Hatfield Rural Show, 12-13 Sept: £15 adult, £5 child

The Hatfield Rural Show runs on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September, 10am to 5pm both days, on George’s Field at Hatfield Park. Hatfield Park has published the full programme and prices, so here is what a day actually costs and what is worth planning around.

What it costs

Prices are per day, not for the weekend:

The family ticket is the one to check against your own group. Two adults and two children bought separately come to £40, so the family ticket saves £5. Two adults and four children separately come to £50, so it saves £15. One adult and two children come to £25, cheaper than the family ticket.

Parking is free. Hatfield Park says there is free parking for cars and coaches, reached through George’s Gate a few hundred yards past the Station Lodge entrance, and that vehicles may be directed to the Queen Elizabeth Oak Field during large events. The sat nav postcode is AL9 5HX, though the estate warns that GPS can route drivers wrongly through Old Hatfield and asks people to follow the brown tourist signs instead.

Your ticket also includes admission to Hatfield Park and Gardens. That is worth knowing before you plan the day, because it turns a show ticket into a full day out without paying twice.

Two things that cost extra

Almost everything is covered by the entry price, but two things are not:

• Mini Rovers, the off-road course where children aged 4 to 10 drive a replica Series 2 Land Rover. A supplementary fee applies and each child must be with an adult.
• Bark in the Park, the dog show. Entry is £2 per class, paid at the show information booth on the day. Classes include Best in Show, Best Puppy, Best Veteran, Best Trick or Talent, Waggiest Tail, and Dog the Judge Would Most Like to Take Home. All proceeds go to the charity Countryside Learning.

One attraction is Sunday only

If you are picking a single day, this is the deciding detail. The Sheep Show runs on Sunday only. It is a stage show featuring nine sheep breeds, a live shearing demonstration and, per the organisers, some sheep dancing.

Everything else listed runs across both days:

• a vintage tractor arena display with commentary from John Darin of Heart Radio and The Rustic Rambler, followed by a static showcase
• a live working steam sawmill, with commentary from a sawmill specialist
• gun dog displays and a gundog scurry
• an animal zone with sheep, pigs, Jersey cows and Shire horses
• a classic funfair, including a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, bungee trampolines and swinging boats
• a pedal tractor area and a children’s tug of war against a tractor
• classic cars and vintage lorries
• hands-on nature workshops making bird feeders and bug hotels
• craft stalls, a beekeeping stand, a gardening stand, a farm talk and a talk on the Suffolk Punch, a critically endangered heavy horse

Food comes from on-site vendors, with Hatfield Park naming Ragmarsh Farm and Sausage Co. among them, plus bars around the site.

Getting there without the car

The pedestrian entrance is opposite Hatfield railway station, which is the easiest way in from Welwyn Garden City. Local bus services drop off at the station too. Hatfield Park gives the fast train from King’s Cross as 20 minutes.

By car, the estate is 2 miles east of the A1(M) at junction 4 and 7 miles north of the M25 at junction 23.

What it means for you

• Book by the day, not the weekend. Prices repeat each day, so a two-day visit for a family of four is £70, not £35.
• Sunday if you want the Sheep Show. It is the only listed item that does not run on both days.
• Budget £2 a class if you are entering the dog. And bring cash or expect to pay at the information booth rather than in advance.
• Leave time for the gardens. They are already paid for in the ticket.

Tickets are on the Hatfield Park event page. For more days out around the district, see our guide to things to do in Welwyn Garden City, and for getting there, our train times to London and local travel page.