A FIVE-DAY festival celebrating a major historic event is set to bring more than 10,000 visitors to a small South Lakes village.

Cartmel's priory will join the likes of Canterbury Cathedral, Stonehenge and Runnymede next year, when it becomes one of just a handful of places named on an 'official' tourist trail of the UK celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta.

And thanks to a £10,000 grant the village is now in the throes of planning a major celebration, which will include concerts, a sound and light show, a medieval arena and a huge flower pageant in and around the priory itself.

"It's going to be very exciting indeed," said Cllr David Huggett, a Cartmel representative on Lower Allithwaite Parish Council.

"It's quite adventurous. It's bigger than anything we've done before here at Cartmel Priory, so it will be an awful lot of hard work.

"However, it promises to be a great few days which will really transform the town."

The long weekend of events will be held between September 25 and 29 as part of worldwide celebrations for the birthday of the 'Great Charter'.

The event will be centred around Cartmel Priory, whose founder, Knight William Marshal, played a key role in the King's acceptance of the document.

A flower show - which could attract as many as 10,000 visitors on its own - is set to be a focal point for the celebrations, which will also include a 'Son et Lumiere' show, a medieval jousting field and three evening concerts.

The event will form part of the 'Cathedral Cities of the North' trail - one of six focussing on different areas of the UK - with Lincoln, York and Durham.

Places named in the five other trails include Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral and the British Library, which will be exhibiting two of only four surviving copies of the 1215 version of the document.

"It's raising our profile and lifting us up to a higher level," continued Cllr Huggett.

"I can't say how many more visitors we might expect but I would expect this event will bring a lot!"

The £10,000 grant, which will fund the celebrations, has come from government via the 'Magna Carta 800th' committee.

The Rev Nick Devenish, from the Priory, said local people had already stepped up to support the event with Unsworth's Brewery set to produce a special beer, the village store planning to produce a limited edition cake and racecourse bosses offering free parking and traffic management.

"We are delighted to receive the grant," added the Rev Devenish. "We very much look forward to welcoming visitors to the Priory next September."

Magna Carta and its connection to Cartmel:

* Magna Carta, meaning ‘Great Charter’, was originally issued by King John in 1215, establishing the principle that everybody, including the king, is subject to the law

* The document was sealed at Runnymede in Surrey on June 15, 1215, as the King sought to appease barons who had turned against him

* It contained 63 clauses, of which three still form key parts of British democracy - including the 39th which gave all ‘free men’ the right to justice and a fair trial

* Some of its principles are seen in constitutions used right around the world including the United States Bill of Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights

* Cartmel Priory - or the Priory Church of St Mary and St Michael - was founded in 1189 by man named Knight William Marshal, who played a key role in gaining King John’s acceptance of the ‘Great Charter’

* Knight Marshal later became Lord Regent of England during Henry III’s childhood, and was central to the review of Magna Carta in 1217

* Cartmel Priory forms part of the northern Magna Carta tourist trail (trail three of six around the UK) along with York, Durham and Lincoln

* The other five trails include places such as Oxford's Bodleian Library, Canterbury Cathedral and Runnymede itself