FOOD lovers turned out in droves for the North-East’s biggest culinary festival.

Thousands of people from across the region attended the Wear Valley Food Festival on Saturday at Auckland Castle in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, where organisers said visitor numbers were well up on last year’s 20,000 figure.

Traffic queued for up to 20 minutes on some roads leading into Bishop Auckland, and Northern Rail laid on extra trains.

People browsed almost 100 stalls offering an array of tasty treats, arts and crafts from all over the North, and cuisines ranging from Thai and Indian to local butchers, bakers and dairy produce.

Many stalls ran out of produce in record time, with the Moody Bakers, Glendale Ginger Wine, and the Army field kitchen all displaying “sold out” signs by the early afternoon.

Community groups, organisations, and restaurants from around Wear Valley also held promotional stalls at the event.

Visitors were entertained by street artists, attractions from Bishop Auckland’s ongoing Art Land arts festival, and music from a piping band.

It takes a dedicated six-strong team almost a year to organise the event, and planning for next year’s festival will start within in a matter of weeks.

Organiser Sue Snowdon hailed Saturday’s festival another huge success with the crowds even bigger than last year.

“It has gone so well and has been a brilliant event – visitor numbers are up by at least a third on last year,” she said.

“So many places have sold out in record time.

“One company sold out so early in the day, its owners drove home to restock the stall.”

Thirsty visitors almost drank the barrels dry at the Ferryhillbased Yard of Ale Brewery stall, with some pumps down to the last half-a-dozen pints by 3pm.

Stallholder Gerald Slack said: “I think if the sun had been shining we would have sold out – it’s been a very good day for us.”

The food festival is sponsored by Northern Rail, the Co-operative, Wear Valley District Council and Bishop Auckland Town Council.