NELL Gifford ran away with the circus.

Just 18 years old and poised to read English at Oxford University, she deferred, declared an official gap year and hopped on the caravan trail with Circus Flora in America.

From painting lorries to riding horses in the parade, she put her shoulder to the wheel basking in the sights of candy-striped tents and the unsuspected wonders of each new performance.

For all intents and purposes she was a (self-coined) intern.

“The circus belonged to my brother’s wife’s family," she explains. "I had a chance to go and work in the circus in America. I joined for a month when it was touring in New York State. I fell in love with the music, the tents, the performers. I loved it all. I was just helping out: I was an intern. I got the bug for the circus.”

It did not take long for her to join the circus for good after graduating from New College.

“I was staying with some friends in Cheltenham and I joined the first circus that came to town. Then I joined the Chinese State Circus in the UK. I rode elephants; I did whatever I was told to do. I sold ice cream. I found out how it all worked.”

Stints at Santus Circus, the Bobby Roberts Super Circus and Circus Roncalli in Germany followed.

There she marvelled at the continent’s thriving circus tradition, a far cry from the state of the trade in the UK with its scrabbling troupes at the time.

Harbouring a dream of launching her own authentic “village green circus” complete with acrobats and jugglers, she struggled to see how to make her dream a reality. That is until she met Toti in 1998 - a very resourceful farmer’s son and her future husband.

“I always knew that I wanted to start my own circus,” she says. “The more I got involved the more difficult it looked.

“I met my husband and he is somebody who can deal with lorries, moving and engines - all the practical side. So we just did it - like that.

“We bought a round white tent from the Trade It newspaper. We built a maroon and gold showman’s wagon to live in. We advertised for performers in The Stage newspaper and held auditions in a little dusty theatre in Cheltenham. Our vision was a miniature village green circus, bursting at the seams, packed, rowdy, tiny, a little band of performers who live nomadically, performing daily, engrossed in the serious business of making magic.”

In May 2000, Giffords Circus enjoyed its first run at the Hay-on-Wye Literary Festival.

“We haven’t grown that much since,” adds the mother of twins, Cecil and Red. “I’m involved in the show, in training – it’s a family business. It’s often the difficult. Circus has a lot of ups and down but you get the full houses and standing ovations and the great days.”

Over the last 15 years the circus has successfully weaved theatre, opera, dance and puppetry and has amassed a loyal following, performing to more than 600,000 spectators. As envisioned by Nell, Giffords Circus’s signature burgundy and gold showman’s wagons and billowing tent nostalgically evoke bygone “village green” productions.

Keen to feed into the vintage fantasy while tapping further into spectators' imaginations, this summer’s tour Moon Songs 2015 will draw them into the world of the Victorian Lunar Park; a fairground run by larger-than-life illusionist Odoroff, and his Little Man assistant, David.

Famous jugglers, Bibi and Bichu will return with an army of cousins (13 of them) from Ethiopia while Tweedy the clown will be shot from a cannon before turning into the man on the moon. More surprises lie in store not least a bear galloping on a pony, carousel horses coming to life and some spectacular calamities as chaos descends on Giffords's topsy-turvy lunatic world.

“There are lots of jokes, magicians, horses, juggling and gymnastics and dance," says Nell animatedly. "It’s a really good show and it’s definitely one for the family to come along to.”

Giffords Circus will be in Marlborough until September 1. It will then set up tent in Cirencester between September 4 and14.

Tickets are £22 for adults and £14 for children. Children under three go free.

To book visit www.giffordscircus.com or call the Box Office on 0845 4597469.