Bisterne Scarecrow Festival is a field of dreams (From Bournemouth Echo)

Bisterne Scarecrow Festival is a field of dreams

4:00pm Saturday 25th August 2012 in News By Katie Clark

OLYMPIANS, the Queen and fairytale folk have been recreated in straw for this year’s Bisterne Scarecrow Festival.

The annual event, which takes place in the rural communities of Bisterne, Kingston and Sandford between Christchurch and Ringwood, has seen 23 entries for this year’s hotly-fought contest.

Visions this year include Bisterne Boris at the Tyrrells Ford car park, the Queen dropping in at Stables Drive and Woody from Toy Story.

Perhaps the most elaborate design is Derek Mitchell’s from Kingston, who has created the story of Hansel and Gretel, crafting a cottage and witch, as well as the mythical siblings for his entry. The spectacle took six months to create from scratch.

Derek said: “People keep asking if I bought the shed but I made it all myself. I started six months ago with just two wheels.”

The winner of the single scarecrow was Sarah and Billy Bristow with Old-Limp-Ics, with The Stockleys taking the top spot with their Unicorn Jack and St George’s Dragon.

The best group of scarecrows was won by Elizabeth Cox with her Olympic Challenge while the champion scarecrow prize went to The Stockleys again for their patriotic entry. It is the 11th year the festival has taken place with people flocking to buy maps and follow the unique trail.

Sylvie Edgell, chairman of Bisterne village hall and organiser of the event said: “People come out here especially to see our scarecrows every year.

“One lady who lives in London and has a house here arranges her holiday every year so it coincides with this and the Ringwood Carnival. Everything we make goes back into the village hall. It certainly helps and we manage to do some improvements each year.”

The scarecrows will be on show until Sunday, September 2.