The Eighth Stock Gaylard Oak Fair will be held on Bank holiday Saturday 25th August 2012
A day for those inspired by the countryside, timber, conservation, crafts and delicious local produce.
A full list of special events and activities will be published shortly.
2011 Special events included:
ADAM'S AXEMEN
Once again this exciting and entertaining team of Axemen returned to enthral onlookers with their Axe and saw welding skills.
BRITISH HORSE LOGGERS
We were pleased to welcome back several members of The British Horse Loggers demonstrating their precise skill around obstacles set out to simulate standing woodland. They ran a competition during the day. There were also Dray rides around the park.
FALCONRY DISPLAY
Mere Down Falconry flying and static displays.
This was a chance to to see Owls and Birds of prey close up
and find out more about how they hunt and behave.
WESCA
This local group of artists will returned to The Stock Gaylard Oak Fair once again with an exhibition that took its inspiration from Woodland Landscapes.
OTHER ATTRACTIONS INCLUDED:
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Tree climbing.
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Heavy machinery.
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Falconry Display
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Trailer rides around the Deer Park.
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Music workshops with Frances Eustace.
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Circus skills workshop with Mr Showers.
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Art workshops with artist Helen Simpson.
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Maze.
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Scarecrow competiton.
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Build your own bee house.
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Coppice crafts.
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Demonstrations of chainsaw carving, pole lathe turning, green timber building, basket weaving, charcoal burning, hurdle making, blacksmithing, and much more.
Over 170 tradestands and exhibitors were in attendance to showcase their skills and sell their crafts.
CLICK ON OAK TREE IMAGE TO VIEW 2011 PROGRAMME
A special thank you to our 2011 sponsors:
Dyne Drewett Solicitors - sponsors of Heavy Horses
Townsend Timber - sponsors of Demonstration Area
Knighton Countryside Management - sponsors of Conservation Row
Dike and Son - sponsors of Market Square
What people say about us:
"As usual a fantastic event enjoyed by so many families".
"Just to say how much we enjoyed the Oak Fair. So much different from other shows where we demonstrate and all the better for it".
"Thank you for such a great day on Saturday, such a lovely atmosphere of a proper country wood show, you really know how to do it right........if I had children plenty of rides/animal demos etc. etc. to keep them amused.
Thanks again, will be back next year. Just great!"
"Beautiful trees, marvellous landscape & friendly atmosphere, most enjoyable day. Thank you."
"The show we most enjoy attending."
"My favorite summer show, so much to see and do. Keep it up."
The 2010 Oak Fair
The sixth annual Stock Gaylard Oak Fair was held on Saturday 28th August and once again the weather turned overnight to give a lovely summers day, earlier in the week there had been some concern that the forecasters might have got it wrong.
The public were quick off the mark and started to arrive well before the 10am start, the 160 exhibitors barely had time to catch their breath during the day with lots of interested people stopping to learn more about their skills and products.
Children appeared to be captivated with the Millennium Maze, a new addition in the Children's area, while the scarecrows had teams of youngsters around them all day and there was stiff competition for the various prizes.
Trailers rides were kept busy with a passengers having a chance to see the deer park from within, and view the newly renovated Victorian Summer house.
Unfortunately, due to a break-in at their store Tree Frog were unable to offer tree climbing for children, it is hoped they will be able to replace their harnesses etc. in time for the 2011 fair.
A large crowd watched the felling of a Scots pine tree, then saw it being put through the chipping machine on the Daniel Upton stand in the Demonstration area. Making small chips within seconds. (see photograph in 2010 album).
A couple of blogs from exhibitors can be found at
Special feature events in 2010 included:
The 2nd Dyne Drewett Horse Logging competiton
Six members of The British Horse Loggers returned to Stock Gaylard for the second time to compete against each other around different courses. These were set up to replicate standing woodland and show the skill of the horse and handler to manoeuver around these tight obstacles while pulling logs. The crowds were up to six deep for the afternoon competition.
The winner of the Dyne Drewett competiton was Kate Mobbs-Morgan with her young Ardennes horse Kipp they performed fluently with no issues.
Second place was awarded jointly to Doug Joiner with his Percheron mare Elle and Richard Branscombe with his black Percheron Ivor.
Next year we hope that a couple of the teams will return to demonstrate followed by the 3rd competition in 2012.
Wesca Art Exhibition
Wesca is a regional group of professional artists who had been working in a variety of mediums for the past few months to put together this exhibition inspired by The Stock Gaylard Estate.. Exhibits included paintings, drawings, sculpture, photographs etc. This exhibition was an ideal progression from the re-birth of a dorset oak in 2099.
