Despite a day of deluge from the heavens, Princetown Arts Festival was blessed with good weather on its second day last weekend.

In its second year, after last year’s inaugural event, the festival attracted a wide rage of artists selling their wares from across Dartmoor. Families were also catered for with a blacksmith bringing its travelling forge from nearby Tor Royal Farm to set up outside the Dartmoor National Park Visitor Centre. Metal artists Ben Wixon and Gary Sharman demonstrated and gave a running commentary to attentive audiences.

Meanwhile, on the field behind the community centre, members of the Wessex Warbrow Society gave longbow archery demonstrations and answered questions on how medieval warfare was conducted. Stuart Huntley, man at arms and archer, was dressed in armour and explained to visitors the challenges of fighting in restrictive armour.

Tim Miller, of Black Arrow Longbow in Princetown, makes authentic replica long bows for film sets and historic tourism attractions. He said he had a waiting list for his work because there were few people in his specialist field.

Festival organiser, Princetown sculptor Nick Bennett, said on Sunday: “It was heartbreaking to be here when the rain was bucketing down after the many months of planning. We couldn’t cancel because people had already travelled to be part of the event. But today is much better and we’re getting a lot of attention from families on holiday. We’ve got attractions that reflect the culture of Dartmoor which fit in well with the artistic and craft stands.”