Cuckoos are flocking to Austwick ahead of its annual street market and Cuckoo Festival.

The event is due to take place on Monday 29 May.

Villagers met recently to create new cuckoos to be displayed in the village. The cuckoos were made from plastic flower pots and reflect the theme of Superhero.

Children (and their parents and grandparents) enjoyed a fun afternoon designing the Superhero of their choice, with Elvis and Superman proving popular.

According to local folklore, the people of Austwick found their luck and the weather improved when the cuckoos arrived. Deciding one year to extend ‘the good times’, they found the tree in which the cuckoo perched, and they laboured all day to build a wall round it.

As it grew dark, and before the wall was completed, the cuckoo flew away! So Austwick became known as ‘Cuckoo Town’. The good people of Austwick are still wondering, ‘If only we’d worked more quickly!’