A HEARTY celebration of regional food, farming and family entertainment is set to take place at Malvern’s Three Counties Showground in June.

The Royal Three Counties Show, which runs from Friday to Sunday, June14-16, is the Heart of England’s premiere celebration of rural life and the countryside.

With a firm focus on this year’s host county of Herefordshire, visitors can find out what the area has to offer – from sampling strawberries and sipping cider to discovering the region’s rich cultural heritage.

Hereford’s first University – NMiTE – is aiming to inspire the crowds to find a new passion for engineering as a lifelong career, while people can learn about Herefordshire’s rich heritage with Eat Sleep Live Herefordshire. Freshfields Fruit Ltd will have delicious fruit on offer as well as telling the story of soft fruit production in the county and The National Trust’s Weir Garden will also be on hand to provide fun activities from the National Trust's '50 things to do before you're 11 3/4' programme.

Two Farmers Crisps celebrates their roots in the Herefordshire countryside. Founders Sean and Mark are on hand to share their story and ethos; keeping air miles low, using renewable energy on the farm and creating 100 per cent compostable packaging. They were also the first crisp brand to create a 100 per cent compostable bag.

Some of the country’s finest livestock will compete for the title of best in show with thousands of show entries expected, while family entertainment will include dog agility, duck herding and an amazing display from the Red Devils.

The Main Arena is at the heart of Royal Three Counties Show, where people can discover family entertainment mixed with livestock and equine competitions. Expect entertainment from dog agility tricks from the Paws for Thought Dog Agility team and thrilling parachute displays from The Red Devils Parachute Regiment Freefall Team. For a chance to get a good look at some of the finest livestock in the country, the Grand Parade of Livestock takes place each day, with Sunday bringing together rare and minority breeds.

Royal Three Counties Show Ambassador and Britain’s favourite farmer, Adam Henson will return for 2019 across the weekend to answer questions in ‘Ask the Farmer’ and educate visitors about his animals at Cotswold Farm Park, who will be at the show.

There are a number of National Shows taking place this year, including the first ever dairy goat show with the Toggenburg Breeders Society National Show, which is being judged on the Saturday. Others include the Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset Sheep Society National Show, English Beltex National Show and Murray Grey National Show.

New for 2019, there’s the introduction of a People’s Choice competition, to be held on the Saturday, for pigs that have not won a prize in the breed classes.

Over the weekend, there will be special guests from the local area in the Wellington Boot Theatre to provide informative talks and interviews. On Friday, three panels will be held, covering a number of topics on the theme Food Production: Meeting the Demands of Today and Tomorrow – hosted by Sybil Ruscoe.

After an action-packed day, whet your appetite in the Food & Drink Hall. Showcasing the very best national and local produce, there’ll be plenty of tasty treats to try, whilst the Cookery Theatre in the Severn Hall will show-off a range of dishes whizzed up from produce at the show. A Cider Festival and Cheese & Dairy Produce Show will also take place.

Some of the finest livestock around will be on show in the Farming Village / Fur, Feather, Farm with more than 80 breeds of animals and almost 900 classes.

The Gardening Hub returns for its second year, with stage host, local gardening expert Reg Moule. Here, visitors can take part in a gardening Q&A, learn how to re-pot an orchid and find out about keeping chickens. Also home to the Flower Show and an international exhibition of exquisite orchids, the Gardening Hub is the ideal place for visitors to pick up summer blooms and inspiration for their own gardens.

For information on ticket prices and further information on the show, go to royalthreecounties.co.uk or call 0844 811 0050.