Drymen Show

From every parish and clachan, steading and estate, from Killearn to Kippen, from Boquhan to Balmaha, they walked. Rising in the early morning light, across the landscape bound by the Campsie Fells to the east and Ben Lomond in the west, cottars and tenants, labourers and farmers, all began their journeys. Down the droving roads into the valleys, tracing the courses of the rivers Blane or Endrick, they walked, driving their animals before them. There were Blackface and Leicester sheep, Ayrshire and Shorthorn cattle, geese and ducks and goats and working horses of all kinds. Tups and hogs, queys and bullocks, cobs and roadsters, all to meet on a summer’s afternoon by the wide field at Drymen Bridge.

Held since 1816, the Drymen show is an important annual occasion for the rural communities of Strathendrick. Cattle, sheep and working animals of all kinds compete for prestigious local prizes, and the spectacle of mighty Clydesdale horses drawing carts and carriages is guaranteed to draw a crowd. But the show is the work of people too, and in this beautifully designed small book, we document the shared endeavour of the humans and animals who contribute to its continued popularity and success. With photography by Tom Barr and an introductory essay by Kate Davies, Ootlier1: Drymen Show is produced in celebration of the hard work of the Drymen show--Scotland's oldest 1 day agricultural event. 

Ootlier 1: Drymen Show is available here.