Each year since 2002, during one weekend in August, Flamstead village has welcomed the world to come on in and admire the handiwork and creativity of the locals in its Scarecrow Festival.  Organised in aid of charity, residents of the village plan and create magnificent scarecrow features and visitors are invited to buy voting forms and vote for their top 3 scarecrows.  

With around 80 on show all around the village there’s plenty to choose from and the thought and care that has gone into them is impressive. Themes range from TV, film and books, to sport, politics, children’s characters and more.  There's sound effects, smoke effects and even a street who have coordinated to create displays based around Julia Donaldson books!  The level of detail is amazing.

We had a gorgeous afternoon strolling around this pretty village, feeling perfectly at ease staring into people’s gardens! Choosing our winner’s was tricky though.  We took time out in the Scarecrow Cafe in the village hall to mull it over.  There’s also a programme of entertainment over the weekend, stalls and more food and refreshments in the two village pubs.

A lovely afternoon out for all ages, Flamstead Scarecrow Festival 2018 runs 17th - 19th August 2018. Visit the festival website for more information including directions to the  village and the car park (there’s a suggested donation of £2 for car parking).

We won't tell you which scarecrows we voted for, but here’s a look at some of this year's displays in our video below: