VILLAGERS celebrated into the night to mark the summer solstice.

Thousands of people headed to Corbridge for the annual A Midsummer’s Evening; a celebration held on the Thursday closest to the longest day of the year. Activities were staged throughout the village and most of the local shops stayed open well beyond their usual hours.

More than 5,000 visitors were clocked attending the event, the second highest figure since the evening was first launched in 2014.

Entertainment was provided by the Hexham Morris men and women with dances in the Market Place, while group Jive Alive also got the crowd dancing.

Haydon Bridge High School’s Sunshine Panners proved a big hit on the steel drums in their tent on Hill Street and brass duo the Ragtime Rascals performed on The Coigns.

On the music stage, the district’s budding singer-songwriters Sam Shields and Lauren Simms played, as did Richard Ridley, with Earl Grey and the Charlwallahs performing later in the evening.

A treasure hunt-style search for 24 peg doll fairies dotted in shop windows around the village proved so popular that the maps were all handed out within an hour.

A new addition to the event saw the Corbridge Youth Initiative building on Hill Street transformed into a craft attic.

A Midsummer’s Evening coincided with the annual St Andrew’s Church Flower Festival, which attracted well in excess of 3,000 visitors viewing the numerous floral arrangements over the four days.