Devon County Show - What a great County Show!

The 2011 Devon County Show has hit another new high with three days packed full of entertainment, excitement, great competition and plenty of good business.

Attendance figures for Devon’s big day out are still being collated but there’s every chance that this could be a record year.

It’s expected that more than 90,000 visitors visited the Westpoint site by the time the curtain came down on this year’s County Show.

“It has been absolutely marvellous,” said delighted Show Secretary Ollie Allen. “We have brought together the best that Devon has to offer - rural, agricultural, commercial and the voluntary sector – and formed a huge shop window for life in the Westcountry.

“We don’t have exact attendance figures yet, but based on our best guestimate we think we have about the same number of visitors as last year, which was more than 92,000.”

A combination of good weather with plenty of sunshine helped bring huge crowds flocking to the showground for a great countryside day out for all the family.

The scene was set on day one when, for the first time since the Show moved to Westpoint, overflow car parks had to be opened on a Thursday. An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 vehicles poured into the fields around the site and it was the same again on Friday with Saturday – when kids go free – was even better.

And the big numbers through the gates have been reflected in a healthy boost to the businesses exhibiting at this year’s Show - trade stand holders have reported doing a roaring trade throughout.

There has been a strong emphasis on agriculture, reflecting not only public interest but also the growing consensus that the UK’s needs to expand food production to guarantee food security. 

As ever, the livestock have been a major attraction at the County Show. The crowds were drawn by more than 7,000 animals – from great bulls to furry guinea pigs to brightly coloured poultry and tiny bees - on display.

Stars of the furred and feathered variety shared the spotlight with celebrities from the world of television. Channel 4’s Kirsty Allsopp, Countryfile presenter Adam Henson and his BBC colleague Aled Jones from Escape to the Country were among the network TV talent taking in the many and varied delights that the Show had to offer.

Food and drink has again played a massive part in the Show’s popularity and 2011 has seen the very best that the Westcountry has to offer being sampled on site or snapped up to be savoured later.

Rubbing shoulders with a host of traditional country pursuits were plenty of more modern entertainments including a daredevil motorcycle display team and a group of powered parachutists, all designed to appeal to a wide range of interests.

It looks like the blend has struck the right note with visitors from near and far. First day results from an independent, third party, market research team show an extremely high satisfaction rating from those surveyed.

Eighty per cent of visitors were very happy with what the Show offers, a similar number said they’d be back next year and a massive 98 per cent said they would recommend it to others.

A quarter of those asked said they didn't think their Show experience could be improved and only 17 per cent said they would like to see the price reduced.

And the main reason for people coming to one of the biggest occasions on the Westcountry calendar – the County Show consistently lives up to its billing as Devon’s Big Day Out!

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