ARTISTS and craftspeople will head to a woodland open day.

Tiddesley Wood Open Day, now in its 31st year, will host artists, craftspeople and demonstrations as well as information stalls and guided walks at its site between Worcester and Pershore.

The event is organised by a volunteer group from Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, owner of the woodland nature reserve, and features Worcestershire artist Shelly Perkins who regularly produces work for BBC Wildlife magazine.

Harry Green, chairman of the volunteer group, said: “We’re delighted to be welcoming Shelly to this year’s Open Day and she’ll be right in the middle of our popular Wildlife Discovery Zone.

"Her work is inspired by the natural world and she has a very different way of working to most artists that I’ve seen.

"It will be a thrill to watch how she transfers her hand-drawn sketches and paintings to a computer to work on them further to complete each piece.

"Of course, she’ll be joined by more than 60 craftworkers, demonstrators and information stands in our marquee and woodland glade."

Tiddesley Wood is half a mile along Croome Road from the B4084 from Pershore to Worcester.

The open day often attracts more than 1000 visitors who enjoy the live music, guided walks, family activities, woodland crafts and food.

This year there will also be heavy horse demonstrations in the neighbouring orchard owned by the Vale Landscape Heritage Trust.

Visitors interested in the wood can go one of several guided walks that explore different aspects of the wood’s history and wildlife.

Several of the stalls, including Worcestershire Wildlife Trust themselves, will be running family activities throughout the day.

Mr Green added: "The open day is timed to coincide with carpets of spring flowers and we’ve crossed our fingers that we might have it just right this year.

"I’d like to thank the volunteers for all the hard work they put in to making the open day such a success.

"It’s a great day and the perfect opportunity for regular visitors to come along and find out more about the wood.

"The day provides a great opportunity to come along to this beautiful woodland and see it in its springtime splendour."

The event takes place between 10am and 5pm on Sunday April 30 and costs £3 for adults and £1 for children.

There is plenty of free on-site parking. Stout shoes or wellies are advised if the weather is wet.

For more information visit www.worcswildlifetrust.co.uk.