Sunny 75th Cunningsburgh Show draws big crowd

Lucky visitors to this year’s Cunningsburgh Show had a chance to bask in the South Mainland sunshine on a warm Wednesday afternoon.

A large turnout at the agricultural show saw people stopping by to see an assortment of cattle, sheep, pets, baking, wool, vegetables and photography, among other attractions, and a host of prize-winning entries.

Both first timers and regulars were out in force at the family-friendly event, which is celebrating its 75th show.

Young Farmers, Mind Your Head, NHS Shetland and CLAN Cancer Support were just a handful of the organisations who put up stalls at the show, with plenty of people stopping by to learn more about important groups and causes.

There were almost 2,700 entries this year for the judges to pick from — there may also have been nearly that number of people queueing for ice cream in the warm weather, with the food stall also proving popular.

Young visitors had the choice of a children’s activities tent and inflatables, alongside all the other attractions, with the vintage tractors on show attracting interest from all ages.

Politicians were also at Cunningsburgh to lend their support to candidates.

Nicola Sturgeon was at the show, arriving in the isles in the morning to join SNP candidate Tom Wills for her second visit in less than a month.

“It’s been great,” said Ms Sturgeon, saying there had been a “great response” during her time at the “really busy” event.

The First Minister had been meeting with staff at the Shetland Community Bike Project and Shetland Farm Dairies before heading to the show.

Alongside the SNP, the Liberal Democrats attended the show, with Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael along to support candidate Beatrice Wishart, who had a chance to spot some of the prize-winning cattle there.

Ms Wishart praised both the “fantastic show” and equally “fantastic” weather, which drew a large crowd.

All the results from Cunningsburgh, including the dog judging and showfield champion judging, will be available in next week’s Shetland Times, along with in-depth coverage and interviews with showgoers and prize winners.