THOUSANDS of people from across the country made tracks for Keighley for an annual beer and music festival.

The event, staged by the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, has spiralled in popularity since it was first held about a decade ago.

Over 100 ales are on offer and big-name bands which perform during the event attract a huge following.

"It started out all those years ago in a fairly small way but has just grown and grown," said railway director Michael Tarran, a member of the organising team.

"It's now a regular fixture on many people's calendars and they travel from far and wide to be there."

The latest festival opened last Thursday night and ran until Sunday.

A marquee was set up at Keighley, and a bar provided by Old Spot Brewery.

After an initial diesel unit service, two steam trains operated along the five-mile line between Keighley and Oxenhope, one serving Copper Dragon brews and the other Ossett Brewery ales.

A huge bar was installed at Oxenhope Exhibition Shed.

There was a wide range of live musical entertainment, from blues to rock 'n' roll.

Headline acts on Saturday night were Dr Busker And The Dorset Rats and Eddie Earthquake and the Tremors.

Mr Tarran said the festival had got off to a slow start on Thursday evening, with an incident at Crossflatts railway station – which closed the Airedale line – affecting visitors heading to the event by mainline train. Plus an accident that night at Hebden Bridge affected road travel for some festival-goers.

But the extravaganza got into full swing on Friday.

"It was an excellent weekend – a brilliant event," said Mr Tarran.

"Sometimes the weather can be a factor but the crowds there, especially on Saturday, were unbelievable.

"We had a real mixture of bands and other performers, catering for all tastes.

"A lot of work by our volunteers goes into putting on the event – with the co-ordinator Mark Moorehead devoting a huge effort – but it is so worthwhile, especially when you receive extremely positive feedback from visitors as we did at the weekend.

"We will now meet to evaluate the festival and look at where we might want to develop or improve things for next year."