A RECORD-breaking crowd and the heady days of summer set the tone for the 2023 flagship Cumberland County Show.

Visitors arrived in their thousands to the first major show of the Cumbrian season, armed with sun hats and suntan lotion to soak up all the show had to offer at the Showfield, Warwick-on-Eden, on the outskirts of Carlisle.

As temperatures recorded a sizzling 27 C - the hottest day of the year, ice-cream stands and other refreshments seemed relentessly busy all day.

Car parks overflowed and organisers prayed they wouldn't run out of parking space, while shuttle buses to the showground were quickly filled to capacity.

"Wow, what a show day," said operations and development secretary, Gillian Potts. "It has definitely broken all records."

And for Gillian, who lives at Dalston, the show did go on despite suffering from a stress foot fracture. "I saw very little of the show because of my foot. Thankfully we have an amazing committee and they pulled out all the stops to put on a fantastic day," said Gillian.

Many stood watching while others sat on chairs around the edge of the Main Ring, drink in hand, settling in for the non-stop entertainment.

Meanwhile rows of gleaming dairy and beef cows sheltered from the baking heat in a huge covered marquee with the sides removed to allow a cool breeze, while owners in the sheep section had brought gazebos for shade.

There were champions aplenty taking honours at the show with some new and some familiar faces proudly stepping forward to pick up the much-sought after silver trophies.

Joint show presidents, were Ian and Sue Powley. "Agriculture is one of this county's largest industries, so this one-day event gives us an opportunity to exhibit our wares to the wider general public. It also provides an event for farmers and rural dwellers to exhibit their produce and skills and compete with one another," said Ian.

This year organisers were pleased to declare that stands, livestock numbers and industrial and horse numbers were all up on last year. Home Industries chairman, Liz Peile said: "It's been great this year. We have taken on the Food Hall too and have installed a portable kitchen that has been used for demonstrations which have proved extremely popular. We had a fantastic number of entries from our local school too."