THE unmistakable sound of bagpipes greeted guests at Farnham Castle last Thursday for the 214th edition of one of Britain’s oldest civic events, the Farnham Venison Dinner.

Charting its history back to 1605 when the castle’s bailiffs and burgesses invited townsfolk to a feast as a way of curbing poaching from Farnham Park, the venison dinner remains a firm fixture in the town’s social calendar to this day.

The great and good of Farnham again met in the castle’s Great Hall last week to enjoy a three-course meal - including the star event, a pan-roasted venison loin - followed by speeches.

These began with a traditional toast to the Bishop of the Diocese proposed by director of Squire’s Garden Centres, Sarah Squires, followed by a response by the Bishop of Guildford, the Right Reverend Andrew Watson.

The Lord Lieutenant of Surrey, Michael More-Molyneaux, then proposed a toast to the venison dinner, to which the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, David Munro, dutifully responded.

Bringing the 214th Farnham Venison Dinner to a close, chairman Pat Frost congratulated the speakers for their amusing speeches and thanked the castle staff for again facilitating the event.