridgeshire |
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| Malpas Yesteryear Rally | 8th-9th Sept |
| Annual rally since 1972 with steam engines, heavy horses, working demonstrations and rural crafts. | Malpas, Cheshire |
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| Abbots Bromley Horn Dance | 10th Sept |
| The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance, performed at the Barthelmy Fair in August 1226, is one of the few ritual rural customs to survive the passage of time. After collecting the horns from the church, the Horn Dancers perform their dance at locations throughout the village and its surrounding farms and pubs. | Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire |
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| Westmorland County Show | 13th Sept |
| The Westmorland County Show is one of the largest one day Agricultural Shows in the country and certainly one of the oldest. | Milnthorpe, Cumbria |
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| Bedfordshire Steam & Country Fayre | 14th-16th Sept |
| Country fair with steam engines, heavy horses, fair, fairground and flying displays. | Biggleswade, Bedfordshire |
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| Goodwood Revival | 14th-16th Sept |
| Well-known faces from most motor sport disciplines will be in action at this year’s Goodwood Revival, including Formula One stars, rally winners, endurance racing champions, tin top tearaways and top bikers. | Goodwood, West Sussex |
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| Egremont Crab Fair’s Gurning Contest | 15th Sept |
| Egremont Crab Fair and Sports was established in 1267, which makes it one of the oldest fairs in the world. It combines ancient and traditional events with modern attractions – and the famous gurning contest. | Egremont, Cumbria |
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| RAF Leuchars Air Show | 15th Sept |
| A celebration of 100 years of aviation from North East Fife, along with static displays, fairs, and stalls. | St Andrews, Fife |
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| Grand Henham Steam Rally | 15th-16th Sept |
| Steam engine rally and country fair with displays, rural crafts, helicopter flights and vintage fairground. | Southwold, Suffolk |
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| Midland Game and Country Fair | 15th-16th Sept |
| Renowned as the annual meeting place for country sports enthusiasts, the Midland has evolved into a comprehensive countryside event that now attracts more than 90,000 visitors. | Weston Park, Shropshire |
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| Salute to the ’40s | 15th-16th Sept |
| 1940s themed event at the naval heritage centre – includes a big gun firing by a 1940s Royal Navy destroyer at noon. | Chatham, Kent |
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| The Berkshire County Show | 15th-16th Sept |
| Country fair with horse driving, pig showing skills; taste Britain’s finest foods and watch cookery demonstrations; sample the best craft and watch traditional crafts in action. | Newbury, Berkshire |
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| The Festival of the Plough | 16th Sept |
| Attractions include horse ploughing, vintage tractor ploughing, steam ploughing, static tractor display, vintage cars, craft tent, poultry exhibition, model display, stationary engines, terrier racing. | Epworth, North Lincs. |
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| Brambles Bank Cricket Match | 17th Sept |
| Annual cricket match carried out at low tide on a sand-bank in the middle of the Solent. | Portsmouth, Hampshire |
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| Stone Skimming Championships | 23rd Sept |
| The championships are held every year on the last Sunday in September. Anyone of any age and any level of skill can enter. Each competitor is allowed 3 skims using specially selected Easdale slate skimming stones. | Oban, Argyll, Scotland. |
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| Surrey Ploughing Match | 23rd Sept |
| There are ploughing competitions which draw up to around 85 ploughmen, including heavy horse ploughing. | Eashing, Surrey |
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| Annual Clypping Service | 23rd Sept |
| The clergy of St Mary’s Church will encircle the church and dance will walking around the church – part of a restored ancient tradition. | Painswick, Gloucester |
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| Hovercraft Racing | 29th Sept |
| Set in the grounds of Claydon House this popular course has a testing mix of fast straights and technical sections making it a real challenge. The fast water straight is right in front of the spectator viewing area, getting you as close as possible to the action. | Claydon House, Buckinghamshire |
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| Burgess Hill Bonfire Society | 29th Sept |
| Several processions through the town with flaming fire carts (barrels), and a bonfire at the end along with fireworks. | Burgess Hill, Sussex |
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| Southwell Ploughing Match & Show | 29th Sept |
| The show represents all the really important interests of agriculture from horse ploughing through the vintage years to the modern day tractor, a variety of livestock, static displays and trade stands. | Kneesall, Nottinghamshire |
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