Return of the Flamstead Scarecrow Festival

The scarecrows are coming - a village festival which has gone from strength to strength since its inauguration in 2002 is back again this weekend.

Flamstead Scarecrow Festival, which began as a means of raising money for the upkeep of the village church and the Herts Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, gets underway tomorrow (19) and runs until Sunday (21).

Every year there are around 90 scarecrows on display and in recent times, thousands of people have visited Flamstead to have a look at them.

But the scarecrows are just one aspect of the festival - there are plenty of other things to see and do.

Craft stalls will be set up in the village hall where there will also be cream teas and refreshments - a service also provided in the local pubs, shop and Methodist Church.

Over the weekend there will be Punch and Judy, performances by English Miscellany, Aldbury Morris Men and Mummers, children’s story reading and a cricket match on the recreation groupnd.

A tour bus will operate from the village hall to take the elderly and disabled around to see the scarecrows and there will be model train rides in St Leonard’s Churchyard.

Other events will be taking place in the churches, pubs and shop over the weekend.

Visitors are asked to judge the scarecrows on display and voting forms will be available from midday on Friday until 5pm on Sunday.