The Christmas Forty Farms Fair is set to return to Rheged, near Penrith, on November 16.

Developed with Kendal Farmers Market and Lovingly Artisan, this event will highlight wool-focused producers, welcome a variety of new exhibitors, and host free talks.

Claire Logan-Stephens, head of programming at Rheged, said: "We are so excited about the Christmas Forty Farms Fair with the largest number of exhibitors to date.

"It offers a chance to buy seasonal and local produce, meet the growers and makers, and learn more about our unique farming landscape.

"The Wool focus links with our latest exhibition Native Spirit: The Herdwick in the main Gallery here, while the chance to hear first-hand about the Marmalade Awards will certainly whet your appetite to see Paddington in Peru on the giant cinema screen."

The fair will feature more than 35 stands selling food, drinks, handmade gifts, and crafts.

Exhibitors will include Heartwood Poultry, Torpenhow Cheese Co, Lovingly Artisan, Pennington’s Spirits, Eden Yard, The Legendary Sauce Co., and Ginger Bakers.

Wool-focused producers will also showcase products like rugs and carpets from Wools of Cumbria, Lakeland Tweed from Dodgson Wood, and items by The Herdwick Experience.

Visitors will have the opportunity to view Ian Lawson’s latest photography exhibition, Native Spirit: The Herdwick, in Rheged’s Gallery.

The exhibition, which is open daily until November 24, tells the story of Herdwick sheep through 70 of Ian’s favourite new photographs.

Entry to the fair is free, with visitors having a chance to win a special hamper filled with locally sourced products in a raffle.

Proceeds from the raffle will go to Growing Well, a Cumbrian charity supporting mental health and well-being through organic vegetable growing.

There will be free talks in the lecture theatre throughout the day.

Richard Byers will kick off the talks at 11am with a Cumbrian Dialect journey, followed by Maria Benjamin of Dodgson Wood at noon, who will discuss how farmers can view problems as opportunities.

At 1pm, Jo McGrath will share the journey of Yew Tree Farm, once owned by Beatrix Potter, and how the farm has successfully diversified its operations while preserving its unique character.

The final talk at 2pm will be a short history of the Marmalade Awards with Jane Hasell-McCosh.

Mr McCosh will cover the origins of the awards and some of the memorable moments that make up the Marmalade Festival, which has raised over a quarter of a million for hospice work worldwide over the last 20 years.

For more information about the Forty Farms Fair, visit their website.