A feast of familiar faces from the worlds of horticulture and baking will take to the stages at this year’s Malvern Autumn Show (27 – 29 September 2024 at Three Counties Showground), sharing their insights and expertise on everything from how to grow your own fruits, vegetables and flowers, to how to use what you’ve grown to create delicious dishes.
Malvern Autumn Show is one of the UK’s biggest annual harvest season celebrations, featuring the showstopping CANNA UK Giant Vegetables Championships (which each year sees new Guinness World Records set for spectacularly large crops), the prestigious RHS Flower Show, over 100 different Grow to Show classes to see in the Harvest Pavillion, plus barrows full of family fun and epicurean delights.
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) and Rachel de Thame (Saturday), celebrity florist and floral expert on BBC’s The Big Allotment Challenge, 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.
Gardening consultant and broadcaster, Martin Fish, will return to the show to host The Potting Shed theatre, located in the Harvest Pavillion, from Friday – Sunday, joined by a variety of guests throughout the weekend.
A brand-new feature for this year’s Malvern Autumn Show, The Great Malvern Cake Off tent will host 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), and Giuseppe Dell’Anno from 2021’s series (Friday and Saturday). 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!
An extra special guest at this year’s show, former Strictly Come Dancing star, actor, professional dancer and choreographer, Kevin Cliton will dazzle visitors with his dancing skills at the Vintage Village on Saturday. For fans of Strictly, this is your chance to live out your dream as you can join Kevin and learn some dance moves from one of the very best! Kevin will also be joining Nicki Chapman on stage at the Garden Theatre on Saturday for a general Q&A session.
More new features at this year’s show include the Tipple Zone, where visitors can enjoy samples from leading spirit, cider and beer producers as well as the opportunity to chat to them about their craft, purchase bottles to take home and enjoy live music. A brand new ‘dog day’ on Sunday 29th September will welcome visitors who’d like to bring their well-behaved dogs on short, non-retractable leads with them to enjoy the show. There will also be a dedicated Dog Show with fun, informal categories such as ‘waggiest tail’ and ‘softest coat’. Sunday dog entry tickets are free and need to be booked in advance at https://malvernautumn.co.uk/ (With the exception of assistance dogs, all other dogs will not be permitted for entry on Friday or Saturday at the show).
As always, Malvern Autumn Show will offer visitors plenty of botanical inspiration, and the Floral Marquee will once again be bursting with seasonal colour, plus top-quality plants, flowers and bulbs to purchase. The Bulb Market will also house an array of interesting bulbs, plants and flowers to shop, and the free plant creche and porter service will free visitors up to enjoy the show while their purchases are stored safely and conveniently transported back to cars when it’s time to leave.
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 and rural crafts, as well as the World of Animals area, where children can meet animals aplenty. Tickets for Malvern Autumn Show 2024 cost £20 in advance, with children under 16 free of charge, and are available to book here: https://malvernautumn.co.uk/