THEY gathered from afar. Musicians, singers, dancers and poets travelled to Upper Wensleydale from all over Britain to take part in the second Upper Wensleydale Gathering.

And at the hub was the pub. The Green Dragon Inn at Hardraw to be precise. Music strained from every nook and corner of the inn as folk and roots music fans joined in the sing-arounds and play-arounds with creative enthusiasm.

More formally, two nights of concerts held in the Green Dragon's function room were particularly well received by clearly knowledgeable and appreciative audiences.

Friday evening's concert, which officially launched the gathering, headlined Martyn Wyndham-Read, specialist in Australian folk music, who was accompanied by virtuoso concertina performer Iris Bishop. The lively five-piece band Beggars Bowl started the evening with a Celtic touch; performance poet Adrian Spendlow bewitched with his creative word play and rhythmic mastery while Rachel and Becky Unthank had the audience spellbound with the perfect pitch of their unaccompanied songs.

Saturday evening's concert opened with the seven-piece Backroom Band, who treated the sell-out audience to an eclectic mix of traditional folk music from around the British Isles - with an engagingly added Egyptian flavour.

Featured as special guests were hammer dulcimer exponent Alan Wood and his bodhran-playing wife Maggie, who had travelled from Peterborough more in the hope rather than the expectation that they would be on Saturday evening's bill. They won the right to perform by triumphing in the busking competition held in Hawes town centre just hours before the concert.

Making a particularly welcome return appearance at the Gathering's Saturday concert was Darlington-based French singer Flossie Malavialle, whose powerful treatment of Edith Piaf standards was nothing less than superb. And her performance of Me And Bobby Magee was equally remarkable for the tremendous quality of its big finish.

Bishop Auckland's Nebula carried on the folk tour of the British Isles where the Backroom Band left off, with a varied repertoire. They also got the audience's feet stomping and hands clapping with an excellent selection of jigs and reels.

The concert climaxed with the music of singer-songwriter and talented instrumentalist Pete Coe from Hebden Bridge. He was accompanied by his wife Sue and Alice Jones, who gave a performance of Appalachian step dancing. Not to be outdone in the twinkle-toe department, Pete proved his multi-talented credentials by providing the musical accompaniment for his own step dancing routine.

The success of the two concerts has virtually guaranteed a third Upper Wensleydale Gathering will be held next year. But the event was not just about music at the Green Dragon. The Black Sheep Morris Dancers, Darlington Mummers and Great North Clog Dancers travelled around the area presenting their colourful performances to as wide an audience as possible.

A number of the Gathering's estimated 1,500 visitors also enjoyed taking part in the creative workshops held at the Green Dragon and in the Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes, as well as a particularly popular Coracle Regatta on the River Ure.

Allan Tunningley