Witches and wizard workshops, wand making, vegetable carving and potion making were among a brimming cauldron of woodland activities enjoyed by thousands of young visitors to the Fairyland Trust's Real Halloween weekend at Holt Hall, Holt.

Trust spokesman Abbie Panks estimated that 3,000 people, many in costume, visited the two-day festival which, she said, celebrated autumn and nature, rather than the 'blood and gore' side of halloween.

A popular new attraction was the chance to take home a young native tree to plant, in return for telling a story.

Each day ended with a homemade lantern parade through the woods.

Angie Partis, from Aylsham, took her own children to the event when they were small and now takes her grandchildren.

She said: 'I like it's wholesomeness and the fact it's non-commercial. It really encourages a connection with the natural world.'