AN HISTORIC fair takes place this weekend, which traces its roots back to when a Yorkshire Dales market town traded tens of thousands of sheep every year.

Masham Sheep Fair celebrates all aspects of sheep farming and takes place on Saturday and Sunday. The event commemorates the time when as many as 70,000 sheep were sold each year in the town’s market place.

There will be sheep shows and classes and entertainment such as sheep racing, sheepdog demonstrations, tours of Theakston and Black Sheep breweries, a procession through the town and a fabulous flower display in St Mary’s Church.