Saffron Day to be celebrated in Saffron Walden

Saffron is coming back to Saffron Walden, as the town plans to celebrate the costly spice, the source of its unique name and historic prosperity.

Cultivation of ‘red gold ’made the area famous in Tudor times but died out by the early 19th century. But saffron is again being grown professionally in Essex.

Saffron Day – supported by the National Heritage Lottery Fund with additional local sponsorship – will be held in the town’s Market Place on Sunday, October 16.

It will be opened at 11am by a ‘royal visitor’ from the Tudor court, while a group of historic re-enactors will provide glimpses of life in the 16th century town. The event will celebrate traditional and modern uses of the spice.

[Read more: Saffron Grange vineyard near Cambridge offers tours, tasting and more]

Food historian Sam Bilton will discuss cooking with saffron from historic times to the present, and craft dyers will show how the spice can colour fabrics a golden yellow, while a variety of stalls will offer saffron-based products. There will also be music from singer-songwriter Joanna Eden among other entertainment.

For details, including where to park on the day, visit bit.ly/3eTOvKL.