A NATIONAL ploughing contest will be held in Basingstoke and Deane next weekend as the event returns to Hampshire for the first time in over three decades.

The British National Ploughing Championships and Country Festival will take place in Wootton St Lawrence, on October 11 and 12, when around 15,000 visitors from across Great Britain are expected to attend.

The competition is a highlight of the ploughing calendar and is held in a different part of the country each year.

The last time the championships were held in Hampshire was back in 1983, when it took place at the Broadlands Estate, near Romsey.

Three local farms have offered their land to host the event – G B Foot Ltd, E C Drummond & Son and Manydown and Co.

The two-day weekend event will be packed with competitions for many types of ploughs and styles of ploughing including vintage trailing and hydraulic ploughs, classic ploughing, stylish high-cut ploughing, reversible, conventional and garden tractors.

The national titles will be hotly contested by Britain’s most experienced and skilled ploughmen and women, who will travel from all parts of the country to take part.

There will also be giant steam engines on display and vintage equipment on show, organised by the NVTEC Thames Valley Group.

Trade stands, crafts and demonstrations by local and national companies, including Sparsholt College, will also keep the crowds entertained.

Alan Jones, chairman of the Society of Ploughmen, said: “Already the championships have attracted considerable interest, and we are looking forward to a first-class event.

“We have 200 acres at Wootton St Lawrence, it’s an excellent site and there is tremendous interest and support both in the immediate area and surrounding counties.

“The championships will give Hampshire and the south an opportunity to showcase the excellent features and qualities of the area and the organisers would like to engage the support from local companies to make the most of the area’s agricultural heritage, history, food production and hospitality and leisure.”

The main sponsors of the event are Firestone Tyres. For more information, visit ploughmen.co.uk or call the Society of Ploughmen on 01302 852469.