To mark The Game Fair’s 65th anniversary, we have compiled a fun list of 65 things you may not know about the festival of the great British Countryside. This year, the hugely popular event is being held 28-30 July at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire. The event was originally co-founded by Colonel Sir John Ruggles-Brise, president of the Country Land Association (now the Country Land & Business Association) and Nigel Gray, a senior advisory consultant at the Imperial Chemical Industries Game Research Station, a forerunner for the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust. From 1958-2016, the event was known as ‘The CLA Game Fair’ while it was run by the CLA. It is now run by The National Game Fair and known simply as The Game Fair. The first ever Game Fair was held at Stetchworth Park in East Cambridgeshire with a budget of just £500, but it overran by £300. Entrance charges at the first Game Fair were modest; two shillings and sixpence per person (half-price for children, free for CLA members). There were just 55 exhibitors at the first event — today’s event attracts more than 1,000. This year, antique fishing tackle dealer Victor Bonutto is celebrating his 35th consecutive year exhibiting at The Game Fair. The total attendance at the first event was reported as 8,500, which exceeded all expectations. Fisherman’s Row did not feature at The Game Fair until the second event at Hackwood Park, Hampshire in 1959. It was the only time the Game Fair has ever used an artificially dug pond — every year since, existing lakes and rivers have been used. Long service medals were first awarded to gamekeepers at the Longleat event in 1962. The first person to fly in was the Duke of Gloucester, the event’s chairman, who flew in to Hackwood Park in 1959. In 1976, The Game Fair went to Wales for the first time, to Glanusk Park, Powys. That same year, HRH Prince Charles became the event’s new patron (following the death of the Duke of Gloucester in 1974). The first CLA Game Fair to be held in Scotland was at Blair Drummond, near Stirling, in 1964. It was organised and run by the Scottish Landowners’ Federation. The first event to suffer from serious traffic problems was held at Shotover, near Oxford, in 1965 — it hosted a record-breaking 41,000 people. The late Queen first attended The Game Fair in 1974, at Stratfield Saye in Berkshire — the same year that the Pugs & Drummers stand made its first appearance. The late Prince Philip once described the event as: “The most important shop window of our countryside.” Last year, the event was visited by The Princess Royal. Chatsworth was the first venue to be used more than once — the first time in 1966, followed by a repeat visit nearly a decade later in 1975. Over the years, the CLA worked hard to educate people about the danger of leaving dogs in cars — in 1999, 50 dogs a day …Continue reading »