THOUSNADS of people are expected to flood into Ludlow for the town’s biggest day of the year so far.

Final preparations are being put into place for the Spring Food Festival that is combined with a major exhibition of classic cars.

Foodies and petrol heads will be coming to Ludlow for the three-day festival.

When it started just a few years ago the Spring Food Festival in May was very much the little sibling of the main event in September.

Initially, a one-day event in the town centre it has now grown to be an important part of the town’s calendar on its own right.

The Spring Food Festival is now staged in the Castle grounds over three days.

A series of innovations are planned for the festival that begins next Friday evening (May 12) and continues through to Sunday.

The weekend has been labelled as Beer, Bangers, Bread and Classic Cars.

It all begins at 5pm on Friday (May 12) evening with a specialist ‘Meet the Brewer’ event that is followed by music and entertainment on the festival pub stage which is repeated on the Sunday.

One of the signature events on the Saturday will be a pie trail that will take people around the town and provide an opportunity for Ludlow’s independent shops.

Then, on Sunday, people with a sweet tooth are catered for with a pudding trail around the town.

There will also be a chefs’ kitchen on both the Saturday and Sunday that will include a number of experts sharing their experience, including Steve Lyons who has worked for Raymond Blanc and now runs his own business. Each session last for about 40 minutes.

Talks and Tipples is a series of events on both the Saturday and Sunday that puts the emphasis on fruits and flavours.

It will include some of the best local beers and ideas about how they can be matched with different styles of food.

The team from Grow, Cook and Learn that run the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms will also be at the festival.

There will be a chance to smell different dishes, herbs and spices. Children will also get to try their hand at different activities.

But the festival is not only about food and one of the items on the menu will be the opportunity to see a blacksmith at work.

Combined with the food will be the 33rd Marches Transport Festival.

The vehicles on display will include both cars, commercial vehicles and motorcycles, some of them dating back to before the second-world-war.

Dating back to 1924, an Austin Clifton Tourer is the oldest car expected to be on show. Only three years younger with a 1927 vintage is a Rolls Royce Tourer.

More modest but just as interesting is a 1934 Austin Seven.

The post-war cars range from an Austin A35 to several Bentleys dating from between 1949 to 1959. By way of contrast, there is also a 1959 Heinkel Bubble car on display.

Sure to be popular are the modern classics dating between 1960 and 1985 with the iconic Citroen DS23 Safari just one of many interesting vehicles with a special place in automotive history.

It is expected that there will be 150 vehicles on display.