VISITORS turned out in their thousands as Corsham Street Fair made a much-welcomed return from lockdown on Saturday (September 11).

The bright sunshine and more than 4,000 visitors made for a busy day for most of the 50-plus stallholders and some of those selling food and drink were sold out by 2pm.

Adrian McCay, of Pepperpot Events, at Allington, had been selling chicken and chorizo and roasted vegetables from his stall near the Flemish Weaver pub.

By 1.45pm he was packing up to go, saying: “I’m sold out. It’s been a really busy day and I’ve served about 150 customers.

“I reckon everyone wanted to come out with the Covid lockdown restrictions being lifted. It has certainly drawn people out and the weather has been amazing.”

Street fair organiser Rachel Avent, echoed his comments, saying: “We’ve had people queuing for food and drink, and the car parking has been free.

“This is the first event we’ve been able to organise and we were only given the go-ahead from the town council about three months ago.

“The timing is good and the good weather has helped. We’ve had 55 stalls booked, which is a record, because of the extra space we were offered at the Digital Mansion.”

The Corsham streets were brought alive by local musicians, including the Funk City Band, Will Lawton and Suzy Condrad, on the Street Fair stage next to Grounded.

Acclaimed Blues guitarist Kevin Brown put on a busker’s performance and Nick Steele toured the streets with his Pramaphone.

Corsham Wind Band Association, which includes Corsham Youth Concert Band, Spectrum and a training band, entertained visitors at the Digital Mansion.

There was a wide selection of food and drink on offer, including Carl Dodd, of Cadrona Distilleries, with bottles of liquor.

At the Digital Mansion, visitors were able to buy vegan and vegetarian food, enjoy the Creative Craft lawn, and take part in free kids’ multi-sports, including archery and yoga.

Saturday also saw the launch of this year’s Peacock Arts Trail, with 70-plus artist studios open in and around Corsham and North Wiltshire to September 19.