RESIDENTS and visitors donned their finery in Grange-over-Sands at the weekend as the town wound back the clock for its annual Edwardian festival.

Now in its 22nd year, the event saw 2,000 people descend on Park Road Gardens for more than 40 stalls manned by stall holders in elegant Edwardian dress.

Throughout the day visitors enjoyed a traditional Punch and Judy show, a miniature train, a children’s entertainer, golf lessons, Hook a Duck, facepainting and performances by Morris and clog dancers.

Sun-seekers reclined in deck chairs as the bandstand hummed with music from Mainline Jazz, Lancaster Singers and Blowjangles festival band, who travelled up from Blackburn.

They were also treated to performances from Grange Primary School Choir and Allithwaite School Ukulele Group.

For the second year running organisers put on a London red bus to ferry people round the town.

There were competitions for Best Stall and an Edwardian Best Dressed competition for ladies, gents, couples and children, with results and cash prizes announced by the Mayor.

“Everything went really well,” said chairman and secretary of the festival committee, Mary Ann Best. “We were really lucky with the weather, despite predictions of rain, but it wasn’t so hot that people were sweltering in Edwardian costume.”

The Grange Edwardian Festival started in 1993 as a way of attracting visitors to the town, with the hope that they would stay or make another booking for the summer.