Lipsmacking Ludlow Food Festival is back in business

And there is plenty to "chews" from at Ludlow Food Festival as events spill out from the epic setting of the castle grounds across the town.

Where there is food there is inevitably drink, and with a host of spirit and ale producers locally there's gallons of magic water to wash down all the exciting culinary delights on offer.

Gates to the festival opened on Friday morning with more than 100 exhibitors eager to please and to promote the tasty morsels that the Shropshire and Welsh Marches region produces.

Online tickets for Saturday's festival sold out earlier in the week with a few held back to give a first-come first served chance to get in.

This year is the first festival since 2019 and the organisers restricted the number of attendees because of the lingering threat of Covid.

Mingled in with the joy of being back in action after a year of holding events online is also a tinge of remembrance for the organising committee.

The festival is being held to celebrate the life of one of the event's key founders and chairman Phil Maile, who died in the summer at the age of 66.

On Friday evening glasses were raised in Phil's memory at a reception event.

Town mayor Councillor Robin Pote presented a civic award to his family in recognition of the work Phil has done for the festival and the town as a whole for more than 20 years.

Mr Maile wore many hats in the town, including the post of president of the Ludlow Chamber of Trade.

He was also landlord of The Bull Hotel and more recently he had been manager of Rickards.

Mr Maile, who was chairman of the festival for 19 years, was married to Sally, and has two daughters, Claire and Jenny, and a grandson, Reggie.