Alresford'S status as the watercress capital of the UK will be confirmed by the forthcoming festival celebrating the salad crop.
The third annual event takes place between May 15 and 21.
The week will be opened by local TV celebrity Charlie Dimmock and will feature cookery demonstrations by TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson.
Charles Barter, a member of the Watercress Alliance, said: "We'd like to think of Alresford as the watercress capital of the UK, and as famous for watercress as Whitstable is for oysters."
Robin Atkins, chairman of Alresford Town Council, said that the plant, grown locally since the 1800s, was intrinsic to shaping the heritage of the town and its famous railway. It got its name from transporting the crop to market in London.
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