After leaving the Music Meet at Hardraw on Monday morning, I drove into Hawes and parked up in the big visitor centre car park, tucked away at the end a few bays away from a caravan and traditional wagon with what looked like one gypsy family. I sat and brewed up whilst having a look at Google Maps to decide where to go or whether to risk staying overnight in Hawes car park. I figured that a white transit van parked close to a gypsy caravan would not be disturbed by the ranger as it would be assumed to belong to the gypsies.
As I went for a walk round Hawes before deciding, I passed the gypsy van and the people sitting outside all nodded politely at me which I acknowledged, as I walked across the car park.
An hour or so later I returned to find my van surrounded by other horse drawn wagons, horses, pick ups and horse trailers. When I first saw this I felt a bit panicky but then thought, how would I react if they were cars instead of gypsy vehicles? As I walked across the car park I stopped to give a couple of horses which were being washed, a pat and chatted with some of the men around, who were all pretty busy sorting out the animals, taking them down to the river and to grass for grazing. They all stopped and made time to have a quick chat with me about where they'd come from etc, and although I was conscious of being watched, I felt no animosity from them and felt no anxiety.
It was a nice spot and I was really tempted to stay the rest of the day and overnight hoping that I'd get away with it as it would be assumed I was with the gypsies. But I did feel that I might be regarded with suspicion by the gypsies and that I could be in their way (my van was by now right in the middle of their vehicles etc). So after another brew and some internal debating, I decided to move on for the night, albeit somewhat reluctantly as I was very curious to see some of their culture first hand. As soon as I started reversting, the groups parted and a few of the men guided me backwards safely, and then sent me off with a cheery wave, same from the women sitting outside the caravan. I was really quite disappointed that I didn't have the bottle to stay and get talking to them - on reflection it was my own prejudices, which have arisen due to the local bad mouthing of gypsies that I've heard ever since I moved to within 10 miles of Appleby 10 years ago.
On the way home from the meet, I came along Swaledale and over the top of Tailbridge Hill into Cumbria and down through the village of Nateby just outside Kirkby Stephen. Sadly along this single track minor road, just outside of the small village of Nateby, I passed a flat spot on the common land which had very obiviously been recently used by a number of campers who had left the area strewn with rubbish (I can only presume it was gypsies, due to the time of year and the size of the area which had been used which was marked by tyre tracks, flattened patches, horse poo and rubbish). It wasn't just a few choc bar wrappers or cans, it was lots of carrier bags full of rubbish, loose rubbish and what would be considered household waste, ie broken items etc.
There are permanent rubbish bins in Nateby and this time of year, there are additional commercial wheelie bins put out by the council in the area. There is also a council tip in Kirkby Stephen with recycling facilities, approx 3 miles away.
2 examples of 2 very different experiences with gypsies - I'm glad I had the first experience as if I hadn't, I would have been angry about the second and could have ended up just like many of the other local people round here who don't have a good word for the gypsies, and just see the rubbish left in their village and surrounding areas. Tthe cost of clearing it up will be met either by their parish council or by the county council, out of the local people's council tax.
Add to that frustration, the sense of grievance that we have seen our village and town public toilets closed and sold off (in our village the public loos were used by the children at the junior school for games lessons, outdoor lessons etc as they were right next to the school field - the children now have to be escorted by adult volunteers back to school to go to the loo which is a 5 min walk away), because the council couldn't afford to maintain them (sometimes the cost savings being merely a few hundred pounds as many public toilets in villages are looked after by volunteers) but then for 2 weeks of the year, we see council provided portaloos in many local laybys and gypsy camp spots which are paid for out of our council tax. And so locals feel that we are losing a service in order for the council to be able to provide that same service, paid for by us, for the gypsies. And then on top of that, our council tax pays for the cleaning up of those camping spots and the fair field and also all the additional policing costs etc.
That said, by no means do the gypsies camp everywhere and anywhere. Having lived round here for 10 years, I have seen that they return to the same specific spots year after year, and not just willy nilly along any stretch of grass verge, so any mess is contained at specific locations.
I do think that much of the prejudice on both sides is down to ignorance, and I wish there was more communication between locals and gypsies, so that the gypsies have the opportunity to let local people know that, just like any group of people, there are good and bad, and that the locals don't need to fear having their dogs stolen, tools nicked, sheds broken into etc, and the locals can explain to gyspies just how big an impact these 2 weeks of the year have on them in terms of disruption, inconvenience, frustration and cost.
But to be very honest, despite the bad mouthing and prejudice, I do think that many many local businesses (especially the pubs, B&Bs, village shops, rural garages etc) do very well out of these 2 weeks, probably more lucrative than Christmas, and to have that income as a certainty every year gives their finances a real boost.
As for horses on the roads (and horse drawn carriages), just like cyclists, pedestrians and most annoyingly of all invalid scooters, the Road Traffic Acts do not apply to them so nothing can legally be done about them on the roads. And I would certainly not support any change in law to "control" them (although I would happily exclude invalid scooters from this - which are effectively a small low powered electric vehicle, and if they are going to drive on roads like cars, then they should obey the Highway Code like cars, and drivers should be tested in competency, and trained do things like signal when turning etc - grrrrr!!!).
I learned the hard way after my first year here to avoid the Appleby area and driving in this part of the world when possible during these 2 weeks, or to allow at least an extra half hour or hour to the driving time. Just one of those things, like trying to avoid the motorways on Bank Holidays, or avoiding the M25 at tea time. And despite the inconvenience, I really do love seeing the traditional wagons on the roads, they just seem so "right" - on some of the commons by a river to see the horses grazing or drinking and splashing in the river, and wagons parked, with a camp fire and kettle, just seems to be a natural part of the landscape and cultural heritage.
