Asparagus is a highly regarded vegetable grown in the Vale of Evesham and celebrated in style with an annual festival. This part of rural Worcestershire benefits from perfect growing conditions with asparagus being widely available from late April to late June.
Location: The Vale of Evesham is located in Worcestershire, West Midlands 14 miles south-east of Worcester and 87 miles north-west of London and just over an hour’s drive from both Birmingham and Oxford.
The Asparagus Festival begins each year on St. George’s Day (23rd April) with a six week celebration kicking off with the opening ceremony centred around the Fleece Inn, in the village of Bretforton near Evesham, Worcestershire. The Fleece is a quintessential country inn steeped in history with low ceilings, stone floors and original oak beams. The building was originally constructed in the early 15th century by a farmer named Byrd who was granted a licence to serve alcohol. Ownership passed through several generations of Byrd women until 1977 when his great-great-granddaughter Lola Taplin bequeathed the pub to the National Trust in her will. The pub remains largely unchanged and pays homage to the locally grown asparagus which features heavily on its menu during the six week festival.
The festival originated from a fund raising asparagus auction for the local Bretforton Silver Band to raise money for their instruments. Since then the celebrations have grown from strength to strength with an annual auction raising money for local charities.
The main emphasis of National Asparagus Day is celebrated by blessing the first-cut round of asparagus which is traditionally bound in willow. After enjoying the opening event last year we were invited along to the shenanigans again this year as another exciting programme had been planned.
It all got under way at 9.30 a.m. in the courtyard of The Fleece with tasty bacon and asparagus baps handed round, folk music and traditional Morris dancing. After the previous day’s rain, we were blessed with partly sunny skies. Spear-heading the celebrations (I couldn’t resist the deliberate pun) was Gus the Asparagus standing 7’2″” tall in his costume. A local farmer by trade, asparagus has turned him into something of a local celebrity as he’s even been part of a delegation to the European Parliament in Brussels along with a man dressed as St. George. Besides raising awareness for the vegetable in European markets, the trip was designed to thank the EU for granting Vale of Evesham asparagus Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). This has placed the vegetable in an elite group of food and drink that includes Champagne, Jersey Royal Potatoes and Parmesan cheese.
Children from the village infant school were in attendance, all wearing asparagus inspired crowns and waving flags of St. George. They treated the crowds to some patriotic singing including a rousing rendition of Rule Britannia which was lovely to see.
Each year, the first cut of asparagus is donated to a different charity and this year it was the turn of the National Star College in Cheltenham. Handing over the revered asparagus was an experience all in itself as it was ceremoniously taken through the Cotswold countryside accompanied by a fleet of classic Morgan cars.
I was assigned to a gleaming blue Morgan 4/4 classic car hand built in 2018 and driven by Barry, a retired gentleman from Cheltenham. He was absolutely lovely and we both felt like royalty as we made our way out of the pub’s car park lined several deep with people waving and taking our photos. It felt so relaxing sitting in the sports car travelling with the hood down and feeling the wind in my hair.
Within 20 minutes we’d arrived at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway at Broadway station just in time to board the ‘Asparagus Express’ steam train to Cheltenham Racecourse.
Our nostalgic ride on the steam train took approximately one hour during which time the asparagus was paraded through the carriages by Gus the Asparagus accompanied by St. George and Nigel Smith, Landlord of The Fleece who was still dressed in his Morris dancing costume complete with bells.
The train can accommodate over 200 passengers and lots of people had bought tickets to help celebrate and be a part of this special day. There was a folk musical accompaniment and of course asparagus inspired snacks on offer in the buffet car.
On reaching the end of the line at Cheltenham Broadway station we continued our journey by minibus to the National Star College in Ullenwood on the outskirts of Cheltenham. The charity provides training and education, personal development and residential services for people with physical and learning disabilities and acquired brain injuries.
On arrival at the college the rows of fresh green spears were ceremonially handed over to the students and it was wonderful that these young people were given the chance to turn them into asparagus soup, while gaining work experience in a kitchen. National Star chief executive Lynette Barrett told us she was thrilled the festival had chosen to involve its StarBistro venue as preparing young people with disabilities for adulthood is what National Star is all about.
We were given a tour of the impressive facilities and said hello to some of the students who were mesmerised by the sight of Gus the Asparagus as it’s not every day you see a 7ft asparagus walking around the campus.
Before heading back to The Fleece we enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by the students and no guesses as to what was on the menu. We were treated to some tasty asparagus and spinach soup followed by asparagus and pea tart with salad.
The food was prepared to perfection and reasonably priced at £8-£9 so if you are ever in the Cheltenham area I suggest calling in to their attractive bistro as it’s open daily from 9.00 a.m. until 4.00 p.m. There’s also a gift shop filled with some lovely gifts made by the students ranging from coffee mugs, to pendants and coasters. StarBistro
The event we attended on 23rd April marked the start of the two-month British Asparagus Festival celebrating the Vale of Evesham’s produce and harvest. Numerous other events and charity auctions take place over the six week period. More details are available here.
If you have enjoyed this post you may also like:
The Vale of Evesham Blossom Trail
Travel Guide: The Malverns, Worcestershire
We were guests of Worcestershire’s Vale and Spa and as always, all views and opinions are entirely my own.
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