The niche ladies at Oak Apple Day in Great Wishford on Saturday.A MISERABLE start to Saturday morning could not prevent villagers from Great Wishford waking at the crack of dawn to visit Salisbury Cathedral and reaffirm their rights to collect firewood in Grovely Woods.

This year marked the 401th anniversary of the charter of the Forest Court of Grovely and, as ever, villagers were out in force to celebrate Oak Apple Day, enjoying an afternoon of festivities and the spectacular procession of floats, led by May Queen Kelly Thorne (11) and her three attendants, Anna Rolfe, Laura Jordan and Lucy Moss, all aged seven.

They were followed by the ever-cheerful Bourne Valley Morris Men and 56 children from Great Wishford Church of England First School, led by their headteacher, Alison Jenkins, and all dressed in traditional Victorian costume.

Mrs Jenkins said the school had taken part in the celebrations for the past four years and Oak Apple Day was now an integral part of the curriculum.

Behind the school came the niche ladies, who had risen at 6am to attend the cathedral service and cry "Grovely, Grovely, Grovely and all Grovely - unity is strength".

It was the 20th year running for two of them - Janice Kellow and Janet Hailstone - and both said they still loved taking part in the celebrations.

Following was an assortment of colourful floats, including the Grovely Groundfarce Team, the Rotten Guts, Les Bouseux de Grovely and Amesbury Town Band.

Two special guests were on hand to judge the floats and enjoy the festivities - Mayor of Salisbury Bobbie Chettleburgh and Mayor of Wilton Keith Male.

Performing one of her last duties as mayor, Mrs Chettleburgh said: "This is lovely - it's a great celebration of what village life is all about."

It was also Mr Male's first time at Oak Apple Day and he said it was good to see a village pulling together to celebrate its heritage.

"It just shows that the community spirit is alive and well," he said.

With the procession ended, villagers headed to the green, where celebrations continued into the night.