Penrith put on a brave face and did what it does best - put on a good show!

Despite heavy downpours keeping gate numbers down, there were still plenty of showgoers around to take advantage of the dollop of sunshine dished out sporadically during the day-long festivities at Brougham Hall Farm showfield on the outskirts of the town.

"We have blue sky," said a delighted show secretary, Mandy Hitch, "albeit not all day. We haven't got the mud certainly that we had last year, and we have more people through the gates this year."

"But it's a double-edged sword. We would have liked the sunshine for the visitors, but the farmers have been crying out for rain."

The spectacle of a fly-past by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight to include a Lancaster, Hurricane and Spitfire, may have been cancelled - along with the failure of one of the main ring entertainers to turn up - didn't put a dampener on the family day out.

There was still plenty to see and do, and the county's livestock community turned out in forced with an impressive line-up of sheep, horses, poultry, beef and dairy animals - all polished and groomed to perfection to compete for the silver trophies and rosettes.

"The farming community have done us proud. We were delighted with the turnout. Some of the county's best animals are here," said Mandy.

Elsewhere on the field visitors experiences a celebration of rural entertainment, food shopping, music, horticulture and farm life.

"It's been a grand day," said grandma, Helen McCann, as she watched grandson, Leo Watkinson, from Askham-in-Furness, parade his three-year-old Jack Russell, Bailey, in the Children's Pets contest.

New president, Amyn Fazal, said: "Penrith Show has grown from humble beginnings and is now one of the largest stock and agricultural shows in the north of England, drawing in large crowds. It is down to an enormous amount of work put in by the show committee."