AS the nights turn chillier and the dawn mists hang over the meadows like fluffy blankets, autumn creeps in and with it the last of the three annual major outdoor events on Malvern’s Three Counties Showground.

The two-day Malvern Autumn Show takes place on Saturday and Sunday, September 29 and 30, with a reputation for fine flowers, perfect produce and brilliant bargains.

The end-of-season extravaganza is known as a shoppers’ paradise as trade stands try to shift stock before winter and it’s that time of the year when fruit, flowers and vegetables reach their peak. The size of the giant pumpkins will make your eyes water.

But this is more than a day out for the green fingered, and there is a whole host of attractions for all the family – from forestry and forgotten skills such as stick making and wood turning, to llama agility, gundog training and duck herding.

Another will be the carriage driving and driving trials, which had to be cancelled at the Three Counties Show in June due to torrential downpours.

These have been rescheduled and will make a colourful spectacle.

Fine food always plays an important part at the event and there’s nothing more British than a cup of tea and a slice of homebaked cake, both of which feature on the menu this year.

The nation’s undisputed purveyor of the perfect Victoria Sandwich – the WI – is teaming up with French chef Jean- Christophe Novelli for the great Malvern Bake-Off.

As a celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, WI members and their families in Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and beyond are being encouraged to put on their oven mitts and get baking.

There’s a “baking through the ages” theme, with classes to represent each decade of the Queen’s illustrious reign, from the 1950s through to the new millennium.

What’s more, the winner of Class 8 – the Jean-Christophe Novelli Class – will get to meet and cook with the man himself on stage at the show.

Sharon Gilbert, PR and marketing manager for show organiser the Three Counties Agricultural Society, said: “We have enjoyed a long association with WI branches in the region over the years, and probably indulged in rather too many of the delicious, home-baked treats available to us at shows, courtesy of the now legendary WI marquee.

“The Malvern Bake-Off is a wonderful addition to this year’s programme of entertainment and a great way for anyone, from the baker extraordinaire to the enthusiastic novice, to pick up some top baking tips.”

Of course, many of the world’s top chefs began dabbling in the kitchen from a very early age, and the WI, keen to keep the nation baking, is inviting youngsters to enter the young bakers competition, by decorating party muffins.

Entries must be staged on Friday, September 28, the day before the show opens, when they will be judged.

Judging starts at 2pm. Six of the eight competition classes call for cakes – a traditional rich fruit cake, an apple butter cake (recipe provided), a decorated tray bake for a street party, an iced sponge celebration cake fit for the Queen, party muffins and Jean- Christophe Novelli’s own recipe for a citrus sponge.

But for those who don’t have a sweet tooth, there’s an opportunity to have a go at a meatloaf or, rather fittingly, two savoury items suitable for a right royal picnic.

Other attractions include edible gardens, a Royal Horticultural Society flower show and plant theatre, a harvest pavilion with monster vegetables, live landscaping demonstrations and a new vintage village area.

There will also be native livestock, an artisan food market and horse boarding – which is like skateboarding, but with horses supplying the power.

Å On-the-gate ticket prices for adults are from £15 to £16.50 and children from £5.50 to £6.50.

Under fours go free.