Families follow trail for harvest goodies

Families were hot on the trail of fresh produce during a harvest festival hunt in Maidstone.

Youngsters used maps to help them track down baskets full of food concealed around the town centre on Saturday, September 30.

Several of the hiding places also included materials which children could collect to help build scarecrows at the end.

And those that successfully completed the trail received a specially produced fable written by the Rev Canon Andrew Sewell of St Paul’s Church in Boxley Road called The Growing Machine.

Organised as part of the Waypoint Project, a partnership involving more than 20 churches and organisations that work together to put on community events, it is the first time the festival has run in the town.

As well as a fun family activity, it was put on to celebrate Maidstone as the County Town of the Garden of England.

Waypoint Project director Heather May said: “Our Easter Egg trail proved very popular so we thought we would do something similar for harvest – a time when it is good to pause and give thanks for our food and all our resources.”

With that in mind, the festival also collected tins for various homeless charities and food banks in a tractor trailer in Jubilee Square, off High Street, Maidstone, and held a tool amnesty, with all unwanted equipment collected destined for communities in developing countries.

Pictures: Matthew Walker FM4941835/FM4941841 Pixie Jeff, seven and, right, Kaira Milburn, six, with mum Anna-Liisa on the Harvest Trail

FM4941839/FM4941838 Olivia, three, and Lucia, eight, Hernandez Cox with Valerie Hilder, left, and Caroline Mills, Tony Jones, Mark Burr and Kellie Edney with public donations for food banks and homeless charities, right

FM4941830/FM4941848 Andrew Tinsley, Mary Elphick, Sam Smith and John Elphick from the National Fruit Show with Amanda, Steve Jeff, Pixie and Jamie Jeff, left, and Daniel Mercer, six, right

FM4941828 Mia Williamson, seven