A Shropshire destination is set to hold a different type of event this Halloween, as scarecrows made by local children will go on display.
Apley Farm Shop will hold its first ever scarecrow festival during half-term, with designs submitted by nearby schools, Scouts and Beavers groups and children’s community groups near the Norton site, which is on the A442 between Telford and Bridgnorth.
Some scarecrows have been designed with sustainability in mind, highlighting how everyday materials can be reused, recycled and reimagined.
More than 20 scarecrows will be on display for visitors to come and see from Monday, 27th October to Sunday, 2nd November and the group that is judged to have designed the top three scarecrows will win a prize.
Linda Harris, business development manager at Apley Estate, said: “We look forward to welcoming families to Apley to come and see all the scarecrows which have been entered – we know there will be some imaginative designs and we can’t wait to see what the children have come up with.
“There have been entries from primary schools, nurseries, scouts and beavers’ groups and children’s community groups too and we know they are hard at work right now, putting their scarecrows together.
“We are pleased to be able to provide prizes in the form of vouchers for art and craft supplies for the top three scarecrows as we know they will go a long way to ensuring children continue to be creative.
“Creative arts is often an area where budgets do not stretch to these days so we at Apley are very happy to be able to give them this opportunity.”
Linda will be one of the judges, alongside Graeme Manton, the estate director and Daniel Morton, the operations manager at Apley. Scarecrows will be judged on initiative, design and sustainability.
The group who creates the first prize-winning scarecrow will be given £250 towards art and craft supplies, whilst second place will win £100 and third place will win £50.
Apley Estate is the custodian of 1,500 acres of woodland, a further 3,500 acres of in-hand farmland and 3,500 acres of let farmland, as well as award-winning wedding venue Stockton House.
The company also runs the popular farm shop, which includes a butchery, cafe and play barn, as well as Apley on the High Street, which is a cafe in Bridgnorth Town centre.