Great Dorset Steam Fair Reviews

Brilliant best steam rally possibly in Europe
Plenty for every one to do

Visited the steam fair on 25 8 18 really enjoyed the sheer amount of steam engines ( the showman's engines after dusk have got to be seen to be believed) Spoilt a little for me by woeful lack of toilets, badly thought out car parking and clueless marshals.

Best show on Earth.... Spectacular event and only place on earth to ever have 520 Steam Engines in a field!!!!

What a fabulous day out or a longer stay, loads to for the whole family

Worked here for 5 day delivering coal to the fair would love to come as public next time

Appalling management of parking and traffic. We could not get in and wasted a day and petrol. We have been numerous times before with no problems but won't go again. Very disappointed and shocked that the management do not appear to have acknowledged any problems or given any apology or explanation

If you like traction engines or anything to do with steam then this is the place to go. It's huge! This year(2018) was the 50th anniversary and they had more steam engines, cars and trucks than at any other time. There are also steam driven musical trailers, a huge fairground and jumble and craft stalls. There's so much to see and do!
Highly recommended!

Fantastic 5 days except for one day of rain great place to take the kids live music all day and lots entertainment going on I would highly recommend

I came here 2 years ago, and it was absolutely amazing , I definitely would recommend it to anyone , fab rides. A bit expensive on the food prices but it was amazing , everyOne was friendly and the rides were thrilling . Absolutely amazing Loved it 1000%but the only thing negative about it was the prices of entry .

Very good show ran out of programmes on second day which was disappointing.

Food outlets were bad h and s comes to mind the rest was good till the rain

Great atmosphere, a superb country event. My grandfather took me to the 2nd fair, this year we took our grandchildren.

Fabulous show, need more than 1 day really to see it all.

Had a brilliant time .. go every year... recommend the dancing sheep and the falconry displays and of course if you love old machinery it's a must

Annoying to wait for tickets huge queue only one box open to serve

Lots to do and see massive fair but needs more disabled zcooters

Excellent show with good entertainment and selection of food stalls. Very successful visit and will defiantly return.

Had a fantastic 3 days, one very wet day spoiled it a little, there is so much to do as long as you love machanical things. Could do with 25% more loos but most time they were fairly clean but the wait could be a bit too long. Very enjoyable!

Brilliant as ever. Did have a night without our EHU which was paid for, but not GDSF fault I guess as some thieving toe rags had pinched the leads etc the night before.

Great show this year (1918) marred by appalling traffic management.

Fantastic, can't wait for next year. Incredible event for anyone who likes big old machines and the history. Steam engines, tractors, pumps, trucks, and many others! A well organized event, with something for everyone. Will be sure to BOOK CAMPING for next year in order to avoid missing out like this year. It will be all the more enjoyable drinking a few old Rosie's and not having to leave early! Roll on!

Fascinating steam engines, great entertainment, food and drink to suit every palate - great bands!!

A great day out for all the family, definately worth aiming to get here for 8 or your get caught in the miles of ques.

Went on the last day, shame there wasn't any walkways to help disabled. But we still managed to get around. Monster trucks, bird of prey & horse shows were great. Recommend going every year something for all the family to look forward to.

Visited for one day, yes the toilets could have been nicer. However the quality and range of exhibits is just mind blowing, need to go again.
Don't forget to stay into the evening to see the fair ground and showmans engine line up.

Show was great, all the exhibitors do a great job. Really enjoyed the Wurzles Friday night in the Real Ale tent. So mostly great, disappointed with the provision of toilet facilities especially in the camping site and also with being sited in a tent right next to entrance 1 with a bright light shining, and the security staff talking all night. Had the worst nights sleep I can remember. Won't be camping there again. So great show, but organisation around it needs to improve.

Well worth a visit whatever ones likes, an amazing collection of all things old, new and old fairground rides, open air and spacious, rural crafts and modern stalls selling everything one could imagine. Beer, ale, wonderful food and fantastic live bands. A great treat for all.

Poor organisation of parking very slow to get in and out,

Should be ashamed of the toilet facilities this year, I just hope what you have saved this year is worth all of the unhappy visitors.

