Hundreds of chocolate and cheese lovers gathered in Ramsbottom at the weekend to celebrate the town's annual foodie festival.
Ramsbottom's iconic Chocolate and Cheese Festival was a sweet success as crowds gathered to bask in the sunshine and taste the many treats on offer.
One customer, Claire, described the day as ‘impressive’ adding that it was nice to see so many people out and about again.
She said: “I have lived in Bury all my life and have been coming to this festival for the past five or six years.
“Obviously there has been a bit of a gap due to Covid but seeing it like his again is impressive, it is so nice to see crowds of people and everyone coming back out again.”
The day also gave businesses a chance to show off their impressive goods.
Owner of The Finest Fudge stall, Tom Griffiths, 33, attended the festival with his grandmother, Pat, from Clitheroe.
He said: “We set the company up five years ago and converted our garage to make fudge, since then we have bought a proper industrial unit.
“With the help of my partner Mariah, the business has been growing from strength to strength and we are visiting markets and festivals all over the Uk.”
Coronation Street star Sean Wilson, who played Martin Platt for 21 years, also attended the event talking to attendees about his success as an international cheese judge and award-winning cheeses.
Ramsbottom Cllr Claire Cummings said: “We wanted to get events back into Ramsbottom and that is why we have this cheese and chocolate festival which has been really successful.
“We have has a busy day with a talk by Sean Wilson, live music and an appearance from Willy Wonka.”
Cllr Tom Pilkington stepped into the role of Willy Wonka, delivering golden tickets to a lucky few.
He said: “It has been amazing.
“I have been handing out golden tickets to some children who can then go and collect prizes.
“ It really has been a fun day that is all about supporting local independent businesses and increasing footfall through our town.”
Residents and visitors flocked to the event in and around Ramsbottom Civic Hall sampling and buying from stalls and businesses around the town.
The Sugar Tart Cupcakes stall holder, Debbie, spoke about the turnout to the event adding that they hadn't seen “this many people at a festival in quite some time”.
She said: “This company has been running for 13 years now and although we are based in Accrington, we have visited and been wanting to attend this event for a while now.
Read more: Ramsbottom resident writes book on history of her care home
“It has been amazing, we travel through Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire, and we have not seen this many at a festival in quite some time now.
Read more: Prestwich baker overcomes adversity with help of customers
“We sold out of all our products so now we're getting the time to try others and have a good look around.”
Read more: Coronation Street star coming to Ramsbottom for chocolate festival
If you have a story, please email me at Harriet.Heywood@newsquest.co.uk or tweet @Heywoodharriet_
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here