The hills are alive with the sound of munching

Well that was the intention as the media launch for the third Pennine Lancashire Festival of Food and Culture took place beside majestic Pendle Hill. Plan A was for the mayors and chief execs (including our own chief exec of Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board, Mike Wilkinson, and Elevate's Kathleen Houghton) to have a dinner at the top of our most famous hill, dressed in formal black and white or nice dresses, of course!

But unfortunately wet weather put paid to that and so plan B swung in to operation and the group posed for pictures at the foot of the hill, before enjoying an excellent cooked lunch at Barley Village Hall.

The festival is a huge and extremely popular month-long event, taking in six of Lancashire's eastern districts. It starts on August 18 and ends on September 18. Hard to believe it lasted just a few days two years ago. Well known Lancashire cookery star Philippa James is the Festival's Ambassador and donned Pendle Witches `gear` for the media photos. There is a Gala Dinner at Towneley Hall on September 9 and not forgetting the World Gravy Wrestling Championships on Bank Holiday Monday at the Rose & Bowl Inn in Bacup.