Crowds are out as Whitehaven holds its first Taste Cumbria Summer Festival.

The food and drinks extravaganza which began this morning has attracted scores of people.

Stalls are on offer on King Street and the Market Place by a host of traders.

Guest chefs including Jon Fell, John Crouch and Gary McClure will be cooking up a storm at free demonstrations over the weekend.

Among those enjoying the festival is Amanda Smith from Whitehaven, who said: "I think it's brilliant. You can see there's a lot of people out and about even though it's raining. It's usually quiet so it's to see a lot of people here."

Among the stall holders is Kim Kinsella and Olivia Graham of B Kinsella and Sons Ltd.

Staff from The Beacon in Whitehaven also have a stall promoting the museum, gift items and the Snakes Exhibition currently on show at the attraction.

The festival is organised by CN Events, part of CN group, the publishers of Cumbria Life and and Taste Cumbria magazine.

It is supported by Whitehaven Town Council and Copeland Council. It has also attracted funding from Stoller Newport News Nuclear, part of Huntington Ingalls Industries.

The festival builds on the success of the Taste Cumbria events around the county, which are held in association with Cumbria Life.

A programme of activities are taking place today and tomorrow.

Also featuring at the festival is a beer festival at the Hub.

Entry is free, tasting notes will be available. There will be the chance to taste cask ales, ciders and lagers, handpicked by the Tractor Shed Brewing team, with alternatives for non-beer drinkers.There’ll be live music from local musicians too.

Wine tastings will be taking place at Richardson's of Whitehaven, on Lowther Street.

The Whitehaven Harbour Motor Show will also be taking place on the harbourside today and tomorrow.

This is a chance for people to check out the latest models from some of Cumbria’s biggest and best car dealers.

The motor show is now in its seventh year and there’ll be competitions, street theatre and fairground rides too.