Punnets of fun in Binsted raises thousands for charity

A fruit-themed helter-skelter was the strawberry of the organiser's eye at Sunday's Binsted Strawberry Fair.
Binsted Stawberry Fair

Pictured are cousins, L-R Freddie Barker(5), Lucy Barker (2) and Millie Jones(3). 
Binsted, West Sussex
Picture: Liz Pearce 23/07/2017
LP170380 SUS-170724-075806008Binsted Stawberry Fair

Pictured are cousins, L-R Freddie Barker(5), Lucy Barker (2) and Millie Jones(3). 
Binsted, West Sussex
Picture: Liz Pearce 23/07/2017
LP170380 SUS-170724-075806008
Binsted Stawberry Fair Pictured are cousins, L-R Freddie Barker(5), Lucy Barker (2) and Millie Jones(3). Binsted, West Sussex Picture: Liz Pearce 23/07/2017 LP170380 SUS-170724-075806008

More than a thousand people braved showers to enjoy this year’s event, held at Flint Barn near Arundel.

Organiser Mike Tristram said: “It was a fantastic event, all the more extraordinary for the way the people who came just shrugged off the weather.

“The buzz was absolutely wonderful.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mike praised the variety of amusements on offer, from the usual strawberries to the new addition of traditional broom making.

But it was a custom made strawberry-themed helter-skelter ride that particularly took Mike fancy, which he said was a ‘tremendous highlight’.

The day raised about £6,000 for the event’s charities: Binsted Church Repairs, Doctors Without Borders, CPRE Sussex and the South Downs Society.

But this year’s event again took place under the shadow of the looming consultation into the A27 at Arundel.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A bypass route suggested previously could cut right through the picturesque village of Binsted and jeopardise the fair’s future.

Many of the stalls at the event were devoted to teaching attendees about the various threats a bypass could pose to the local environment.

Mike added: “There was a very good open discussion going on.

“A lot of people signed the Arundel Bypass Neighbourhood Committee petition to save Binsted.

“We need to think about the future and the children.”

Related topics: