Malvern Autumn Show, taking place from 27 – 29 September at Three Counties Showground is the UK’s largest harvest celebration and this year’s show promises to be bigger and better than ever with a jampacked programme, full of exciting things to see and do. Here’s nine reasons why this year’s show is not to be missed:
Feast your eyes on giant, show stopping vegetables:
Adults and children alike can feast their eyes on giant produce, take photos next to them to show their sheer scale and find out exactly what it takes to grow such impressive crops!
Supersized vegetables will be on display in the CANNA UK National Giant Vegetables Championship, a renowned source of new Guinness World Records for spectacularly large crops.
Amongst the impressive selection of vast veg will include the world’s heaviest pumpkins, longest runner beans and biggest chilli peppers, just some of the 31 adult classes that can be entered by enthusiasts in what is fondly known as the ‘world cup of giant vegetable growing’. This year’s competition will include a class for the heaviest cantaloupe melon, with a whopping £1,000 of prize money for the winner.
Grow your knowledge and plant collection:
There is so much beauty to be marvelled at throughout the show, packed full of horticultural delights and impressive displays, appealing to those just starting out or well-seasoned growers.
The Gardening Village will be filled with impressive floral displays and seasonal bargains, and where green fingered visitors will be eyeing up next season’s inspiration.
The RHS Flower Show in the Floral Marquee is not to be missed! This year’s show will see some 65 specialist nurseries selling a wide range of plants and bulbs, with plenty of choice for sensational spring displays. Visitors can explore the Plant Village and Bulb Market, browsing the impressive selection from renowned suppliers.
One of the UKs largest Harvest Pavilions, this one is a true celebration of ‘growing your own’, with ‘The Grow to Show’ section attracting 1,500 entries in over 100 different classes for everything from cut flowers, vegetables, fruit, alpine succulents to pot plants and more. The National Plant Societies will be on hand to share their passion and knowledge on growing the perfect specimen, giving budding gardeners the chance to enter next year.
The Floral Art section is home to delightful displays created by talented floral arrangers. These stunning works of art will not only be a real visual treat for passers-by, but they will be judged as part of a competition organised by The National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies (NAFAS). The competition is taking place to find new talent in addition to the annual event staged at Malvern, the 2024 theme for which is ‘A Canopy of Colour’. Each competitor will be exhibiting a display titled ‘Razzamatazz’. The overall winner of the NAFAS Floral Art competition will have the opportunity to represent NAFAS at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2025.
Familiar faces and special guests:
Hosting the Garden Theatre at this year’s Malvern Autumn Show will be BBC Radio Two and Escape to the Country presenter, Nicki Chapman. Special guests joining Nicki on stage throughout the weekend include BBC Gardeners’ World presenters, Adam Frost (Friday), Rachel de Thame (Saturday) and Arit Anderson (Sunday), celebrity florist and regular floral expert on ITV’s Love Your Weekend, Jonathan Moseley (Friday – Sunday), gardener, author, broadcaster and plant-based nature therapist, Ellen Mary (Friday – Sunday), and former Blue Peter gardener and head of horticulture for Garden Organic, Chris Collins (Sunday). Visitors can expect to pick up top tips on preparing for a beautiful spring garden, how to introduce seasonal colour over the autumn and winter months, the best late season edibles to plant, as well as the popular Gardener’s Question Time.
Broadcaster and writer Martin Fish, will return to the show to host The Potting Shed theatre, located in the Harvest Pavilion, from Friday – Sunday, joined by a variety of guests throughout the weekend.
Also joining this year’s Malvern Autumn Show line up will be Chris Bavin. Well-known for his appearances in BBC’s Eat Well For Less, The Truth About Meat, Shop Well for the Planet, Best Home Cook, The One Show, Escape To The Country and Channel 4’s Aldi’s Next Big Thing, Chris has also published two cookbooks and is a passionate advocate of fresh produce, reducing food waste, zero packaging and increasing fruit and veg consumption.
On your marks, get set, bake!
Brand new for this year’s Malvern Autumn Show, cake lovers everywhere will rejoice and celebrate this Bake-Off inspired feature. The Great Malvern Cake Off tent will be hosted by Chris Bavin, who will be joined by some well-known faces from popular series of BBC and Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off, including Briony May Williams from 2018’s series (Sunday), Giuseppe Dell’Anno (Friday and Saturday), Lizzie Acker (Friday and Saturday), and Freya Cox (Sunday), the first Vegan baker on the show, all from 2021’s series.
As well as Q&A sessions, visitors can enjoy cake and dessert baking demos, and fun challenges and competitions, including technical challenges and race against the clock competitions. Budding baking afficionados can even join in by entering themselves or their own bakes into competitions, or simply sit back, soak up the sweet-smelling atmosphere and enjoy the fun!
Bring your four-legged friends along:
For the very first time, visitors to Malvern Autumn Show on Sunday 29 September only can bring their four-legged friend along to enjoy the seasonal fun!
