Daylesford Summer Festival welcomes the crowds - despite the rain

DAYLESFORD Summer Festival attracted the crowds despite the rain as visitors enjoyed cookery demonstrations, farm tours, shows, morris dancing and music.

It was the farm's 8th festival on May 21 and gave visitors a glimpse of one of the most sustainable organic farms in the UK.

Daylesford, near Kingham, was set up more than 30 years ago by the Carole Gray Bamford when the family began to turn their farmland over to sustainable, organic farming.

Popular activities at the festival was the Indian block printing, sheep shearing demonstrations, as well as Lily's Dog Show with a number of categories to enter.

Eight-year-old Charlie Gault with his dog, Fern, won the dog with the waggiest tail contest with Archie Strachan, also 8, a joint winner with his dog, Bramble, in the dog most like its owner section.

At the front of the complex was the Daylesford Artisans including food and crafts and drink, including Daniel Szor and his latest Cotswolds Distillery offerings. Daylesford also had its own food offerings with Stephen Tarling showing off the patisserie product to the crowds, including his own young children.

There were lots of practical demonstrations going on around the venue with blacksmiths, woodwork from Benchmark Furniture, ploughing demonstrations with horses Pudding and Pie making easy work of it with Mick Paddock at the controls.

For the children there were vintage Victorian swing boats and carousel, along with the animals, JCB diggers, local hunt hounds and lots of farm animals including the little piglets.

There is a large range of events coming up at Daylesford this summer including Giffords Circus and Tweedy the Clown, along with cooking and floristry masterclasses.