Leominster is preparing for one of the busiest - and wackiest - weekends of the year.

A flock of 'art sheep' will arrive to graze on The Grange, swords will clash at a blood curdling re-enacted of a famous battle and town centre gardens are being thrown open to the public to raise funds for the Priory Church.

The Woolgathers group is setting out to help reconnect the town - home of the famed Lemster Ore (wool) - with its woolly heritage.

The Sheep Shape event, in which local groups have been working with professional artists to make 'art sheep' coincides with the 100th anniversary year of the Ryeland Flock Book Society and the Chinese Year of the Sheep. Some real examples of Ryeland sheep, the breed whose fine wool was Leominster's gold, will be on display at The Grange during a Sheep Art Show & Market tomorrow afternoon. The art event continues on Saturday on The Grange and on Sunday at Berrington Hall.

Hereford shire Record Office is staging an exhibition on Leominster's woolly history at the Lion Ballroom tomorrow from 7-9pm. Leominster's Royal Charter of 1554 will be put on display.

l The Leominster Medieval Fair at the Riverside Meadows, Broadward, on Saturday and Sunday, features a parade of Mounted Medieval Queens and a re-enacted of the Battle of Mortimers Cross in 1461.

l Leominster Open Gardens event is from 2pm-6pm on Saturday and Sunday. Programmes are available at the Tourist Information Centre, Corn Square.