A VILLAGE marked the bank holiday weekend with its annual traditional festival and procession.

The 48th Kimpton May Festival was held over the weekend, with a theme of The Best of British to mark the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

All the action kicked off on Friday with an art show in the 13th century church and an exclusive English wine tasting event hosted by Mark Buckenham of The Wine Society, Stevenage.

The street procession on Saturday saw 30 floats from local groups go through the village, with many sticking to the British theme.

During the festival, children’s activities including fairground rides, candy floss, a football tournament and maypole dancing were on offer.

There was also sheep racing, sheep shearing, music, a craft fair, barbecues, bars, a giant charity auction, morris dancers, and a car boot sale.

The 10k fun run also made a welcome return on the Monday.

Graham Archer, publicity manager, said: “We all had a really good time, for the procession the weather was cold but it was dry which was the main thing. It was just a great day.

“The sheep racing and sheep shearing was really funny, very entertaining and something different. And the best of British theme was relevant due to the weather, because people just got on with it.”

Organisers are hopeful that they reached their �20,000 target, which will be split between the village’s church restoration fund, and other local charities.

They will also put some money aside, as they have been doing for the past few years, to put towards a huge celebration in 2014 to mark their 50th anniversary.