Previous years in the camping fields there have been portaloos spaced evenly up the field. They have been cleaned and had the loo roll replenished regularly. This year I'm on a field with 10 loos stuck in a corner. Having to get up and walk 100 yards to the loo only to find you can't use half because they are full is not great, nor is never being able to find any with loo roll.

Can't say things on the showground are much better, not enough toilets and not serviced often enough.

All well and good making a big thing of 500 @ 50, but it's wasted if you neglect the people that are paying for it to happen!

Great fun, always something going on for the whole family.

Fantastic event. Huge! Felt a bit threatening at times due to drunken behaviour but we'll worth the experience

Campsite was feral hell!
No safety spacing, no security, electric hook up never works. Pikeys robbing everything, management ignoring everyone. This was our last year.

Fantastic day out. Traffic was a nightmare. 4hrs To get in!

Great day out nice to see the old cars, motorbikes and steam-engine's . First ww part very interesting. Lots to see . Our third visit and won't be the last.

I have been going for 35 years, it is still the greatest show on earth and would recommend that everyone should visit it at least once in their life time. This year, although arriving early as I always do, I was forced to endure a 2 hour wait to buy a ticket to get into the showground! The speed at which the tickets were being sold was just not acceptable, there were not enough ticket booths manned and later arrivals would have been stock for 3/4 hours due to the increasing length of the queue. I notice the road in was also congested which is not something I had experienced before. The event will endure whatever but i hope that next
year this inexcusable state of affairs will be rectified.

Love this event , but the dates for it shouldn't have been changed to coincide with children's holidays , it's a hard show to get around as you get older and you expect to get some peace when you get back to your unit each day without a lot of kids running riot around you .

Would have been a brilliant day if it had not rained

Such a shame they were not prepared for a downfall a little bit of forward planning would have made it much better. However the first couple of days were fantastic

Steam, shopping, crafts, food, everything you need for a great day out.

If its anything like last I wouldn't bother going at all

Came last year it was great day so thought we would come back for the big 50th

The Best Steam Event I have Ever been to
It has everything for everyone of all ages
Need to book the weekend tho as you won't see it all in a day Believe me I tried
Legs were really Suffering the next day

Fantastic show every year this year 2018 real biggie

Very good as usual but the parking this year is pretty poor

This has to be the best Fair in the south of England! The moment that i always eagerly await, is each evening around 11pm, cameras at the ready... when all the Steam Engines sound their whistles together! Its electrifying! Goosebumps galore! It's a truly memorable experience! Highly recommended! X

Great Dorset stream fair for me is the best ever well worth every penny you pay to get in

Been going to the show since early nineties just love it so much to see and do wet or dry there's something for the all family looking forward to this year's show and catching up with old friends

Great fair!! Only ever been a day visitor so cant comment on the camping side but the fair has plenty of interesting things to do and see. Always has a great war section paying tribute to our fallen. Great connection with the Royal Signals whose camp backs onto the fair ground. Decent toilets as fairs go... large selection of food which is pricey. Awesome family day out.

Went to The steam Fair on Saturday night , I queued from Handley Cross on The A354 to the site which took in excess of an hour .
Upon arriving at the site and finding the appropriate gate for car parking I was directed by security staff to another 3 gates before finalky being told that the site was full to capacity and turned away along with the other cars that had queued along with me , There were 4 Adults in my car therefore a lot of revenue lost for the show . I have always supported The steam fair but after this years poor management am reluctant to attend in the future , I had travelled from Swindon just to be turned away not good as you knew it was a bumper show and therefore should have arranged further parking in neighbouring fields . Biggest let down ever !!

Love the Steam fair, so much to see and do! If there's any criticism, all the event marquees were near impossible to get a refreshment from the bar, either too few staff or too shorter bar created a queue 4 Or 5 deep and endless waiting on the Saturday peek evening.

It's absolutely VAST. Almost endless old stuff to see, but a day was enough for me.

Wow what a day loads to do and see. Traffic heavy to get there but wl worth the wait. Full day all you need so well worth the entry fee.

Go every year. Great job by the organisers year after year.