Summer Events Round Up
It has been another busy summer season for the Addington Fund team, who have been attending regional agricultural shows up and down England and Wales to spread the word of the farming charity and it’s 25th anniversary year.
The team love this time of year, as it is a great opportunity to reconnect with so many existing supporters, meet lots of new faces, plus get the word out about the ways Addington Fund can help.
Here is where we’ve been so far:
Devon County Show - 21-23 May
The summer road trip began back in May with Jo and Tina heading to the Devon County Show for a couple of scorching hot days.
During our time in Devon we were honoured to meet with our patron HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh. Robbie Moore MP was also able to help us raise a glass to our 25 years of work in an evening reception. During his speech it was great to hear how useful he found our services when he worked supporting farmers before becoming an MP.
We would like to say a massive thank you to both the CLA and Cornish Mutual for hosting us on their stands at the show.
Beef Expo – 30 May
At the end of May, Tina attended Beef Expo in Melton Mowbray, showcasing the best of the best cattle.
The event was incredibly well attended, so Tina had a busy day exploring the stands, catching up with suppliers and chatting with farmers about the ways that Addington Fund can support rural communities.
Kenilworth Show – 6 June
June saw the Kenilworth Show roll into town, so Emily and Sue popped down to the fairly local event with Gerry, the Addington Fund Bear, a tent and bundle of leaflets to spread the word of Addington Fund.
Despite the rain, the event was very well atended and it was a great opportunity to catch up with supporters in our home county.
Royal Cornwall Show – 4-6 June
At the beginning of June Jo and Tina headed back to the South West to represent Addington Fund at the Royal Cornwall Show. This time they were both kindly looked after by the CLA on their stand, which allowed them the opportunity to meet lots of new faces from the farming community in Cornwall.
The CLA also kindly hosted a drinks reception to celebrate Addington Fund’s 25th anniversary year, which was generously sponsored by Coodes. This special event resulted in over £1,000 in donations to support Addington Fund’s work plus gave us a vital opportunity to raise awareness of our work and gain new supporters.
The stormy weather unfortunately cut our time in Cornwall show as the show was forced to close on the Friday night.
Lincolnshire Show – 18 June
Following on from a week in Cornwall, Tina then ventured up to Lincoln to attend the Lincolnshire Show. It was great to meet so many farmers and farm workers who were keen to talk about all the work Addington Fund does and find out ways they can support our work in the future.
One of the highlights of the day was meeting former Emmerdale star and farmer, Kelvin Fletcher of Fletchers farm. He was keen to find out about the work of Addington Fund, and especially New Entrant Grants Scheme and our first starter farm Whins Farm.
Groundswell – 1-2 July
One of the highlights of the past month was spending time at Groundswell.
It was wonderful to meet so many of you at the Farming Help stand, where, alongside Farming Community Network and several other fantastic organisations, we were able to offer a welcoming space and a one-stop shop for farming support. It was especially encouraging to see this collaboration come to life, following the roundtable discussion at Groundswell 2025 with HRH The Prince of Wales and fellow farming charities. Working more closely together means we can provide better support for farming families when they need it most.
Jo, Emily and Sue had a great two days meeting visitors and catching up with existing supporters and grant recipients, so much so that we didn’t have a moment to catch any of the hundreds of sessions available to share knowledge. There’s always next year…!
Great Yorkshire Show – 14-17 July
The Great Yorkshire Show never disappoints and this year was no different when Jo attended in the middle of July. This year she was based on the Barclays stand for the first time. This was a great opportunity to meet lots of new people to spread the word about Addington Fund, so we were very grateful to have had the bank’s support.
Whilst at the show Jo was also able to take part in several informative discussions on behalf of Addington Fund, including the future of farming plus the huge role women play in the sector.
Jo loved meeting so many visitors of the show. Conversations this time were especially focused on our New Entrant Grant Scheme , alongside a lot of interest in our starter farm, Whins in Cumbria.
We hosted a session on succession on the stand; focusing on ‘Succession Planning’, this subject is not always the easiest to talk about, therefore we are especially grateful to Alice Lampard for giving up her day to deliver this.
Royal Welsh Show – 20-23 July
At the end of July Tina went across the border to attend the Royal Welsh Show with our friends at FCN.
It was great to see the show so busy show allowing us to meet up with lots of supporters. Tina also had the opportunity to attend a meeting with Llyr Gruffydd MS, Cabinet Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability in Wales alongside other farming charities, where she shared information about Addington Fund and how it continues to helps rural communities in England and Wales.
Finally, and a particular highlight of the show was meeting members of the Hawkstone Choir, where Tina shared information about the charity, before watching them perform.
CARAS Summer Event - 5 August
Jo was invited to the CARAS Summer Event by Al Brooks, Chair of CARAS and ex-Addington Trustee and Ann Newbold (Secretary of CARAS).
The day was spent touring the Faccombe estate on two trailers and stopping to listen Al talk about the history and way the farm is used today, which was extremely interesting and informative.
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