Western Park

The Midland Game Fair – A Brief History

The Midland Game Fair is the UK’s premier shooting event, and has been the event of choice for country sports enthusiasts for over a decade. Held each year at Weston Park in Shropshire, the Midland Game Fair has become the annual meeting place for the shooting community.

The strength of the Midland Game Fair is that throughout its history, it has always remained true to its sporting roots. Other shows have come and gone, but the Midland has continued to grow, and is an automatic diary date for many who enjoy country sports. The Midland is home to many of the shooting communities key events including competitions such as the Clay Shooting Championship, the Chudleys Gundog Championship, the European Field Target Championships as well as industry showcases such as Gunmakers Row and Airgun Expo.

But is hasn’t always been this way. The Midland Game Fair actually started off as a small quaint gathering of like-minded people on the Earl of Bradford’s lawn. The shows founder, Philip Poole, was returning from the CLA Game Fair, and thought it would be great fun to hold a similar event at Weston Park. He and a friend called in to see Lord Bradford on the way home, and the Midland Game Fair was born.

That was 1983, and the 3,500 country sports enthusiasts who congregated on Temple Field had no idea of the significance of that day. Over thirty years on, and over a million visitors later, the Midland Game Fair still retains its unique appeal and legendary atmosphere.

It’s not all been plain sailing. The legendary resolve of Midland Game Fair visitors has been severely tested on several occasions. Fuels strikes, foot and mouth outbreaks, horrific ground conditions and terrorist atrocities have threatened to unseat this Great British institution. However, each obstacle has been navigated, and the show has always gone ahead. In fact, during the fuels protests in 2000, there was more diesel brought in containers to Weston Park than there was at the filling station down the road! The message at the time was “if you can get here, we can get you home!”

The Spirit of the Midland was clear to see at the 2003 event, just prior to the Countryside March in London. Thousands of country people, all united with a common cause – to protect and celebrate our country way of life.

The Midland Game Fair – The annual meeting place for country sports enthusiasts.