Thousands of Gypsies, Travellers and tourists have been making their way to Eden for Appleby Horse Fair.
Cars, vans, mobile homes, bow top caravans and two-wheeler traps have been a feature on the A66 and country roads.
Queues of traffic have formed on approaches to the town with a swathe of no stopping restrictions throughout the town centre and many residential side streets shut for access only as horses and ponies are run up and down The Sands.
On the first day of the four-day event, good-natured crowds lined the banks of the River Eden and St Lawrence’s Bridge for one of the biggest spectacles – watching horses of all sizes being carefully led into the depths of the River Eden for a dunking up to the neck, and then a shampoo scrub on the sidelines as potential buyers looked on.
A large police presence is in force – from PCSOs to regular traffic and combat-clad armed response units, working alongside ambulance crews, and representatives from animal welfare organisations such as the RSPCA.
A number of businesses, including some pubs, have closed but the town has far from shut up shop.
Many businesses remain open including the Co-op and Spar, cafes serving meals and queues for fish and chips.
Appleby Primary School will close tomorrow as a result of the fair.
