Where I've been

[HaiGan]

The Great Dorset Steam Fair is a HUGE multi-day event in the south of England- bigger than Glastonbury Festival- and I've been there camping through the whole show. My personal highlights were the Whistle Up (at midnight on the Saturday* aaaaall the traction engines, showman's engines and other steam engines blow their whistles at once) and the Heavy Horse Musical Ride. The latter is pretty spectacular- eight brewery drays, each drawn by a pair of heavy horses (weighing over a ton each), at a smart trot (so around 10-15 miles an hour), performing circles and scissors and pattern changes, to music... with half the drivers singing along at the tops of their voices, if you listen as they go past .

I have photos, if anyone needs references, although don't worry abut heavy horse harness, I'll get mine for Harry finished at some point after September.


This is the steam fire-engine that was put on display most days of the show, drawn by two Percheron mares. They really get up a good gallop (and the fire team love what they're doing, they usually have HUGE grins on the their faces). I liked this photo I took because of the heat haze from the fire.


It's hard to give a good impression of the Musical Drive in a photograph. Video would be better. Have some lovely heavies anyway .



...and have a picture of a traction engine, as a break from the horses.


Isn't this one of the cutest things ever?

I now return you to your regular viewing!

*and the Sunday, and midday on the last day, because all the steam folks like blowing their own whistles .

 

[Miss B]

I'm loving those last 2 pictures. Very cute indeed.

 

[Mythocentric]

That's one of the very few things I miss about my old home HaiGan. Thwaites Brewery delivering by horse-drawn dray. Their horses were (and still are) never less than immaculate and Major, in particular, became a firm favourite with my daughters in their younger days because of his sheer size and power matched to such a gentle nature. I don't know how many apples they fed him but he used to slow down whenever he passed the house just in case!

 

[HaiGan]

Thwaites Brewery delivering by horse-drawn dray.

Very few breweries still deliver by horse (Wadworth and Hook Norton, I think). A few others keep horses for promotional work, others sponsor a stable to horse their dray for them; all of those take a pride in their horses and turnout, Thwaites included. The behind-the-scenes input from grooms is pretty huge!