Anyone wanting a drive out next weekend could always visit the Jaguar Fairs Giant Wetherby Racecourse Antique Fair that’s on from Saturday 27th September to Sunday 28th September 2008.
Based in and around the new exhibition centre at the Wetherby racecourse it certainly has better facilities than the old fair used to!
Entrance to the fair costs £4 before 9am on Saturday and £3 for the remainder of the weekend.
As the Kedleston Hall antique fair was cancelled it’s worth keeping an eye on the weather and checking the Jaguar Fairs website before travelling just to ensure the fair is still scheduled to go ahead.
Jaguar Fairs operate a number of antique fairs including Kedleston Hall and Derby University. For full details of the Wetherby Racecourse fair and the other fairs that Jaguar Fairs run please see their website:
http://www.jaguarfairs.com/
I went down to the Wetherby Racecourse Antique & Collectors Fair run by Jaguar Fairs yesterday, Saturday 16th August, and I must say I was a little disappointed.
I arrived at about half past seven (trade is from 8am) but everyone was allowed in, entrance fees being £4 until 9am then £3 for the rest of the weekend. To say I was there from the start there were very few people walking round and the quality of the stock seems to have gone downhill with very few pieces catching my eye.
The racecourse has had some new exhibition buildings built and the fair is now housed inside these instead of the marquees it used to be in. The stalls are mainly scattered throughout two buldings with a couple of small side areas, slightly disjointed but easily located with the help of the bright yellow signs put up by the organisers. There are still some outside stalls dotted around the buildings and in the field near the entrance. The toilet facilities however are far better than they used to be!
I was hoping the new buildings would have added a new lease of life to the fair but it doesn’t seem to have worked out that way. As I left it was starting to spot with rain and today’s weather forecast is even worse so how much better the fair got I can only guess!