GB News' Entertainment Editor goes inside this year's celebration of the British countryside

Set in the shadow of Warwickshire's breathtaking Ragley Hall, The Game Fair returned for another year to celebrate Britain's rural landscape and the people who make our countryside truly one of a kind.

Founded in 1958, 130,000 visitors descended on the small town of Alcester to participate in a long list of activities, tuck into a wide range of delectable dishes, and - perhaps more painstakingly - fork out a few quid for the latest country gear.

There were working-dog displays, dressage shows, live falconry, as well as Shetland pony racing, to name just a few of the attractions - and that was just in the main arena.

Beyond, Ragley Hall played host to shooting ranges, fishing villages, the gunmakers' court, food tastings and demos, as well as holding Q&As with a number of recognisable faces.

Then there was the shopping. Your usual country fare of Fairfax & Favour, Schoffel, Holland Cooper, and La Chameau, accompanied by a plethora of smaller yet equally brilliant independents.

The atmosphere was superb as people from all walks of rural life shared stories, advice, and the odd glass of cider. Farmers, gunmakers, horse trainers, and beyond all enjoying the fruits that the countryside has to offer.

And yet there was an unavoidable itch I couldn't shake on the day. The lingering sense this way of life may be under threat.

It's no secret rural Britain has faced somewhat of a battering in recent years. Agricultural tax changes, restrictions on traditional country sports, planning reforms, and an assault on green spaces among them.

I mean, who could forget when the entire countryside was branded a "racist, colonial white space" by the Wildlife and Countryside Link in a report to parliament two years ago?

Events like these are not just celebrations. The Game Fair helps push awareness for fields synonymous with rural Britain that face an uncertain future as we move - or rather sleepwalk aimlessly - into a world that threatens to fall subject to AI or woke agendas.

And in a series of chats I had lined up during my time in Alcester, it was a theme that reared its head more than once.

Take angling, for instance. Marina Gibson is one of the most recognisable in British fishing and a keen advocate for getting more women into the sport.

"It's a good place to raise awareness of all sorts of things," she said of the event. "It's not just shops and community-based organisations, it's also the charities, the conservation organisations. It really has it all."

She went on: "And I think a lot of kids are very attracted to this place because they want to try it for the first time, or maybe they're obsessed and they want to get a new rod.

"And there's such a good feeling, it's a good way of trying to get people into fishing and learn a little bit more about it. There are games everywhere. I've been coming here for the last 20-25 years. And I love it. It's a part of the season every year."

But what about the future of British angling as a whole? "I would hope that we have better water quality, because at the end of the day, if we don't have better water quality, then we're not gonna have great fishing," she told me.

"I think things need to move faster than they are now. There's not enough being done. We know what's happening. We know the facts. We know about the illegal dumping of sewage, and if things don't happen faster, if we don't understand or do something about the decline in Atlantic Salmon, for instance, we're not gonna have this for the next generation."

Gibson acknowledged "governments need to do more" but conceded that Britain's waterways aren't high on the list of Number 10's priorities, despite their importance to our environment.

"If we don't have wild fish, then something is dramatically wrong with the whole environment."

Escape to the Chateau stars Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adoree offered similar sentiments when we spoke.

During a brilliant conversation - in which we discussed the upcoming series of Escape to the Chateau as well as the return of their successful podcast - the pair also acknowledged that more needs to be done to remedy the disconnect between Britain's urban and rural populations.

"I think (the gap) is not narrowing as fast as it should be, because there are too many people who are closed off," Strawbridge told me. Adoree added: "I come from a total opposite end of the spectrum. And I think there are some elements that are getting smaller, and there are areas that are getting a little bit bigger as well.

"I just think hopefully, the little steps will make it feel a bit smaller."

The Channel 4 stars emphasised that educating those within the M25 and others unfamiliar with rural life could be a key way to bridge this gap.

The differences were most striking when I spoke to the team at the British Association for Shooting and Conservation.

The organisation's Executive Director, Gareth Dockerty, sat down with me to discuss Basc's recent victory in the courts against the governmental body, Natural England.

The High Court ruled that Natural England "irrationally" acted outside the law in its approach to the licensing of gamebird releases.

"We've had frustrations with Natural England and some of the other regulators, historically," Dockerty told me. "Natural England is there to look after those protected sites and species."

He went on: "We want to work with Natural England... They know how valuable we are, and we think we can deliver some of the things that they want and need. The challenge has always been that when we work with them, we think they overstep their boundaries or their remit, if you like.

"We thought this consistently for 10 or 15 years. We have meetings regularly. We try to work with them, but we've always found that it was frustrating.

Referring to Basc's High Court victory over the governmental body, he added: "We were found to be right. And we think that draws a line in the sand, and it means then that when we go back to negotiating and speaking to Natural England, that we can work with them in a more positive way, and it's a step in the right direction."

Dockerty remains optimistic that British shooting has a "rosy future", and he - and Basc's 150,000 members - will undoubtedly hope the ruling means those in Westminster may actually take heed of their message.

On a much lighter note, Strawbridge and Adoree were also glowing about the event and the importance of celebrating what makes rural Britain what it is.

Self-proclaimed East End girl Adoree kicked off: "I love it because the whole family loves it. There is literally something to do for everyone. I mean, it's not just the shopping, it's the people."

"Oh, by the way, the shopping is quite important," Strawbridge interjected with a smirk creeping out of the side of his signature moustache.

Adoree continued with a chuckle: "The people are wonderful. The food is great. Everywhere you go, there are activities, and for me, being a city girl and the children, we're all doing things for the first time that we love, and what we wouldn't normally do."

Strawbridge concurred: "I've actually managed to turn my family into a country family. And Angela's the East End girl.

"But, you see, only when you experience something like The Game Fair do you understand. People can think out preconceptions about what it's like being here, a lot of country people together, a lot of like minds.

"But we've been talking to people who don't usually come to country fairs or to the Game Fair, and they come along, and they love the diversity.

"It doesn't matter, even if you're city-bound, the countryside is out there, and you have to understand it a little bit. And the beauty about our time here is, I know that Arthur and Dorothy at 12 and 13, are getting a real feel for what happens in the country."

The Game Fair will return in 2027 for its 69th edition. Here's hoping those living in the capital make the journey to get a taste of what makes Great Britain live up to its name.