WINCHESTER Cathedral will again host the Hampshire Harvest Weekend.

The free, family weekend will run over September 30 and October 1 in both the Inner and Outer Close.

The event celebrates local agriculture and produce, featuring independent producers and providing an insight into one of the most important aspects of the county’s economy.

There will be a range of displays and activities for people of all ages, including a Suffolk Punch horse-drawn carriage ride and a climb onto vintage farm machinery.

Visitors can also catch a falconry display, find out about bee-keeping, listen to the fairground organs and learn about The Bat Society.

Returning this year is a ‘Grape and Grain’ area, celebrating local beers, ciders, sparkling wines and artisan gins from across the country.

Also making an appearance is the Scarecrow Competition, now with the added opportunity to include drawings and poems focused on harvest time.

The event is supported by a number of partnerships, notably The New Forest Show, NFU, Country Landowners’ Association, Hampshire Council Council, Sparsholt College and Hampshire Fare.

The Harvest Festival Service on the Sunday is at 10am and the County Harvest Service at 3.30pm that afternoon, featuring the Cathedral Choir and Junior Choir, and with offerings of harvest gifts representing the produce of Hampshire.

The address will be given by Rev Craig Marshall, rural advisor to the Diocese of Winchester.