MY name is Julie McNicholls Vale and I have a confession... I have never been to the Royal Welsh Show before.

I know, I know! It’s ridiculous!

I don’t know why I’ve never made it to the show; I’ve always wanted to, but I just never found the time.

This year I was determined, so last Tuesday (19 July), I got up at the crack of dawn and travelled down to the showground in Llanelwedd to see what all the fuss is about.

I was not disappointed!

I don’t know what I expected the show to be like but because I’m not from a farming background, nor from Wales originally, nor am I a fluent Welsh speaker - yet (dw i’n trio!) - I thought the show wouldn’t be for me.

I was wrong!

It helped that the weather was glorious!

I know it was too hot for some – and it must have been difficult manning stalls in tents all day during last week’s heatwave - but I am usually freezing (even in summer) unless we have temperatures such as those we experienced last week. Anyway, I digress.

The first thing that hit me was just how much there is to do! As well as stalls selling anything from cheese, to meat, to art, to jewellery, there are singers singing, people parachuting and stuntmen... stunting...? Let’s move on.

The atmosphere is electric, and everyone was so friendly and willing to talk about their products, their services and themselves. It was fascinating! And, if like me, you love a freebie, then the Royal Welsh Show is the place to go. I tasted some lovely cheese, quaffed some whisky and wine (shh, don’t tell the boss!) and came home loaded down with pens, badges, keyrings, sunglasses and a big, bright orange beach ball. What could be better than that?!

Although, I think my enthusiasm for finding freebies meant I took my eye off the ball a bit, because I missed Princess Anne.

This was The Princess Royal’s sixth visit to the showground, after her last visit in 2014 for the Winter Fair.

Royal Welsh Agricultural Society chief executive, Steve Hughson, said he was “extremely excited to welcome HRH The Princess Royal, re-enforcing our strong links to the Royal family and our Patron, Her Majesty the Queen”.

The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society started in 1904, and the first show took place in Aberystwyth that year.

“The first show at Aberystwyth attracted 442 livestock entries,” the society’s website explains.

“Four years later, in 1908, 23 special trains comprising 224 cattle trucks and horse-boxes arrived at Aberystwyth together with 100 passenger coaches ferrying visitors from far and wide to the show.

“Nowadays, livestock entries number around 8,000 and 20,000 cars a day plus hundreds of stock lorries and trailers converge on the showground for the annual four-day event which has grown into one of the most popular agricultural shows in Britain.”

The Royal Welsh Show spawned two more events - the Smallholding and Countryside Festival and the Winter Fair. All three have become important events in the Welsh agricultural calendar.

“This success [of the Royal Welsh Show] has allowed for the extensive development of the permanent showground at Llanelwedd, first used in 1963, which is set in the heart of the scenic mid Wales countryside,” the website adds.

The aim of the Royal Welsh Show is principally to showcase the best livestock, food and drink produced in Wales, and, as the website states, “it encompasses the wider spectrum of farming and rural life and successfully bridges the gap between town and country”.

“It provides something to interest everyone through its kaleidoscopic range of activities including forestry, horticulture, crafts, countryside sports, and a 12-hour programme of exciting entertainment that continues throughout each of the four days of the event.”

If only I had studied the website sooner, I would have known that the Royal Welsh Show offers a fantastic opportunity to get out, meet others, have fun, and learn more about wonderful Wales - whether you come from a farming background or not.

This year’s show started last Monday, 18 July, and ran for four days.

With a packed programme of competitions, attractions, trade stands and main ring displays every day, I only saw a fraction of what this spectacular event has to offer.

I wonder if I can convince the boss to let me go for a few days next year...?

For more information about the show, visit the RWAS website.