Lyme Regis ArtsFest came to a close on Sunday after one of the most successful years the event has ever seen.

Visitor numbers and sales were up on previous years with many art lovers returning to see their favourite artists.

The work of around 60 artists was displayed in their open studios, at group exhibitions in the town and in the shop windows of more than 100 businesses.

ArtsFest director Sally Holman said: “We were very pleased with the event and it was very well received. It adds to the relationship between the artists and the businesses and it worked surprisingly well.

“Visitor numbers to the group exhibitions were up by about 50 per cent in some places on last year, and we think sales have slightly bettered last year.

“The weather helped us, but it was more than that – people were coming back, looking for venues they went to before and looking for artists they had seen before.”

Visitors got involved at workshops and events, including the Raku pot firing at the Town Mill, where potters Don Hudson and Berey Pealing helped 136 people create their own pots to be fired in the mill courtyard.

This year’s festival included more performance art and literary events, which the organisers hope to expand on for future festivals.

The major literary event of the 2009 festival was the launch and book reading of Tracy Chevalier’s new book Remarkable Creatures, about Lyme Regis fossil hunter Mary Anning.

It coincided with the town museum’s Mary Anning Day on Sunday, which included fossil talks and activities, and a reading by Lyme Regis children’s author Laurence Anholt from his book about the fossil hunter.

Tracy Chevalier also did a private launch at the museum on Saturday to thank all those who helped her while she was writing the book.

Museum curator Mary Godwin said: “The event exceeded all our expectations.”