The Norfolk Shire Horse Centre (West Runton)

Entry categories: Family Attractions

The object of this centre is to bring together a collection of different breeds of draft horses. Some originated in this country and some are European breeds. The shire horses are complemented with a number of breeds of ponies which are native to the UK, and some have foals which are also on display. We think we have created a unique collection.
Over the past few years, we have also collected old horse-drawn machinery waggons and carts. Since we opened the centre on Spring Bank Holiday 1982, we have received several generous gifts of old machinery and these are all being restored, some to working order, and they form a fascinating collection from the pre-war horse era.

Visitors of all ages delight in seeing old implements like the binder, the mowing machine and the toppler. The older generation are taken back forty or fifty years to a time when work was hard, but done at a more leisurely pace. At the other extreme, the under twenty-fives have never been lifted skywards as children and seated upon the broad tabletop back of a great Shire horse and led in from the field. They have never had a ride on a waggon or cart. Together, both generations can come to our centre to see and enjoy the horses in the modern age.