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He was in good company though as Dickie Bird was also there.
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Kettlewell is a quaint little village in the Yorkshire Dales. It has some beautiful cottages and is surrounded by breathtaking scenery.
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It's wonderful how the whole village seems to join in with this festival. It's been taking place since 1994, originally to raise funds for the village school, it now also raises funds for the church and village hall.
Some of the scarecrows are staged along the streets but some are set out in people's gardens. I love this camping scene with the dog stealing the sausages.
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The maypole is in the centre of the village. We saw Warwick Davis and his family filming here later on in the day. I know there's recently been a programme on television where he takes his family on weekend breaks around the UK, giving viewers an insight in what the country's tourism industry has to offer, perhaps he was filming on Saturday for his next series.
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There were some funny poems beside some of the scarecrows:-
If you want to look good like Kate
Put nothing on your plate
Pretent to eat
Forget the sweet
The Cambridge Diet's great!
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It was poignant seeing the soldiers positioned beside the war memorial with the Last Post playing.
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The bride, her bridesmaids and page boy were in the lane leading to the church.
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Unfortunately, the vicar was late for the wedding, he hadn't yet arrived at the church.
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Mick and Archie had to get in on the act.
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A Sad Scarecrow
I stand alone and cannot smile,
So step right up, linger a while,
Pop on your head and take the place,
Cheer me up and be my face.
If you're standing nearby,
And feeling sad and glum,
Pop on your head, smile and laugh,
Pretend you're having fun.
Your friends will gather with cameras ready,
Pop on your head and keep it steady,
Grin, frown or laugh, smile and say, "Cheese",
Keep a momento that's sure to please.
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There were lots of scarecrows which the younger visitors were delighted to see.
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This Frenchman was a few weeks too late for the Tour de France.
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There's a trail right around the village with over a hundred scarecrows to see in total and trail sheets with a quiz for both adults and children to complete as they come to each clue.
The Railway Children was this years winning scarecrow display.
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Well done to the village for making this such a fabulous day out. We've visited a few times before and we always enjoy it. It also helps that it's so well organised with plenty of parking spaces and helpful car park attendants. Parking is just £2. I should also mention that the village has three pubs and several cafes and refreshments are also served in the village hall. Alternatively, you can always bring a picnic and eat it by the river.
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This year's festival has now ended but I can thoroughly recommend a visit next year, a wonderful day out.
Looks like you had a great day out Jo I loved the photo of Mick and Archie and what a clever idea to do the Railway Children that was only on the TV last weekend and I sat and watched it whilst it hailed a gail and rained a lot.
ReplyDeleteIt really is a good day out. I do love the Yorkshire Dales anyway so any excuse to go.
Deletewhat a pretty village and how lovely that everyone goes to so much effort. THe only scarecrow competition I know of is held at Detling near Maidstone. The flowers on the row of houses is so pretty too
ReplyDeleteI think it's wonderful how so many of the residents join in, there's scarecrows in gardens and on buildings too. I thought the row of cottages were stunning covered in so many pretty flowers, the owners obviously have green fingers.
DeleteThis looks really good fun! A village on the Wirral used to hold one of these; it started off quite small and just grew! I loved the one where you could fit your own head in!
ReplyDeleteReady for Thursday yet? Good luck to Eleanor!
It's good how they have a quiz running alongside it too, separate questions for adults and children with daily prizes. There's quite a few scarecrow festivals around now but I've never seen one quite so large as this one. I'm biting my nails just thinking about Thursday, Eleanor's totally laid back at the moment. Good luck to DP too.
DeleteWhat a lovely day out, Jo. I liked the Spider-Man and Postman Pat! It's great how everybody makes the effort to join in with a fundraiser like this. I know that there's a scarecrow festival in Draycott near Derby this weekend. It could be a good bank holiday day out!
ReplyDeleteThere were some brilliant scarecrows, I only showed a few of them here, but it's fantastic that the residents have gone to so much effort to put on a great show. There's quite a few festivals such as this around now, I often see them advertised.
DeleteWe've been to Kettlewell on the motorbike - a lovely place! Had a ovely cup of tea there.
DeleteKettlewell's a lovely village and there's other equally beautiful places around it too so it's great for a day out.
DeleteWow, those scarecrows are amazing! I love the whimsical look and the little sayings. It must have been so much fun to tour them all. That photo of the cottages just captures my imagination, like something from a storybook! I love that you have real buildings like this there. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteA lot of effort has certainly been put in to the festival and making it as good as it is. There really are some beautiful cottages in the Dales.
