Travellers making their way to Appleby Horse Fair are adhering to advice not to arrive early ahead of this year’s event.

Final preparations for the fair, which is taking place between June 2 and June 8, were discussed during a special meeting of the Upper Eden Neighbourhood Forum.

The meeting, which was chaired by Appleby county councillor Martin Stephenson, was also attended by Robin Hooper, chairman of the fair’s multi-agency strategic coordinating group (MASCG) and chief executive of Eden Council.

Mr Stephenson said: “Final preparations are now being made. At the moment there have been fewer travellers arriving early for the fair than there were at this stage last year. It shows that they’re taking notice of the advice we’ve been putting out.”

He added that during the meeting, some residents asked questions about the one-way system in place and queried whether they would be affected. 

“There weren’t too many issues,” he said. “There were some problems regarding the signs that have been put out about the one-way system, so we’ll have to get those corrected.

“This year there will be a further one-way system in place due to a landslip on Garth Heads Road, but other than that there aren’t really any other issues.”

Residents were also made aware that the 563 service between Kirkby Stephen and Penrith would not be stopping in the town. 

“The company operating the service [Grand Prix Coaches] has said that it won’t be able to run to timetable if it comes into the town,” Mr Stephenson said. “Instead there will be pickups in the lay-bys on the A66 in both directions.”

Work to repair a landslip on the Settle to Carlisle line near Armathwaite is currently ongoing. During the horse fair, trains will be in operation between Leeds and Langwathby, while there will be a bus service in operation between Langwathby and Carlisle.

Passengers travelling south to Appleby from Carlisle are being advised to leave the bus at Langwathby Station and use the train to complete their journey to Appleby.

Superintendent Mark Pannone, of Cumbria police, said: “Road safety is the top MASCG priority for the Appleby Horse Fair and we are committed to keeping the roads as safe as possible during this busy time of the year.

“I would appeal to anyone travelling to the horse fair to work with us in keeping people safe and plan their journey so as not to arrive before June 2.”