ENTERTAINMENT and a great selection of beer made Ventnor Botanic Garden's Hops Festival a big success.

The festival celebrates the harvest of the hops grown on site and the continuation of the tradition of picking them by hand.

Music was provided by Danton, who sang many of his own songs plus some favourite covers, Holly Kirby and The Great Outdoors with some folk numbers, and the chilled out jazz of the Ric Harris Duo.

The crowd was entertained by Greg Chapman, who throughout the day showed off his skills as a magician, comedian, juggler and escapologist.

Where the beer was concerned, all tastes were catered for, with a range of guest ales from Goddard's Brewery and Yates Brewery, plus the garden's own botanic ales — Original Botanic Ale, Limited Edition Botanic Pale Ale and Botanic Lager with a hint of eucalyptus.

Helping to ensure that festival-goers remained steady on their feet, chef Brad Roe kept up a constant supply of IW beefburgers, botanic vegetable soups, sandwiches and mezze platters.

A spokesperson from the Isle of Wight garden said: "With huge thanks to all involved and everyone that attended the event, all that remains is to now look forwards to an even bigger and better Hops Festival 2019."