I have to admit that I've not visited the village of Wray before. I've driven past on my way to eat at The Highwayman, stopped before it when picniking at the Crook 'O' Lune and been meaning to visit for years because of the famous Wray Scarecrow Festival.
So when I decided to meet my parents there yesterday, I didn't really have any expectations about the festival or the village itself. We did get an idea how popular it was as we started to queue way before the village. This wasn't a problem though as the organisation of the parking was perfect, lots of people communicating well and directing traffic nicely.
The streets of the village were packed and in practically every house there was at least one small scarecrow in the window. A really great sense of community and we started to get a feel for how much effort the villagers had put into the festival.
We watched the Fell Runners set off then began to explore properly. The village is alot bigger than I thought - and absolutely stunning. Many properties had date stones from the 1600's and looked in superb renovated states. You could feel the history of the place - reinforced by learning little facts such as: the founder of the Law Society, Brian Holme, went to school in Wray.
I had lost count of the number of scarecrows by the time we went up the hill into the woods. A small stroll later and we had finally explored every corner and found ourselves at the fair - where my son renewed his tractor obsession.
Finally we has a cup of tea and a well-deserved cake at Bridge House Farm before doing more scarecrows and making our way home. 5 hours well spent. So glad we went and I recommend everyone else does the same!
www.flickr.com/groups/wrayscarecrow
Sounds like a great day Sarah. Is this an annual festival and how long is it on for?
Posted by: Diane Blakemore | 05 May 2010 at 08:40 AM