See You At Heart Of The Shires

A New Fair At Heart Of The Shires In Northamptonshire
This Saturday & Sunday (8th/9th Oct) 10am-5pm
Free Entry  Everyone Welcome  Dogs Too!

I have been busy all week preparing to take the fair to Heart of the Shires in Northamptonshire for the first time at the weekend. Heart of the Shires is a wonderful rural shopping 'village' set around a tastefully renovated Victorian farm in the countryside a few miles north of Weedon.

The Bandstand In The Courtyard At Heart Of The Shires

The fair will be taking place inside a large marquee and there will be around twenty three large stalls, Many of us have been collecting and creating pieces especially for this fair so there should be some great things waiting for a new home along. There will also be two stalls displaying jewellery and there will be a choice of vintage or handmade pieces.

Emma Bridgewater At Abraxus

There are lots of independent shops including a bridal boutique called Silver Sixpence, a deli, numerous gift shops, Country Clothing and the award winning Abraxus. Darlingtons Tea Room are on hand for tea and freshly prepared meals, there is an excellent children's play area adjacent to the marquee hosing the handmade and vintage stalls. Entry is free and everyone is welcome, dogs too! So please bring them along.

Joan The Vintage Caravan At This Year's Sywell Classic

Joan the vintage caravan will be joining the Heart of the Shires Fair on the Sunday and will be setting up camp in front of the marquee, she received lots of complements at Sywell back in September.

The Lovely Canons Ashby

Just a few miles from Heart of the Shires is one of my favourite places, Canons Ashby, there is a lovely garden to stroll around, a fantastic cafe and a wonderful house to explore. Expect to be greeted by friendly staff and roaming chickens when you arrive. I have been visiting for years and the picture above was taken on earlier this week as I visited the surrounding villages to put up some posters.

Canons Ashby is maintained by the National Trust and there is a charge to visit the house and gardens although the cafe is free for all to visit.

Another Dog On Wheels!

We found this chunky chap on one of the stalls in the Vintge fair at the Sywell Cassic, Neil who brought him will also be joining us at Heart of the Shires at the weekend. The beret and souvenir scarf are also finds from Sywell.

Vintage Threads

I buy old embroidery threads whenever I can (along with spools, wooden cotton reels and other things useful to the vintage haberdasher). The value offered by sourcing vintage stock is clear if you consider the cost of new items. There were a few stalls at the Umbrella Fair which takes place on The Racecourse in Northampton every August, on one I found boxes and boxes of all sort of things and it was £5 to fill a large bag. Thrifting is fun!

Darlingtons Tea Room

I will be blogging again in a few weeks time and will be publishing the dates for 2017.

The Children's Play Area At Heart Of The Shires

Take care and hope to see you at Heart of the Shires.