Final preparations underway ahead of annual Bloxham Steam and Country Fair
25/06/2026
Around 4,500 people are expected to attend on both days over the weekend
Thousands of visitors are expected to flock to the Bloxham Steam and Country Fair this weekend as one of Oxfordshire’s biggest traditional countryside events returns.
The fair, which was first held in 1968, takes place across three large fields at Smiths Fields between Bloxham and Adderbury on Saturday and Sunday. Around 4,500 people are expected to attend over the weekend.
Preparations have been a huge undertaking, with up to 3,000 people involved in the final stages of setting up the event in the heatwave. An organising committee of around 40 volunteers has spent months planning the fair, meeting throughout the year and fortnightly since April.
Visitors can enjoy steam engines, classic cars, vintage tractors and military vehicles, alongside falconry displays, live music, a food fayre, craft marquee and model engineering exhibits. A large Viking encampment is also among this year’s attractions.
Richard Millward runs Rally Control at the fair. He said one of his favourite moments was when all the engines joined in a special moment: “When they all gather together and do what we now call the Bloxham whistle – letting off their whistles at the same time – you can hear that around the rally field. I love that bit.
“It’s a family event and families have been bringing their kids for years and years and years. People come back year on year on year.
“We try and give them something a bit different to see each time, but the staples are all the same and kids just love it. They see things and you see the look in their eyes! They run towards something new they’ve just seen and mums and dads follow them and love it that the kids are having so much fun.”
Steam engines have travelled from across the country to take part, with one arriving from Durham on this morning.
Mr Millward added: “There’s a lot of interest in this rally. The owners are all passionate enthusiasts and they travel a long way – and spend a lot of their own money – to bring their amazing machines to all these rallies.
“There are a lot of local steam engine enthusiasts and owners who do ‘steam up’, but there’s also a lot of people come from further afield. That’s especially so since the Dorset Steam Fair, a really big steam fair, sadly stopped about three years ago. I think a lot of people come up here instead of that one.
“We’re gradually getting a reputation for being one of the biggest.”
Gates at the Bloxham Steam and Country Fair open at 10am both days. Tickets are available here.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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