PINTS, face-painting and soft play were the order of the day as families gathered at the Highworth beer festival.

The Highworth Hotel and Restaurant in Westrop held its third annual four-day bank holiday beer festival, which included more than 50 varieties of beers, ciders and real ales.

Customers didn’t let the British weather put a dampener on their spirits and packed out the bar and beer garden as they sampled the brews.

For families, live music, face painting, a soft play area and a magician were available to keep children entertained.

Landlord Michael Clitheroe, who runs The Highworth with his wife, Pauline, said the event attracted a record number of visitors this year.

“We’ve seen close to 1,000 people here over the four days,” he said.

“It’s a real community event, so it brings people in from Highworth but also from further afield. We’ve had some American students in here today because it is such a classic British event.”

“Each year it gets bigger and bigger and word of mouth gets the event out there. We simply put flyers out a week before it starts and the response we get is unbelievable, it’s phenomenal. There’s a real buzz around Highworth. It’s just remarkable.

“There’s something for everyone here, you don’t have to just like beer to come here, although that helps. We have what we call the man crèche and the child’s crèche and it’s the perfect way to spend the bank holiday.”

Now in its third year, the festival offers diverse varieties of beer, cider and real ales including customer favourites Thistley Cross cider and Titanic Plum Porter beer.