There was fun for all the family at a packed Stotfold Watermill over the weekend – with fairground favourites, steam engines and a daredevil who rode a motorbike through burning hay.
The 15th annual Steam Fair and Country Show at Stotfold Watermill attracted young and old alike, starting on Friday night and continuing through a sun-drenched Saturday and Sunday – with an estimated 14,000 people passing through in total.
And with live music, sheepdogs, medieval combat, Captain Neville’s Flying Circus and traction engine tug-of-war matches, there was plenty to enjoy at the volunteer-run festival, the proceeds of which all go towards running the mill.
Pam Peacock, one of the annual fair’s 12-strong volunteer organising team, told the Comet it had been ‘one of our best ever’.
She said: “We had thousands and thousands of people in – I’ve been told we’re looking at more than 14,000 in all, but we’re still awaiting the final figure.
“This is our main fundraising event for the year and we’ve more than covered the costs, which obviously is great as it means we can keep the mill going for another year.
“We kicked off on Friday night with Live at the Mill, which was a rock night. We had about 400 people come and have a really great time.
“Then on Saturday we had a really good turn-out, all different ages, and Saturday night was fantastic with Woo and the Fuel in the beer tent.
“That was a free night from 5pm on, and we had a lot more Stotfold people in – it was great to see all the local people, and security told me we had about 1,000 people there. Then Sunday was our busiest day, we were absolutely packed.
“We’ve had lots of feedback from everyone being very pleased with the whole event. People came from all over.”
A Spitfire featured in the flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight instead of the expected Lancaster and Dakota, which were out of action. There were also helicopter rides.
Hitchin mum-of-two Lorna Hemmings tweeted to say the fair had been the highlight of her children’s year.
To find out more about the mill, see stotfoldmill.com or give them a call on 01462 734541.
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