All the Fun of the Fair in Tavistock Tonight

The crowds were still arriving in Tavistock this evening to soak up the atmosphere of Goosey Fair. Earlier in the day, queues of people, laden with bags of goodies, formed along Duke Street to catch buses back to the park and ride.  Over a mile of market stalls lined the streets, completely filling the Town in all directions.

This evening, the smell of candyfloss wafted through the air along with squeals of delight from youngsters on fairground rides and touts from traders.  It's the one day in the year where it is possible to buy everything from a new hat ready for the winter moorland chill to a set of cushions, from an assortment of stalls and traders who local people won't see again for another twelve months.

Visitors love it and obviously it brings some extra income to local businesses, despite the disruption to parking and traffic movements and the fact that it can take over an hour to walk the length of Plymouth Road, purely because of the number of people on the street.

Chinese noodles, fairtrade coffee and burgers have taken the place of traditional roast goose but the biggest event in the Tavistock calendar is still drawing in the crowds from miles around.

The second Wednesday in October used to be the day when farmers would drive their geese through the Town to market and this year Tavistock livestock market has gone some way to reviving this tradition but on the whole Goosey Fair today is just for fun.

Tell us your Goosey Fair stories at www.tavistockpeople.co.uk