Opening times for the 156th Balmoral Show are from 9.30am on each morning, running through to 6pm on Wednesday and Saturday, 7pm on Friday and 8pm on Thursday.

If coming by car, follow directional signage as you approach the site. Parking costs £10 per car, to be paid by cash only. There is plenty of car parking space available and the Lisburn area is well served by major road networks.

However, the downside of coming by car is negotiating the minor road infrastructure immediately surrounding Balmoral Park.

The alternative is to use public transport, with Translink operating a free shuttle bus service from Lisburn train station. The first shuttle bus will leave the station at 9am each morning and will generally operate at 15-minute intervals.

Typical journey time is around 20 to 30 minutes, with the final shuttle bus departing the site will be 30 minutes after closing time each evening.

As well as normal train services to Lisburn, selected Enterprise services between Dublin and Belfast Grand Central Station will also stop at Lisburn station: Dublin Connolly to Belfast Grand Central Station will stop at Lisburn at: 07.40am, 08.50am, 09.50am and 10.50am.

Belfast Grand Central Station to Dublin Connolly will stop at Lisburn at: 3pm, 5pm and 6pm.

Tickets

All tickets must be purchased online in advance of your visit to the show.

The price of tickets is up slightly again this year. Purchases should be made before 10pm on Tuesday 13 May to avail of ‘early bird’ prices. These are £26 for adults, £19 for young people aged 12 to 18 years, £21 for over 65s and £3 for children aged 5-11. Under 5s get in free.

It is possible to buy tickets on the day of the show, but this process also needs to be done online.

Join us at the Irish Farmers Journal stand

The Irish Farmers Journal stand is again situated in trade section B, which is alongside the main cattle rings.

Please call by our stand for some refreshments and to talk to our staff about current farming issues. We always welcome feedback from readers. There will also be some Irish Farmers Journal merchandise on sale. On the Thursday of the show at around 12 noon, we plan to hold a live Farm Tech Talk event, hosted by our editor, Jack Kennedy. If you are attending that day, we would be delighted if you could take the time to watch on. It will also be possible to ask questions of our panel.