VISITORS to Croome Park were treated to music, dancing and celebrations as the Hare Krishna festival took over.

The festival, organised by the Hare Krishna community and the National Trust, gave visitors the chance to enjoy music and theatre performances, Mehndi hand painting, Hare Krishna-inspired face painting, saree fittings and vegetarian food last weekend.

The Hare Krishnas, a spiritual community founded in 1966, owned Croome Court, near Worcester, in the early 1980s, thanks to the generosity of one of their most famous devotees – the Beatles’ George Harrison.

Harrison owned another large house used by the movement, which he allowed them to mortgage to raise the £300,000 needed to buy Croome Court in 1980. He is said to have stayed at Croome while it was the national headquarters of the Hare Krishnas.

The community eventually relocated to Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire, which was donated to them by Harrison, and the festival at the weekend marked their first return to Croome.

Amy Forster, house and visitor services manager, said: “The festival kicked off on Saturday and we haven’t stopped for breath since.

“We not only welcomed our regular visitors, but also many more new people wanting to experience something different in a National Trust place.

“We have thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and it’s thanks to the hard work of our staff, volunteers and the Hare Krishna community that the event went so well.

“We’ve had such an amazing reaction from people who visited Croome over the weekend and we’re very proud that this is the first Hare Krishna Festival to be hosted at a National Trust property.”

Tribhangananda das, a Hare Krishna festival organiser who visited Croome under the community’s ownership of the house, said: “We were truly amazed with how well the event was received and how naturally the National Trust and the Krishna devotees work together.

“The whole event had a very special atmosphere and I feel it touched all who worked, volunteered and came to visit over the weekend.”