THE Dales Festival of Food and Drink broke even more records this year with over 20,000 people passing through the gates during the three-day event - an 18pc increase on last year.

There was often a stream of traffic from the A1 to Leyburn as people came from all over the region to enjoy what has become the premier event of its kind in the North of England.

The new site on a field opposite Tennants Auction Rooms provided space for the festival to expand. Many festival visitors appreciated being able to park right next to the festival site.

Volunteers from the local Royal British Legion organised the parking and in turn received donations of over £3,000. This will go towards caring for ex-servicemen and their families.

The new site meant that the food hall could be even bigger with wider aisles between the stalls and a seated area.

Niall McCormack was delighted that there was so much space for wheelchairs this time. He so enjoyed it as a social event that he went to the festival three times this year.

Many of the stall-holders had been wary of the move to a site outside the town but were won over by the response.

"Last year people were so tightly crammed together they often couldn't stop and buy," said one stall holder.

Ian and Margaret Grainger, the North Country Lass pie makers, have had a stall at the festival since it started three years ago, selling such specialities as quack and oink pie.

Yet again they could hardly keep up with demand and in three days sold more than 8,000 pies and pastries. "I've had a brilliant day," said Mr Grainger on Sunday.

Not all the stall holders matched their sales at previous festivals but were still very happy. There was a wide range of food to choose from organic vegetables to locally-made beers and cheeses, fish and various meat products to ready meals and spices.

"We've moved on from being a large farmers' market to having an identity of our own as a festival," said Ann Hodgson, who with her husband Gerald, and Margaret and Keith Knight, have been the leading organisers of this event.

Mrs Knight paid tribute this week to all the volunteers on the committee who had helped to make it such a success. A percentage of the funds raised at the festival will be given back to the community, some of this through the local Rotary and Round Table clubs whose members provided security for the festival.

The bigger site meant that more facilities could be provided. These included the festival inn refreshments marquee and a speaker's corner in addition to the theatre marquee.

The demonstrations in the theatre marquee were well attended. The first demonstrators were children from Leyburn CP school who highlighted the theme of the festival: Healthy Eating.

The other demonstrators were Jonathan Harrison from the Sandpiper Inn in Leyburn; Peter Bell, the director of the hotel and catering department at the Darlington College of Technology; Julie Clarke of Middle Farm, Woodale; Sue Fairhurst of Fairhurst Outside Catering; Kathy Iveson of Wensley; David Spencer from Swinton Park Hotel, Masham; The Dales Quality Meat Company; Sue Burgess from North Yorkshire County Council; Andrew Thwaite of the Derbyshire Chocolate company; and the TEAM food group training association.

All the demonstrators, celebrities and speakers gave their time free of charge. Lady Bolton was in charge of hospitality for the celebrities.

The Yorkshire and Humber Regional Food Group had a marquee this year where they promoted their deliciouslyYorkshire brand. And nearby was the Darlington College of Technology marquee where their team of catering trainees, led by Mr Bell, demonstrated how to barbecue food safely.

Thanks to the sunny weather many families sat on the grass and enjoyed the music, the food and local beers, spring water and fruit juices. The beers in the festival inn were provided by the Daleside Brewery.