The sun shone on Suffolk's Weird and Wonderful Wood festival at Haughley Park - bringing thousands of visitors to enjoy an eclectic mix of entertainment, trade stands and fun for the family.

It's been voted the best festival in Suffolk for the last two years and it wasn't hard to see why as people flocked to the park.

Ipswich Star: Circus skills attracted huge crowds.Circus skills attracted huge crowds. (Image: Paul Geater)

Eye-catching visitors ranged from a giant Viking and a fast-moving snail to some of the greatest fashions of the last 60 years.

Ipswich Star: A giant snail mingled with the crowds.A giant snail mingled with the crowds. (Image: Paul Geater)

For those of us old enough to remember them there was quite a lot here that looked back to the Barsham Fairs of the mid-1970s and the Albion Fairs of the early 1980s.

The variety of skills on display was breath-taking - from chain-saw sculptures to circus skills. And the music stages had much to entertain everyone.

Ipswich Star: Crowds watch chain saw sculptors in action.Crowds watch chain saw sculptors in action. (Image: Paul Geater)

Organisers will be hoping that the numbers will exceed last year's 8,000 - certainly most people seemed to feel it was busier than they could remember.

Ipswich Star: Music and fashion sense from the last 60 years was on show at the Weird and Wonderful Wood.Music and fashion sense from the last 60 years was on show at the Weird and Wonderful Wood. (Image: Paul Geater)

The Weird and Wonderful Wood was once described as the Suffolk Show meets an Albion Fair. The truth is that it has long since established its own winning character - one that is loved by thousands of visitors!