That's right, this year Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival will have been running for 25 years - definitely one of the original, biggest and best in the UK! Its also one of the best value summer days out for all ages in the Yorkshire Dales as a family can spend a whole day here for under a fiver!
From famous celebrities and sports stars to topical characters and the downright quirky, there are plenty of scarecrows to spot in every nook and cranny of this idyllic Yorkshire Dales village. As always, we'll have two themed trails too, with clue sheets costing just £1 and to mark our 25th anniversary, we'll be winding back the clock for the grown-ups' trail to the personalities and news stories of 1994.
Whether you remember much about 1994 or not, the scarecrows planned for the route will be easy to recognise, from the new leader of 'New Labour' to the president of the Unites States and icons of the Manchester music scene to momentous national events. There's a historical twist to the children's trail too, as we've amazingly managed to dig out the original clues from the very first themed trail which was nursery rhymes. Solve the clues to find the scarecrows on the trails and you can be entered into our daily prize draws to win £10.
Since our festival began, the other major attraction of Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival has always been the amazing homemade cakes, fresh cut sandwiches, soup and more on offer in the Village Hall - from legendary lemon drizzles and indulgent chocolate cakes, to traditional fruit cake with Wensleydale cheese. Outside the village hall, children can choose a hat and be the head for a traditional scarecrow and, as a bit of extra fun for little ones, we have several photo boards around the village to poke heads through for a photo memento.
We have plenty of car parking designated for our scarecrow festival which costs just £3 for the whole day and coaches can pre book a parking space by emailing bookings@kettlewellscarecrowfestival.co.uk.
All profits from the trail sheets, village hall refreshments and car park go to Kettlewell Primary School, the village hall, St Mary's Church and other community projects.
Kettlewell boasts a fabulously scenic setting in Upper Wharfedale - not only appearing in the original opening credits of Emmerdale but also featuring in the /'Calendar Girls/' movie.
We have a lovely grassy play park in the centre of the village and many walks along the River Wharfe and into the surrounding fells. Besides the refreshments in the Village Hall, Kettlewell has a village shop, tea room, ice cream parlour and three traditional inns serving local ales and good food. See Info for more details.
