A NEW community festival has been hailed by visitors and organisers as a runaway success.

The three-day Forgotten Lands festival, which took place last Friday until Sunday, was set across six separate locations in the Bewcastle and Roadhead area, in the north eastern corner of Cumbria, close to the Scottish border.

With a range of events celebrating the unique cultural and musical character of the area, visitors delighted in everything from rag rug making demonstrations to performances from an impressive roster of musicians.

From Americana stalwart Michael Chapman to multi-instrumental virtuosos The Bailey Sisters and folk music major name Jim Causley, the most high-profile performer was folk music legend Maddy Prior, who has adopted the area as her home.

“The area has a strong identity and sense of community despite being so sparsely populated,” she said.

“We have been in the area nearly 40 years and are very proud to be a part of this unique and beautiful region with its unspoiled landscapes and rich and fascinating history.

“We brought the festival home to Bewcastle because we are all passionate about this area.”

Rose-Ellen Kemp, coordinator of the festival’s music and herself one of the weekend’s performers, was pleased to indicate the signs were positive for a return next year.

“Our steward and infrastructure team have enthusiastically pledged that they are ready and able to make Forgotten Lands 2020 happen,” she said.

“However this has to be demand-led so if people want the Forgotten Lands to flourish they must commit to buying an early bird ticket by the end of this year.

“This year’s theme was ‘shed light on the Forgotten Lands’ and people wore fairy lights and crisp white clothes, light-up hats and sparkly wings and we danced in the drizzle and drank good beer.

“It all came together so well. We couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome of all our hard work.”

The weekend’s events were supported by Creative Arts North, local businesses and the Bewcastle Fund, set up by Prince Charles.