Guildford in Bloom’s Picnic in the Castle Grounds to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was a huge success with record crowds enjoying the entertainment from the bandstand and having a go at bowls.

There was live music all afternoon from Guildford Fringe Festival; Delicious Jubilee cakes from the Castle Green Bowls Club and lots of activities for children and families.

The picnic – now in its 6th year with an obvious covid break in the middle was Guildford in Bloom’s first opportunity to bring everyone together again, and the Queen’s Jubilee – this year’s gardening competition theme – was the perfect excuse.

From a glass of Pimm’s to Pin the Tail on the Corgi, to Royal Selfies – the afternoon buzzed with a great atmosphere and the weather was kind too; staying dry and even a little bit of sunshine. The event was attended by The Mayor and Mayoress of Guildford who took time to meet all the stall holders and talk with picnickers, as well as Guildford MP Angela Richardson.

The event was sponsored by Experience Guildford, Tunsgate Quarter and Guildford Pubwatch and could not have happened without the fantastic support of Guildford Fringe Festival.

Every stall holder pulled out all the stops with activities and games on their stands including Indigo Moon, The Home Club, drama performances and cucumber sandwiches from Pranksters Theatre Company; games from Guildford Book Festival; the most amazing Royal selfie opportunities from Reconnections Guildford and Waverley; rock painting from the Fountain Centre, and much more from Canterbury Care, Surrey Wildlife Trust, Experience Guildford, and art activities from Guildford Fringe as well as the extremely popular Pimm’s Tent from The Keep Pub.

Cllr Paul Spooner, Chairman of Guildford in Bloom says: “We are overwhelmed with the success of the event and the number of people who came throughout the afternoon. It was a fantastic atmos-phere as everyone enjoyed coming together to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. We are extremely grateful to all the wonderful stall holders and our sponsors, Experience Guildford, Tunsgate Quarter and Guildford Pubwatch for helping us to make this happen. We are also grateful to Guildford Lions for providing marshalling and support at the event.”

Judging for this years Guildford in Bloom takes place between 27 June – 15 July. You can keep up with the competition on our social media pages – visit @guildfordnbloom on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/GuildfordInBloom.

The judges will be visiting all the Schools in Bloom in the next couple of weeks and the Guildford in Bloom team are looking forward to seeing all the themed entries the children have created.

Once this year’s competition is over, the team at Guildford in Bloom will start planning the 2023 Blooming Picnic so put the date in your diaries now of Saturday 3 June 2023.