Ludlow Food Festival visitor numbers down but bosses still happy
Visitor numbers to the Ludlow Food Festival were down by nearly 2,500 – or 13 per cent – compared to last year, it was revealed today.
Bosses blamed a poor weather forecast and showers on the Sunday, the final day of the three-day extravaganza.
However, festival organisers said they were still delighted with the way it went – despite admitting visitor numbers were down on last year's event.
Figures released today revealed 17,500 people came through the doors of Ludlow Castle for the three-day extravaganza earlier this month, compared to around 20,000 last year.
Organiser Beth Heath said a bad weather forecast – and subsequent rain, although not as much as expected – had hit the turnout hard.
But she said they were still delighted with the amount of people who came out, and in particular praised the new things that were tried out for the first time.
"This year's Ludlow Food Festival was a huge success, with thousands of people exploring the castle and sampling some of the best produce from Ludlow and the surrounding area," she said.
"There were incredible sights, smells, sounds and most importantly smiles all around as the rain failed to dampen anyone's spirits.
"As always, the sausage, bread and ale trails were a huge success, with queues stretching down into the town and tickets selling out early on Saturday morning."
She said the sausage trail on Sunday afternoon was also again popular, with the gold award going to AH Griffiths' Shire Sausage and silver to Andrew Francis for his barbecue rare breed pork and apple sausage.
Beth added: "Not only was the festival a great foodie success, it also turned out to be a cause for celebration, with a hen party visiting on Saturday and an 80th birthday outing on Sunday.
"And love was in the air in the Castle Gardens on Sunday afternoon with an on-stage marriage proposal from one of the festival musicians.
"This feast of a Festival will be back next year on September 12, 13 and 14."
