JILL and I are visiting from Vancouver, Canada, and took the steam train to Pickering from Goathland.

It was a totally unplanned trip and we had no idea what to expect there.

It turned out to be serendipity at its best.

Stepping out of the station we immediately took note of the scarecrows on the lampposts.

At one, two women urged us to visit the church to see the flower arrangements and other displays.

We were surprised, delighted and hugely impressed by the artistry, creativity, diversity, co-operation, hard work and community spirit evident in planning and mounting an event of this magnitude.

All the groups involved deserve to be heartily congratulated on possibly one of the most endearing and heart-warming experiences in our month-long vacation in England.

Horst Siegler, Vancouver