COMPETITORS enjoyed some hard-earned cider at a festival.

Wakehurst Place hosted hundreds of cider drinkers at the venue’s inaugural Great Scythe Race at the weekend.

Teams battled against the clock to scythe specially prepared plots before enjoying a cooling drink of hard-earned cider.

The event brought together scythers from all over the country for the two day competition with judges keeping a keen eye on their accuracy as well as their speed.

Visitors over the weekend could also enjoy demonstrations of other traditional rural crafts including Sussex trug making and pole lathe turning.

The event was part of Wakehurst’s summer long Magical Meadows Festival which will see birds of prey and weaving tutorials next weekend.

For more information visit www.kew.org/visit-wakehurst/whats-on/magical-meadows