Food glorious food – and drink and more – was on offer when the annual eat:Wellington festival was staged last Saturday.

The event was slimmed down on previous years because of the Covid-19 pandemic and hand sanitising gel, masks and visors were much in evidence.

The festival featured more than 60 ‘socially distanced’ stalls in High Street and South Street but the usual cook school and workshops were absent this year to prevent visitors dwelling at specific locations.

One of the organisers, Beverley Milner Simonds, said: “We were very pleased with how the event went on Saturday.

“It was lovely to hear the feedback from Welly businesses who saw many people for the first time since lockdown. We wanted to create a safe, welcoming event and people followed our guidelines by coming with a list, shopping and then heading off to explore the shops or back home.

“There will be lots of time in the future for lazy days out but we know we aren’t quite there yet. We saw a lot of mask wearing and our stewards didn’t have to intervene at all to remind people to socially distance. The feedback from our producers was that once again Welly people are curious and have a healthy appetite.

“Thank you to the county, district and town councillors who came along, too.

“We open for 2021 applications on November 1 and we urge local businesses who want to be involved to make contact with us so we can shout about what they are offering, too.”

Further eat festivals are planned this autumn at Yeovil, Weston-super-Mare, Minehead, Nailsea and Burnham-on-Sea.