DeleteIt looks like loads of fun, I think that I should try the "Cambridge Diet" 2 days a week should do the job. Trouble is I would probably to the "see food" diet the other 5 days.
ReplyDeleteHa ha, me too. It's a fabulous festival, it was threatening rain when we got there but we got by unscathed, thank goodness.
DeleteOh how brilliant. So nice to see a community working together like that to raise funds and to have lots of fun.
ReplyDeleteJean x
It's rare to find such a thriving community spirit such as this these days. It just goes to show what can be achieved if everyone works together.
DeleteHow brilliant! We have something similar in our village but on a much smaller and less organised scale. The scarecrows are always fun to see though :)
ReplyDeleteI'm always amazed at how well the scarecrows have been put together and how talented people are. It's great to see a village put something so amazing together like this.
DeleteWhat fun! I can't believe how creative people were with the various scarecrows!
ReplyDeleteI don't know where they get their ideas from, some of the scarecrows really were very clever. It's such a fun event to attend.
DeleteA most enjoyable post and wonderful photos about what was clearly a great day out. Flighty xx
ReplyDeleteWe've been a few times over the years and it just gets better every time we go. I don't think this will be the last time we visit, it really is a great day out.
DeleteThat is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen!!! It reminds me of a Dr Who episode! The birds are buggered in that town.. haha! But it's so cool how the whole town joined in!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great week.
Tammy x
Ha ha. Some of the scarecrows did have birds (pretend ones) sitting on them. I think it's great how the whole village gets in to the spirit of this festival.
DeleteThank you so much for these photos, we should have been in Kettlewell ourselves last week but other commitments took over and we didnt go but thanks to you I feel as if I have been :-) i love these events when all the village get together and make a real effort and raising much needed funds is always a good thing. Archie is having a good sniff round 'Mick the Scarecrow' lol
ReplyDeleteYou missed a treat, you'll have to try and get there next year. Willow would especially like it and she could have a go at the quiz too. The photo of Mick the Scarecrow was taken just before Archie decided to roll in the straw at his feet.
DeleteWow! Amazing scarecrows, Jo. Thanks for sharing them with us! :o)
ReplyDeleteThey were brilliant. There were some really funny ones.
DeleteWhat a great day out. Loved the winning one as I still have a book of The Railway Children, which I loved when younger, though they all looked fun. The flowers in the terraces photo looked just gorgeous. See you soon and take care.
ReplyDeleteIt was a fabulous day out. I've never read The Railway Children but I loved the film. It was a hands on display as there was a seat provided where you could sit with the scarecrows and have your photo taken and also a bell on the train for the children to ring. Have a safe journey.
DeleteHi Jo, I've only just realized you'd left a message on my blog. Thank you for all your lovely comments. I love the pictures in this post, what a wonderful festival, and the picture of your hubby and Archie is lovely xxx
ReplyDeleteI was really surprised when I came across your new blog as I hadn't realised you were blogging again, it's lovely to hear from you again. We really enjoyed the scarecrow festival, such a great day out.
DeleteHow fantastic is this!!!! They have some wonderful displays and it looks as though the entire village must participate in this which is wonderful. The flower display outside the cottage towards the start of this post is wonderful too isn't it. What a wonderful post Jo. Thank you for taking us along, I really enjoyed it!! xx
ReplyDeleteIt's such a fun event and it's well attended which goes to show that everyone appreciates the effort which the residents put in to this festival. I loved the cottages with the flower display, there's some beautiful buildings in the village.
DeleteI love them, all of them. Our village has just started doing them the last couple of years so i'll have to get my thinking cap on (or just blatantly steal some ideas) x
ReplyDeleteHow exciting to be part of a festival such as this. You really must join in, I can't wait to see what you make.
DeleteWhat a wonderful day out and in such beautiful surroundings too!
ReplyDeleteLove the one of Mick and Archie. Although I'm a bit worried about Spiderman, his physique seems to have gone a bit downhill!
So much thought and planning has gone into those scarecrows, hope they raised lots of money.
Lisa x
Ha ha, I hink Spiderman could do with a bit of time in the gym. It was a fabulous day out, I always enjoy the time we spend in the Dales.
DeleteWhat a wonderful post Jo, just like Flighty I'm smiling too.xxx
ReplyDeleteIt was a wonderful day out, definitely one to put on the list again for next year.
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