THE winter carnival went ahead without a hitch on its return to the town after being forced to cancel in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Things were touch and go on the morning of Saturday November 27 as Storm Arwen swept across the country and threatened to cancel the event that evening like many other cancellations were announced across Hampshire, however, the wind died off just in time to allow the parade to continue.

Romsey Town was packed with people wanting to celebrate the Romsey Winter Carnival despite the cold weather and this year, people were treated to twice the action as the Lantern Parade showcased on the same night.

It was the first year the two have merged but the treasurer for the Lantern Parade, John Critchley deemed it a huge success and says the committee were "delighted" with the results.

Judith Giles, chief officer at Romsey Town Hall agreed with John to say "It was a fabulous night."

There were 22 carnival entries and around 150 lanterns altogether of which 60 had been made by local families wanting to take part.

Hampshire Chronicle:

Karen Whittaker, member of the carnival committee said: "There were 22 carnival entries some vehicles and some walking entries. Everyone put it in an amazing amount of effort and all looked fantastic. The crowd was the largest seen for a number of years despite the freezing conditions and threat of hurricane Arwen. The merge of the carnival and lantern parade was well received."

The winner for the best motorised entry went to The Tudor Rose, the winner of the pedestrian entry was Romsey Rainbows and the overall carnival winner was Chatterbox Community Preschool.

Hampshire Chronicle:

The evening also saw the Christmas Light Switch On with Romsey Town Mayor, councillor Karen Dunleavey doing the honours.