WE are looking at July 19 as a red letter day for coming out of lockdown following the Prime Minister’s latest announcement.

This will spell more freedom for residents of Craven and visitors to our area as well.

The first things people will be thinking is what to do with that new-found freedom, but before you consider jetting off to some far-away land, think of looking closer to home for some good old-fashioned Yorkshire entertainment.

We have three of the main agricultural shows coming up this summer - though sadly Gargrave has had to pull out this year. We also have a super puppet festival which is gracing the canal basin and parts of Skipton over a number of weekends throughout the summer.

Granted, it is a scaled-down version of the puppet festivals of the past, but they have taken just as much work, time and effort to plan and execute as they did before the pandemic struck.

These events bring entertainment to the district and help get young people involved in something different.

This weekend the puppet festival will be entertaining all ages over Saturday at the canal basin and Sunday at the town hall.

Canal basin events are free while tickets are needed for the workshops and indoor events. All are well worth a visit and support local talent.