Farmers' Market - March 29

10:04am Monday 31st March 2008

IF you're stuck for something to do today, why not do yourself a favour and head north? Tenbury Wells, the famous town in the orchard' is hosting a special Tastes of Tenbury food festival, with plenty to offer all manner of visitors.

Keeping up a tradition of town markets that dates back more than 800 years, this particular Tenbury market has food, drink and local crafts on offer, making it the ideal day out for anyone who wants to see what the town has to offer.

For many, Tenbury is synonymous with two things - the famous Pump Rooms, designed by James Cranston in the 1860s to house baths where the town's healing mineral water was available - and the annual holly and mistletoe market, when traders come from across the nation to buy and sell the best festive boughs.

The Tastes of Tenbury festival is a new venture, giving local producers and craftspeople the chance to share David produces a wide range of red, white and rose grape wines, as well as a wonderful variety of country fruit wines their wares with a wider audience, in conjunction with Worcestershire Farmers' Markets.

One such producer is David Jenkins, of St Anne's Vineyard. A regular at Herefordshire Farmers' Markets, David produces a wide range of red, white and rose grape wines, as well as a wonderful variety of country fruit wines.

The St Anne's vineyard was planted in 1979, coming into commercial production in 1984. David, age 54, took over the business in 1996.

St Anne's most popular wine is elderflower and damson but there is bound to something to suit all palates.

David said: "We make a range of 40 wines, which include dozens of fruit wines, such as blackberry, raspberry, loganberry, cherry, apple and strawberry - which we grow ourselves.

"We buy in plums, blueberries and apricots from other local suppliers."

As well as all the usual farmers' market food producers, you'll also find plenty of crafts on offer in Tenbury. These include handmade cushions and silk flowers, handmade jewellery and leather goods, woodcrafts and even children's books, toys and games from Mini IQ.

So, there are plenty of reasons to do something different and visit Tenbury today.

More information about farmers' markets, along with dates and producers, can be found at www.wfmg.co.uk.

Next weekend's markets are at Droitwich on Saturday, April 5, and at Royal Worcester Porcelain, Worcester, on Sunday, April 6.

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