Over 250 farms across the country welcomed thousands of people after opening their gates for the annual Open Farm Sunday initiative.

The UK-wide event took place on Sunday, June 11.

The day offered an opportunity for visitors to get closer to farming.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh vis­it­ed Hamp­ton Estate Farms in Sur­rey to cel­e­brate the annual initiative, where she saw first-hand what farm­ing deliv­ers.

She met an expert bovine vet who cares for the estate’s pedi­gree herd of Sus­sex beef cows, as well as learn­ing about the his­to­ry and process of hop grow­ing.

The Duchess met some inspi­ra­tional young peo­ple to hear about how they are forg­ing their careers in the sec­tor.

LEAF Open Farm Sun­day man­ag­er, Annabel Shack­le­ton, said: "Not only have farm­ers col­lec­tive­ly raised the pro­file of British food and farm­ing, but we have also inspired a new gen­er­a­tion of agri-food professionals," Ms Shackleton said.

"It offered a unique oppor­tu­ni­ty for farm­ers to build sup­port for the indus­try, show­cas­ing the very best of what they do whilst being ful­ly sup­port­ed with resources, meet­ings, event guid­ance and more.

"By tak­ing part in LEAF Open Farm Sun­day, farm­ers con­tin­ue to help change people’s per­cep­tions and under­stand­ing of the indus­try.

"We’re call­ing on all farm­ers to think about how they can get involved in next year’s LEAF Open Farm Sun­day on 9th June and have a real, last­ing pos­i­tive impact in 2024!”