A bumper crowd of 65,000 people descended on the Malvern Autumn Show to marvel at everything from world record breaking giant vegetables to stunning floral displays and the brilliant inaugural gin show.
From some of the best food and drink producers in the country to great family entertainment, weird and wonderful animals, including giant tortoises, and the biggest ever amount of poultry entries, crowds were not short on thrilling entertainment.
Throughout the weekend people were able to visit the CANNA UK National Giant Vegetables Championship and see the preposterous pumpkins and enormous onions on display, while also witness some of the biggest produce grown anywhere on the planet.
The Guinness World Record for the longest ever turnip was set by grower Joe Atherton from Mansfield and measured in at a whopping 4.064m. The UK record for the heaviest marrow was also broken by Mark Baggs and weighed in at a massive 90.4lbs.
Visitors to 25th Malvern Autumn Show also showed great generosity by contributing to one of the UK’s largest single food bank donations. Run in association with the Trussell Trust a staggering three tonnes of food was given to the harvest festival collection point which filled more than 100 crates and will be distributed to those in need across the local area.
Head of Shows Diana Walton said: “Whilst we were aware there is a real need for food banks, what we hadn’t realised when we made the call to our visitors to help with donations is just how overwhelming the response would be.
“We are delighted that the show has been able to channel the goodwill of our visitors to help with this cause.
“We hope that this is something we can build on in the future because the generosity that comes with celebrating the harvest is at the heart of Malvern Autumn Show.”
Special guests such as Gardeners’ World presenters Joe Swift and Carol Klein lit up the festival with their expertise during talks and Q&A sessions with visitors. Jean Christophe Novelli held a number of superb food demonstrations and BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood also entertained crowds with talks on her experiences with gardening over the years.
At the first ever Malvern Gin Show visitors were able to sample some of the best and most intriguing gin from around the Three Counties and surrounding areas and vote for their favourite in the People’s Choice Award, which was won by Hintons Wyre Forest Gin.
“The 25th Malvern Autumn Show has been a great success in 2019 despite ever changing weather and some challenging conditions,” said Diana.
“Visitor figures were still incredible, and that is a testament to the work of all the staff here who make sure that the shows can go ahead.
“From giant vegetables to RHS displays, great food and of course the brand new Malvern Gin Show, there has been so much for visitors to see and do across the weekend.
“This year has been an amazing celebration of harvest and of autumn and a perfect way to sign off the show season at the Three Counties.
“Here’s to the next 25 years of the show!”