Uffington Scarecrow Festival ready for May bank holiday weekend

Residents of Lincolnshire’s ‘poshest’ village are preparing to host a festival that draws in thousands of visitors each year.

The Uffington Scarecrow Festival is taking place on Sunday, May 5 and Bank Holiday Monday May 6 from 11am to 4pm.

During the day people can follow the scarecrow trail, finding different interpretations of the theme ‘A Celebration of the BBC’ in gardens, hedgerows, and in the school and church grounds. The trail is accompanied by a quiz with questions relating to each scarecrow character, and there is a version of the quiz for children too.

Around the village and particularly in the school grounds and along Casewick Lane there will be a variety of stalls and games, with homemade cake, crafts, toys and books available.

There will also be farm machinery and vintage vehicles on the green off Main Street, and St Michael and All Angels’ Church will be open with activities going on inside, including a ‘Songs of Praise’ during which villagers’ favourite hymns will be sung.

There will be miniature steam train rides, alpacas, Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue and local police will attend over the weekend - emergencies permitting - and a historic flypast is scheduled.

On the Sunday a dog show takes place, with registration from 11am and entries £2 per class - which include ‘children’s handling’, ‘dog and owner lookalike’ and ‘best paw shaker’.

Those arriving by car pay £5 per vehicle for parking which comes with a scarecrow trail quiz sheet and map. Those on foot receive entry, a quiz sheet and village map for £2.50.

Funds raised from the festival contribute to village causes including the upkeep of the thatched village hall, the church, Uffington Primary School, and the village cricket club.

Uffington was named Britain’s poshest in the Daily Telegraph earlier this month. The scarecrow festival was named in the newspaper’s report, which described the village as ‘a lively community’.