Show takes action to tackle bad weather

It is a little over a week since tickets were made available by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS), the charity which masterminds England’s premier agricultural event, and the introduction of e-tickets has lifted early sales, with 72 per cent of sales so far made online.

Forty orders were placed within the first few hours, double during the maiden hours of ticket sales a year ago.

About £200,000 worth of tickets remain valid from last year’s show and will be honoured on the gate following the show’s cancellation after day one for the first time in its history due to prolonged wet weather.

Show director Bill Cowling believes the Show’s 155th incarnation, on July 9 to 11, will be the biggest and best yet after a £500,000 investment to re-enforce the Harrogate showground’s infrastructure and plans for increased car parking to avoid a repeat of last year’s disruption which left the YAS with a £2m bill.

Drainage pipes are being laid underground in the show rings and at roadsides within the showground’s inner 150 acres, and are designed to divert water away from key arenas in case of unseasonal downpours after vehicles had to be towed clear of muddy fields last year.

An 1,800-metre network of temporary roadways is also being laid in the horsebox park, the area worst hit by last summer’s deluge. Stretches of topsoil are being removed and replaced with a plastic membrane layer followed by limestone to complement the park’s permanent concrete roads and to drastically reduce distances between parked vehicles and hard surfaces.

Typically, the show attracts 135,000 visitors, bringing in around 45,000 cars.

Mr Cowling said: “We’re hopeful the weather plays its part and the work that has been going on will go a long way towards mitigating any risks.”

The YAS is working to secure up to 50 acres of additional car parking provision, he said. This would be reserved for use if conditions made existing parking areas problematic.

“We’re in discussions with various local landowners and hope some (additional land) will come to fruition within a month,” he said.

A long list of Royals have attended the Show over the decades but Mr Cowling said there was “no expectation” of a Royal visitor this year. The show’s last day coincides with the start of the Coronation Festival to celebrate the 60th anniversary of The Queen’s Coronation.

With or without a Royal, Mr Cowling is confident it will be a return to form.

“Ticket sales so far are reassuring because cancelling was momentous for us and for the Yorkshire community and beyond to lose two days of what was the highlight of the year for many.

“Our livestock classes are very well supported and the quality improves year on year because of the rising status of the show. It will be a bigger show than before and it will be better because of the investment we are making in infrastructure.”

HOW TO GET TICKETS

Tickets for the Great Yorkshire Show are available online for the first time by logging onto www.greatyorkshireshow.co. uk/

Opting for an e-ticket allows visitors to print their ticket at home, which they must then bring to the event to be scanned on arrival at the gate.

Alternatively, call the ticketline on 01423 541222, or purchase in person at Fodder, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s shop and cafe, located on the showground off Railway Road.