A celebration of outdoor living is coming to Sculpture by the Lakes with the return of the Dorset Garden festival - this year featuring the new Fire and Food Festival too.

The events will be taking place at the Pallington attraction, near Dorchester, from May 25 to 29.

Both coincide with the final five days of FORM 2022 - the sculpture park's biggest sculpture event of the year - so visitors can experience three festivals for the price of one.

Simon Gudgeon, sculptor and founder of Sculpture by the Lakes, said: "We know nature and garden lovers enjoy a visit to Sculpture by the Lakes every bit as much as art lovers, so this is an event created with them in mind.

"We have brought in some fantastic independent nurseries and artisan producers offering a range of unique and special garden items, and of course visitors can enjoy everything Sculpture by the Lakes has to offer alongside, including our current FORM 2022 exhibition of more than 200 sculptures."

On offer will be plants, including aquatics, perennials, ornamental ferns, bedding plants, shrubs, fruit bushes and trees, with advice on their care from the independent nurseries that grew them. Alongside, artists and crafters will showcase unique garden products and ornaments, from sculptures to handmade planters and furniture, to garden tools.

At the Fire and Food Festival, live fire cooking demonstrations will take place throughout the day, with plenty of food to sample.

Chefs include Marcus Bawdon, editor of the UK BBQ Magazine and author of Food and Fire, Luke Vandore-Mackay, director of High Grange Devon - and outdoor covered woodland dining and cookery school - and Mat Follas, Dorset restauranteur, previous Masterchef winner and wild food expert.

Meat will be supplied by the award-winning Brace of Butchers in Poundbury, which will be on hand with expert advice on the Saturday and Sunday. Stalls will offer barbecue and alfresco dining supplies, including fire bowls from the Studio Gudgeon range.

The event, taking place in the new open air riverside kitchen, will also premier the Bent Copper Bar, a former horsebox transformed by Simon into a cocktail bar with a domed copper roof.

Simon added: "I have developed a love for fire cooking over the past couple of years, and that has given rise to a new element of the garden festival - Fire and Food - offering both the spectacle of flame cooking, and of course the delicious results."

Dorset Garden Festival and Fire and Food Festival visitors will have access to the sculpture park and its galleries. They can also stop by the Café by the Lakes or try the new 'build your own picnic' bar in the Artisans' Pantry. Also not forgetting the Artisans' Bazaar for gifts and beautiful products from local makers.

Entry costs £14.50 and tickets must be booked in advance.