MUNCASTER Castle became the world’s sausage capital over the weekend as the great British banger was celebrated in style.

The second Cumbria Life Sausage Festival was a three day celebration of the world-famous Cumberland sausage, with visitors munching their way through a couple of miles of it, according to one estimate.

This year’s festival was seasoned with demonstrations by a selection of top local chefs, including Peter Sidwell, Kevin Hillyer, Gary McClure, and Jon Fell, head chef at the White Mare, Beckermet. There was also a sausage-scoffing competition, although an attempt to cook the world’s sausage sandwich had to be postponed.

Peter Frost-Pennington, who runs Muncaster Castle, said: “We’ve had a fantastic weekend, with five or six sausage suppliers here from all over the county, and plenty of sausages to enjoy.

“They’ve included all manner of sausages, including a black olive and feta cheese sausage and chilli and chocolate sausage, as well as much else – craft stalls, bird of prey flying displays, lovely Cumbrian ice cream, Ennerdale Brewery, and two cider producers.

“We had a lovely day on Saturday, with well over 1,000 people but numbers were a bit down on Sunday because of the rain but even so it was still amazing, with at least 500 people turning out.

“Peter Sidwell’s attempt to make the longest sausage sandwich had to be postponed until the summer because the weather meant we couldn’t bake the bread to put it in! Even so, I reckon that over the weekend we’ve seen at least a couple of miles of sausage eaten here.

“I’ve always liked the idea of supporting local produce. It stuck us that nobody was celebrating the food that our county is famous for – the Cumberland sausage. That’s why this started.

“I expect the event will continue to grow.”

The festival, organised in association with Cumbria Life, Taste the Lakes and the Cumberland Sausage Club, last year saw more than 3,000 people flock to the Western Lake District attraction.

This year, more than 40 producers said they wanted to be involved, including Ennerdale Brewery, The Lakes Distillery, Taste of the Lakes and Old Smokehouse, Savin Hill Farm and Butchery, Kickass Cheeses, Juicy Jams & Saucy Secrets, Passion du Fromage, Waulkmill Cider and Madhatters Cider, Abbotts Chocolates, First Choice Meats, Jan’s Cakes, Taste of Eden Ice-cream, Woodlands Free Range Meats, The Cumbrian Sausage, and Taste of Eden Ice Cream to name a few.

The winner of the sausage eating competition last year was Ash Harrington from Workington, with a winning time of one minute 47 secs! Entry fees this year went to CFM’s Cash for Kids Charity.

Andy Chafe, Muncaster Castle’s marketing manager, said the event was the perfect showcase for local and regional produce.

Mary Houston, food tourism manager at Taste Cumbria, said before the event at the weekend: “This event is a fabulous opportunity for us to profile Cumbria’s great food and drink producers.

“Taste Cumbria works hard to promote the best produce in the region and we’re thrilled to see such a fine selection of our foodie talent at one of Cumbria’s most stunning locations.”

See The Whitehaven News this week for more pictures.