Thousands of visitors packed out Caerphilly on the weekend as it held its annual Medieval Christmas Fayre.
Visitors from as far afield as Lancashire, Wiltshire and the West Midlands flocked to the town, which saw more than 150 traders in Caerphilly Castle and on the streets of the town centre.
Cllr Ron Davies, cabinet member for regeneration and planning said: “As we approach the end of another exciting year, I hope the Medieval Christmas Fayre helped bring a weekend of festive cheer not only to the thousands of visitors to our town, but I also hope it provided our retailers in the town with an additional boost to their trade.
“The very fact that visitors from far and wide flocked to Caerphilly for this special event just goes to show how we are helping to put Caerphilly county borough on the map as one of the main tourism destinations in Wales.”
Attractions throughout the weekend included medieval ‘beggars’ attempting to sneak a kiss from passers-by, as well as fire jugglers and Father Christmas.
The weekend also saw the historic indoor market re-open after a decade of being shut.
The attention now turns to Bargoed, as it gets ready to host its Christmas Market on Saturday.
The town will host a traditional on-street market with local craft, charity and seasonal food stalls. The event will include various street entertainers, children’s entertainment and a Santa’s Grotto.
New this year will be an outdoor ice rink for all to enjoy. A lantern parade will also take place in the evening.