TENS of thousands of people flocked to Lowther Castle for a two-day celebration of country pursuits.

Lowther Show's visitor numbers may even have exceeded the 40,000-strong record, say organisers Countryman Fairs.

The castle grounds hosted attractions such as the Lowther Horse Driving Trials - once a great favourite of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh - the Taste Cumbria Food & Beer Festival, the Lowther Fishing Island, Lowther Hound Show, clay shooting, falconry, rural crafts and archery.

New men's and women's record times were set during the 30th Lowther Trail Run, which welcomed 162 entrants - more than twice last year's number.

Christopher Holdsworth, 25, of Clayton-le-Moors, completing the 13-mile cross-terrain run in 1 hour 19 minutes 26 seconds. Dufton's Morgan Donnelly had previously held the men's record since 2009 with a time of 1 hour 19 minutes 45 seconds.

Meanwhile, the women's record set seven years ago by Suzanne Budget - 1 hour 38 minutes 35 seconds - was beaten by Joanna Zakrzewski of Dumfries RC, who shaved three minutes off her time.

Men's winner Christopher Holdsworth said: "I researched the race beforehand and knew that on a good day the record was within my grasp. However, the course was much tougher than expected. Thankfully, I managed to push on and take it. It was a fantastic race with great organisation, I’ll be back next year to try and break my own record."

Event organiser Martin Stone was thrilled at the number of entrants and the calibre of runners. "It was the perfect weather for the Lowther Trail Run on Sunday; dry and not too not," he said. "There was stiff competition taking part, but I was very shocked that both records were smashed on the same day. We had great feedback from the competitors who loved the route as it offered a variety of differing terrains including the river crossing at Butterwick."