Thousands turned out in the autumn sunshine to enjoy the 25th annual Gillespie Park festival on Sunday (September 11).

Around 2,000 people were entertained by live music, morris dancing, circus skills, story-telling and more at the seven acre nature reserve that stretches from Seven Sisters Road in the north to Gillespie Road in the south.

The event was organised by the Friends of Gillespie Park, a group originally set up in the mid-80s to save the reserve from a housing development.

Pat Tuson, a committee member, said: “It was a great success, everyone had a lot of fun and the entertainment was brilliant. A lot of the stalls sold out too. I am always amazed by how many people fit in the park.”

Chris Ashby, Pat’s partner and another committee member, said: “When you are a festival organiser, you spend the whole time before glued to the weather forecast, which was terrible all week. Then the day before it changed. We got a few spots of rain, but we were very lucky – the weather was excellent.”