Adam's Axemen
The ever popular Adam's Axemen display team returned to give an amazing demonstration of their Axe wielding skills in a lively and entertaining manner. From chopping the top off a high vertical log to sawing through a large trunk, they had the audience on the edge of their seats.
Falconry Display
Mere Down Falconry entertained all the family with their owls, hawks etc. Giving children especially chance to get up close to some beautiful birds of prey and learn more about them.
Other attractions included:
- Music workshops with Frances Eustace.
- Circus skills workshop with Mr Showers.
- Art workshops with artist Helen Simpson.
- Trailer rides around the Deer Park.
- Build your own bee house.
- Exhibition by Kim Creswell
- Carving workshop by Mark Vyvyan-Penney
- Demonstrations of chainsaw carving, pole lathe turning, green timber building, basket weaving, charcoal burning, hurdle making, blacksmithing, and much more.
There were be over 160 different exhibitors all ready to share their special skills.
Click here for 2010 brochure.
2009 Oak Fair
The 2009 Oak Fair was a resounding success. This year saw our fifth annual Oak Fair on Bank Holiday Saturday 29th August.
Once again the summer weather was kind, and after a few moments of overcast dark clouds the sun came out. This year saw a number of special events, the first was the continuation from last year's felling of the dead Oak tree namely the Re-birth of a Dorset Oak Exhibition.
This exhibition ran from 21st August until the end of the fair day, some seventy pieces all made from this one tree. Ranging from furniture to bowls, bobbin to charcoal, gate to window, pepper mills to boxes, the diverse use of the tree was exceptional. We would like to take this opportunity to "thank" everyone who was involved. "We couldn't have put on the exhibition without you".
(Please see the gallery of photographs, together with the press links below.)
Fantastic coverage in national press – over a million hits on The Telegraph piece in 2 days. (THIS CAME FROM THE AGENCY WHO TOOK THE PHOTO’S AND SOLD THE STORY!!!
and a couple of mentions on blogs:
- Making a Mark
- Somerset Seasons
- Blacmore Vale:
Click below for slideshows
Other attractions on the day included: Mere Down Falconry displays with children interacting with the birds, International Tree Foundation fancy dress competition for local schools, judged by their president Susan Hampshire, Drum and Art workshops by Organic Rhythm and Mary-Anne Featherstone, Archery demonstration by Peter Whiteman, to name but a few.
There were a total of 150 exhibitors this year and attendance was up 15% on 2008.
Gallery of photographs can be seen by clicking on the link below.
We very much look forward to welcoming you to the 2010 Oak Fair on Bank Holiday Saturday 28th August. There will be new attractions, together with some returning from previous year.
2008 Oak Fair
Stock Gaylard held their fourth annual Oak Fair on Saturday 23rd August 2008. As the sun rose over the deer park we dared to hope for a bright and warm day ahead, and that is exactly what transpired.
When the gates opened at 10am the steady stream of people started to flow and they kept arriving throughout the day. A final gate of over 5,000 was recorded.
There was plenty to keep everyone entertained during the day including our two special events for 2008.
Firstly, The Re-birth of a Dorset Oak. Adam’s Axemen felled a dead oak tree sited at the bottom corner of the Church Park, this spectacle took them just over the hour with careful planning and plenty of hard work the tree came neatly to the ground (unfortunately disturbing a wasp nest in the process). Once felled the tree was then divided into suitable portions some for planking, while other limbs etc will be distributed to various exhibitors and members of the public to be turned into bowls, chairs, tables, board games, and many other items for a special exhibition at the 2009 Oak Fair.
Secondly, The Dyne Drewett Heavy Horses competition took place over two sessions. Six heavy horses from Herefordshire, Somerset, Devon Dorset and Wiltshire showed off their skills in manoeuvring around a small arena simulating a woodland area. These gentle giants of the horse world captivated all generations who took time out to watch.
As for the rest of the fair. An expanded children’s area included workshops ranging from wood carving, drawing and painting, circus skills, and weaving. Plus a chance to build your own scarecrow and play in the straw maze.
Conservation Row brought together organizations including Dorset Bee Keepers, Herpetological Conservation Trust, Dorset Bat Group, RSPB, FWAG, The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, International Tree Foundation etc.
Exhibitors in other areas included wood turners, carvers, furniture makers, basket weavers, wood working machinery operators, yurt makers, Chainsaw carvings, timber merchants, tree surgeons. A full list of exhibitors can be found by clicking on The 2008 Booklet icon below.
Click here to view 2008 brochure in PDF format (3.2mb).
Anyone interested in exhibiting at the 2009 Oak Fair should fill in the form below. Those wishing to demonstrate a rural skill and working with timber or woodlands will be particularly encouraged to exhibit.
Exhibitor Form coming soon.
Please contact the estate office for more information.
Click here for advance tickets