Daffodil festival celebrates its 50th anniversary

A daffodil festival, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, is looking for a new chairperson to "pick up the mantle" and ensure its future.

The Kempley Daffodil Weekend started in 1974 when parishioners began serving tea and cake to daytrippers who were flocking to the area each spring to see the yellow carpets of wild flowers.

Denise Baker, 54, who has lived in Kempley all her life, said the event attracted people from all over the country.

"I'm amazed where some of the visitors come from, and lots of people who have moved away over the years, always come back and see us at this time of year," she said.

"My earliest memory was me and a young girl in the village, standing at the gate of the church with buckets of daffodils, and we sold them for 10p a bunch."

Once a common sight throughout Gloucestershire, the narcissus pseudonarcissus daffodil is now mainly found in the "golden triangle" between the villages of Kempley, Dymock and Oxenhall.

In the mid-20th Century a special train - the daffodil line - used to wind its way through embankments and oak woods strewn with the small yellow blooms.

Children would pick the daffodils which were sent to hospitals in Birmingham and London, and to be sold in the markets.

The line closed in 1959, but the flowers continued to grow in abundance and the visitors kept coming.

This sparked the idea of the daffodil teas weekend, begun by some willing volunteers in the village.

"It was started by the late vicar's wife, Margaret Hale, and by one of our local ladies, Edith Langstone, to raise money for the church," said Ms Baker.

"There was a group of five ladies in the kitchen - there were the two Joyces and my mum - and we had the two Miss Mollies, who ran the local pub, and they would sit at the front and sell teas and coffees.

"It was obviously simple back in the day and it's grown; soup was added and cheese buns.

"Everything has just got bigger and bigger as the years have gone by," she said.

"It was special because my mum had quite a lot to do with the church, so it was special in our house both for her and my dad.

"It's always been something that's been in the village for a good cause.

"It's just yellow wherever you look - golden heads of yellow is just lovely; the atmosphere is lovely," she added.

Long-standing chairman of the daffodil weekend, Glyn Bennett, is stepping down after this year's event.

"Glyn has been running it for the last 10 years, and this will be his final year, so hopefully somebody will pick up that mantle and carry it on," added Ms Baker.

The 50th Kempley Daffodil Weekend takes place on 15 and 16 March and visitors can join guided walks to see the daffodils starting at St Edwards Church.

There is also a craft fair, exhibitions, bus tours and, of course, tea and homemade cakes.

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