Where: The Market House, Hawes, Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, DL8 3QN
Date: 25th March 2017
How Often: Usually twice monthly plus bank holiday weekends (see website for details)
Venue: The Market House is a spacious, well maintained and welcoming venue on the main street in the lovely Wensleydale village of Hawes. Hawes is a bustling market town, serving a thriving farming community and a busy, popular tourist centre for the northern Yorkshire Dales.
The craft fairs are held inside the main hall of the Market House and the organisers supply tables and chairs. There is a good variety of stalls and they only accept exhibitors who make what they sell.
Cost of Stalls: £25
Number of Stalls: Maximum 28
Entrance Fee: Free entry Footfall: Constant throughout the day
Type of Crafts: Stained Glass, Knitwear, Pottery, Wood Turning, Photography, Lighting, Jewellery, Artists, Paper crafts, Soft Toys, Rag Rugs/soft furnishings and Fragrance Giftware.
Crowd Type: A really good mix of people, couples and families
Car Parking: There is a car park adjacent to the market house that is reserved for stallholders on craft fair days and there are plenty of ‘Pay and Display’ car parks for visitors to use nearby.
Other Facilities (Toilets, refreshments etc): There is a kitchen with an adjoining café area, serving local home-made refreshments. There are also clean toilets which are accessible to all.
Transport links (Train/Bus): There is a train station in the town with regular services from larger towns and cities nearby, and there are also various buses but due to its rural location, these do tend to be limited to one or two buses per day.
Accessibility: The building has a few steps at the front but there is wheelchair access from the trader’s car park at the side, and once inside, it is all on one level.
Vibe: The fair had a lovely, relaxed feel to it when we visited, with the stallholders all happy to chat about their crafts, the products on display and the even the weather! The tables are arranged in a large ‘U’ shape with stalls on either side of a large aisle and plenty of space for browsing.
General Comments: One of our friends (Dave Wardman from Nouveau Stained Glass www.nouveaustainedglass.co.uk) mentioned that he was exhibiting so we thought that we would have a trip out to see him and visit the fair. It was a lovely day so the town was bustling with day-trippers and motorcyclists enjoying the sunshine. Although not busy, there was a constant flow of visitors coming to have a look at the craft fair. We had a chat with quite a few of the stallholders who said they enjoyed the fair, and most attended on a regular basis, usually monthly.
There was a good mix of stalls, all with different product types and styles.
We didn’t partake of the café facilities, having had a cheeky Fish & Chips earlier (naughty but very nice) but there were plenty of customers enjoying the homemade cake and a cuppa.
Stallholder Comments: This was described as a very good, local indoor craft fair that was held regularly with high visitor
numbers. They all felt that it was worthwhile and good value for money.
What did we buy?
Stained Glass Yorkshire Rose & sheep fridge magnet (www.nouveaustainedglass.co.uk).
Whilst we didn’t actually buy one at the time, we were very interested in the fantastic lamp shades made by www.smalltallgallery.com and will be in touch to buy some in the near future.
Fair Organiser: Bernard Parkin Website: www.wensleyfairs.co.uk
Contact Details: bap57uk@yahoo.co.uk | 07973 905012
Using our fully automated service you could get your free no obligation quote today.
Click the link below and take the first step towards bespoke coverage tailored
to the unique needs of your business.