Welcoming well-behaved dogs on short, non-retractable leads, there will be a dedicated Dog Show held in the World of Animals area, with fun, informal categories such as ‘waggiest tail’ and ‘dog most like it’s owner’ that visitors can enter or simply watch and enjoy the fun (pre-entry not required). The Dog Show will be judged by author, TV presenter, and qualified dog behaviourist, Leon Towers AKA The Dogs Voice. Also featuring in the Garden Theatre on Sunday with a special Q&A, titled ‘How to Fix Your Dog’, with Nicki Chapman.
Sunday dog entry tickets are free and need to be booked in advance at https://www.malvernautumn.co.uk/ (With the exception of assistance dogs, no dogs will be permitted for entry on Friday or Saturday at the show).
Enjoy the all-new Tipple Zone:
More new features at this year’s show include the Tipple Zone (in collaboration with Piston Distillery), where visitors can enjoy samples from leading spirit, cider and rum producers as well as the opportunity to chat to them about their craft, purchase bottles to take home and enjoy live music.
Close by in the Food Festival, tasty treats will be available courtesy of a range of outstanding street food caterers, including the Beefy Boys and Roly Poly Eats.
The ever-popular Cider Garden, courtesy of Westons Cider Mill, will be returning, offering weary legs a comfy spot for some R&R in the heart of the showground. Visitors can pull up a seat and enjoy a refreshing tipple of Hereford’s finest.
Go back in time at the Vintage Village:
Visitors will be transported back in time to the golden days at the Vintage Village, back for this year’s show with a bigger area featuring live bands performing toe-tapping music throughout the long weekend.
Dance fans can partake in one of the free dance lessons throughout the weekend and learn dances from the 40s and 50s. An extra special guest at this year’s show, former Strictly Come Dancing star, actor, professional dancer and choreographer, Kevin Clifton will dazzle visitors with his dancing skills at the Vintage Village on Saturday. For fans of Strictly, this is the chance to learn some dance moves from one of the very best! Kevin will also be joining Nicki Chapman on stage at the Garden Theatre for a general Q&A session.
Dressing up is encouraged and those who do will have the chance to enter and win the ‘Best Dressed’ competition, or dress up in clothing from 1940s/50s at the show and take part in a ‘Parade by Decade’.
For those visiting with youngsters, the Vintage Fairground, making its debut at Malvern Autumn Show this year, is not to be missed! There will be plenty of fun for all the family, including dodgems, a ferris wheel, hook-a-duck games, a vintage toy vehicle ride, a children’s carousel, tin can alley, a rifle range, funny mirrors and swing boats! After all that action, families can enjoy bargain hunting in the new antiques arcade, located in Wye Hall – a treasure trove of tastefully curated antiques, retro and vintage finds.
Shop ‘til you drop:
A unique shopping experience awaits at this year’s show where shoppers will find end of season bargains, horticultural goods, handmade crafts, vintage treasures, top quality artisan food and drink, plus so much more!
A specialist indoor food market will be the place to pick up tasty treats to take home. Local artisan producers offering a range of sweet and savoury foods, as well as international snacks will be found here including Three Bears Bakery, Café Cannoli, Top Barn Farm Shop and Croome Cuisine Cheeses.
Supporters of independent food and drink, the Great Taste Market will also be making a return this year, as part of a collaboration with the Guild of Fine Foods. Exhibitors attending include Nonya’s Secrets, Scottish Honeyberry Growers and Bay Coffee Company.
Visitors shopping for the garden will be spoilt for choice as bulbs, seeds and beautiful blooms will all be available to purchase in both the Plant Village and RHS Flower Show marquee. The free Plant Creche and Porter Service allows visitors to enjoy the rest of the day without having their hands full, and their purchases to be transported back to the car before leaving the show.
The indoor shopping halls are a great place to find one-of-a-kind craft items, from over 150 arts and crafts exhibitors from the Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Cotswold Guilds (groups of professional, local designer-makers) to the Boffy Arts Market – a high-quality market with over 200 designer makers on its books including jewellers, wood turners, sculptures and metalsmiths.
Explore the World of Animals:
For those visiting Malvern Autumn Show with children, there is plenty to keep kids of all ages entertained. The Family Green will host an exciting range of free entertainment and activities, including pedal tractors, a climbing wall on Saturday, a caving experience on Sunday and rural crafts, as well as the World of Animals area, where children can get up close to meet an array of friendly animals, including dogs, miniature ponies, pygmy goats and sheep.
Also new for this year, there will be an interactive area where visitors can meet rabbits and learn more about the adorable long eared animals and how to care for them, brought to the show by Cheltenham Animal Rescue.
The extremely popular Exotic Animals area will return to this year’s show, offering the chance to learn more about fascinating and unusual creatures, including reptiles, birds and mammals. Tickets for Malvern Autumn Show 27 – 29 September 2024 cost £20 in advance, with children aged 16 and under free of charge, and are available to book here:
