NEARLY 2,000 people visited The Wellbeing Farm to celebrate the first anniversary of it being opened to the public.

The Edgworth attraction hosted a family fun day, which featured farming demonstrations, cooking demonstrations, a puppet show, market stalls and live music from Wigan Ukulele Band.

It was part of Open Farm Sunday, which is a national event to encourage people to learn more about farming.

The day was attended by about 1,800 people and was sponsored by Incredible Edible and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

It rounded off a successful 12 months for Celia Gaze, owner of The Wellbeing Farm, who came up with the idea of transforming the 18th-century building from a rundown farm into a sustainable state-of-the-art events and courses venue.

Mum-of-one Ms Gaze said: “It was a really successful event. Everyone really enjoyed it and there were lots of smiling faces. For so many people to come to a relatively small farm is pretty impressive.

“The main aim was to educate children and show them where food comes from and teach them about the importance of healthy eating.”

In its first year of business, the farm has won a host of accolades, including the Gold Green Tourism Award and Best Use of Local Produce at the 2013 British Cooker School awards.

It was also chosen by Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis as one of his Small Business Sunday winners.

Ms Gaze added: “It’s been an amazing first year. To be shortlisted for so many awards and gain so much recognition is incredible.

“The public really seem to appreciate what we do and all the staff enjoy working here.

“That’s the most rewarding part of the job, from my point of view — you never get bored working here.”