UK - Priddy - Annual travellers' horse fair

Travellers from across the West Country and beyond buy and sell horses at the ancient annual Priddy Sheep (and horse) fair in Somerset, England. Bare-chested men lead a small skinny foal around a field on the outskirts of the village. Set in the Mendip Hills, in the south-western English county of Somerset, the Priddy Sheep fair is host to an odd mix of farmers and travellers (commonly and incorrectly known as gypsies). In this field set aside purely for travellers, many with West Country accents but also with nearby Welsh and Irish too, deals are done with a traditional spit on the hand and a smacking of palms, selling a pony to another family. The Priddy Sheep Fair moved from the city of Wells in 1348 because of the Black Death.

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Contained in galleries: Priddy Sheep and Horse Fair

Travellers from across the West Country and beyond buy and sell horses at the ancient annual Priddy Sheep (and horse) fair in Somerset, England. Bare-chested men lead a small skinny foal around a field on the outskirts of the village. Set in the Mendip Hills, in the south-western English county of Somerset, the Priddy Sheep fair is host to an odd mix of farmers and travellers (commonly and incorrectly known as gypsies). In this field set aside purely for travellers, many with West Country accents but also with nearby Welsh and Irish too, deals are done with a traditional spit on the hand and a smacking of palms, selling a pony to another family. The Priddy Sheep Fair moved from the city of Wells in 1348 because of the Black Death.