Horse ploughing and country skills day at Ulster Folk and Transport Museum

Ploughmen from across Northern Ireland and England will compete with magnificent heavy horses complete with traditional harness and ploughs. Bertie Falkner and his grandson Declan will be on hand to talk about his years of attending ploughing matches throughout  Ireland.

The event at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum has long been a fixture in agriculture calendar.

Visitors to the museum on Saturday 18th can also enjoy hands-on activities including farrier and blacksmith work, open hearth baking, traditional threshing, horse grooming, donkey work and loy digging.

The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum’s farm manager Robert Berry said: “This is a wonderful event which young and old look forward to each year. 21st century farms are much noisier places than they were in late 19th century.

“This event is an enjoyable reminder of the quieter, slower pace of farming and the magnificent sight of the working horse with their ploughs with traditional harnesses.

“It’s hands on and visitors also relish the traditional home baking and trying their hand at favourite farm traditions like straw rope making and horse shoe throwing.”

Normal admission fees apply.

For further information visit www.nmni.com/uftm