PAINTINGS and pottery, furniture and photography, sculpture and stitching were all represented on the 2007 Wylye Valley Art Trail, reports Katharine Lawley.

The trail, which ran from May 26 to June 3, takes place every other year, alternating with Dorset Art Weeks just over the county border.

It featured first-time exhibitors such as Lucinda Storm, of East Knoyle, alongside Kate Good, of Tisbury, who has been producing bespoke pottery for 30 years. There were also artists such as Francis Farmar, of Sedgehill, and Christopher Richards, of Mere, and sculptress Rose Eva, of Teffont, who receive regular commissions, as well as many gifted amateurs for whom painting is purely a pleasure.

Our trail began in Compton Chamberlayne on a cold, wet morning where a warm welcome was in store from Sid Adcock, one of the exhibitors. Similar friendly welcomes were on offer from Lucinda Storm, the Stourton Art Group at Zeals and photographer Cheryl Masterson at Tisbury, all of whom were keen to talk about their work.

Among the exhibits that took my fancy were the exquisite wall hangings, paintings and scarves, featuring birds in flight, by Elizabeth Nash, of Chilmark, and, a mile or so away, the magnificent furniture of Rupert Williamson. His chairs ranged from the formal - for university graduation ceremonies - to the more fun, using what looked like curled pieces of wood - conversation pieces at any dinner party.

For those with a love of horses, there were paintings by Penny Kaufman at Hindon and Barbara Ralph at Zeals, and bronze sculptures by Sarah Coward at Stourton.

We did our best to cover the 28 venues, but, alas, failed to find the Hatch Farm Artists at East Hatch. However, all those we did find provided such a variety of media, every visitor must have found something to their liking.

Roll on the next trail!