British asparagus festival held in Worcestershire gets underway from today
The event runs until June
Today marks the start of the British Asparagus Festival which is held annually in Worcestershire.
The event starts two months worth of celebrations dedicated to all things about the green speared vegetable.
A steam train named the Asparagus Express will set off from the county to Cheltenham Racecourse to get things underway.
Caroline Hulland is one of many farmers who produce the vegetable in the region.
"In my mind, every spear of asparagus is perfect," Caroline said.
"Asparagus is one of the first true seasonal crops and as soon as people see it on the shelves they know that spring and summer is on the way.
"Here in the Vale of Evesham it goes back a very long time, and everybody hears about it, so it's great that we can celebrate such a tradition still."
The British Asparagus Festival is an annual celebration, which this year will see asparagus donated to the Cheltenham-based charity National Star, where they will turn the vegetable into dishes.
Running until the 21st June, the event celebrates the traditional Asparagus harvest and the Vale of Evesham's most famous produce.
Farmer Darren Hedges has been supplying the British Asparagus Festival since it first began, and says it's fantastic people celebrate it in the way that they do.
"It's got to be roughly 30 years plus that we've been growing asparagus for," Darren said.
"We grow 100 acres of asparagus which all comes under the Vale of Evesham Protected Geographical Indicator (PGI), which is great, because it means that all of the asparagus with that name has been sourced in the region.
"It's all a bit quirky with what goes on with the festival, but we all work together to celebrate it which is really good, and will continue to do so going forward as well."
The Asparagus Express steam train departs Broadway station heading to Cheltenham Racecourse, before making the return journey in the afternoon.