No-one has hunted wild bears in Shropshire since prehistoric times.

But the biggest bear hunt, since then, is now about to start … in Whitchurch.

It’s one of the features of the town’s Caldecott Festival – inspired by one of its most famous onetime workers, the Victorian illustrator Randolph Caldecott.

The one-week hunt is on – from Wednesday 11 March to Wednesday 18 March when woollen bears – knitted by the local Crafty Birds ‘Knit and Natter’ group – will appear in High Street shops. Because that’s where ‘The Great She Bear’ was last seen in Caldecott’s 1885 story ‘The Great Panjandrum Himself’.

The collectable bears – all different – will be raffled during the week and presented as prizes at the festival’s closing ceremony.

The Caldecott Festival will take over the town centre on Saturday 21 March, from 10am to 4.30pm to mark what would have been the artist’s 180th birthday.

A cluster of events and workshops have been designed to encourage creativity for an emerging generation of young people. It will combine various art workshops and competitions – ranging from music, street theatre and flower arranging to sculpting, photography and bell ringing.

Randolph Caldecott was a renowned artist and illustrator who once worked in Whitchurch as a clerk for the Whitchurch & Ellesmere Bank.

PICTURE: Knitted bears will be hunted down in Whitchurch High Street shops.

The Caldecott Festival brings together illustration, art workshops, music, street theatre, sculpture, writing, storytelling, crafts, pottery, bell ringing. fun characters, photography, films, games and a market for the day!