Record turn-out in the sun at Appleby Fair 2014

By LUCY MURTAGH

Glorious sunshine confounded weather forecasts for Cumbria on Friday

THUNDER, lightning and heavy rainstorms. That was the weather predicted for this year's Appleby Fair, but it didn't stop record numbers of visitors attending, and they were rewarded with glorious sunshine on Friday as these photos show. Let us know if you are in any of our pictures!

Travellers’ Times were interested to know why council road signs referred to ‘Appleby NEW Fair’ though? Is this to imply that somehow this is a new event and not covered by King James II's Royal Charter of 1685 that was set down to guarantee that the fair would continue?

What do you think? Send us your comments to travellerstimes@ruralmedia.co.uk

Many thanks to our photo contributor "Mum Cumbria" who sent in these wonderful pictures.

Braid in England: a fancy hairdo and a good set of harness make a pretty picture of this coloured cob

The River Eden was high in places after recent rain on the back of a wet winter, but it didn't stop the traditional horse washing from taking place

That's my best side: standing under a cloudless sky at Appleby Fair

All smiles: a couple pose for a picture in Travellers' Times on the Battlebarrow road up to Fair Hill

Garden of Eden: Eden Valley district was looking lush after the wet winter

Sign of the times: Appleby Fair is backed up by a Royal Charter of James II, but it has been threatened in the past. In 1965, Romany Gypsy Sylvester Gordon Boswell successfully campaigned to save the fair from being stopped