VILLAGE FUN:  Residents in Hamsterley replaced this year’s hoppings festival with a scarecrow trail
VILLAGE FUN: Residents in Hamsterley replaced this year’s hoppings festival with a scarecrow trail

RESIDENTS in Hamsterley got creative last month, putting together a fine display of scarecrows to mark what would have been the village’s annual carnival weekend.
The scarecrow trail, organised by resident Claire Hunter, aimed at bringing the community together after it had to cancel traditional activities due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ms Hunter said: “It’s been a trying year and it was really disappointing when we had to cancel the Hoppings because of Covid. Early in lockdown we did a bear hunt for the children and rather than doing another one for the Hoppings, we just thought having a scarecrow trail would bring us all together.”
However, in stark contrast to the blazing heat the village experienced the previous year, residents had to cope with torrential rain for much of the week-long trail,
with some scarecrows
only going on show in the final weekend due to the late summer downpours.