Winners announced for the Original Biscuit Bakers Heritage Gingerbread Trail 2026

We were delighted to once again be the headline sponsor of the Original Biscuit Bakers Heritage Gingerbread Trail & Contest, which returned as part of the 10th Ginger & Spice Festival in Market Drayton on Saturday 26th September 2026.

The free family-friendly trail brought plenty of fun to the town throughout the day, encouraging festival-goers to explore Market Drayton’s shops, attractions and heritage sites while hunting for an array of brilliantly dressed gingerbread characters.

This year’s theme, ‘No.1 Hit from a Chart-Topping Solo Artist’, certainly inspired plenty of creativity! More than 49 local businesses and organisations got involved, transforming their gingerbread characters and displaying them in windows and premises across the town.

As a Market Drayton biscuit manufacturer with our own strong connection to the town’s gingerbread heritage, we’re incredibly proud to support an event that celebrates both the history of gingerbread and the fantastic local businesses, organisations and community that make the trail possible.

Festival-goers were invited to follow the trail map, discover the characters and cast their votes for their favourites. Alongside the public vote, a judging panel including the Mayor of Market Drayton, Councillor Tim Manton, and special guest judge, local musician Alisdair Grant Mckenzie, had the difficult task of choosing their winners. For the third year running, a prize was also awarded for the best-dressed gingerbread character in a charity premises.

And our involvement didn’t stop with the trail! Over at the Spicy Market, our Original Biscuit Bakers stand proved popular with visitors, with plenty of hand-iced gingerbread biscuits and sugar cookie creations on offer alongside Market Drayton’s very own award-winning heritage biscuit, Billington’s Gingerbread.

There was lots for our younger festival-goers to enjoy too. Our free children’s activities on Queen Street proved a real hit throughout the day, with families stopping by to get creative having a go at icing adding to the gingerbread-themed fun.

It was wonderful to see so many families exploring the town, spotting the gingerbread characters and getting involved in everything the festival had to offer. A huge thank you goes to all the businesses and organisations that took part in this year’s trail, everyone who visited us on the day and, of course, all those who voted.

And the winners are…

Mayor’s Prize Winner

Congratulations to Vivid Promotion on Shropshire Street, winner of Best Gingerbread Character in the Mayor’s Category! Their Stevie Wonder character, inspired by ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’, made an impression on the judges and playing the song alongside the display certainly gave their entry that extra winning touch!

Halina Eve, of Vivid Promotion, said: “We absolutely loved decorating our gingerbread man. It’s been such a fun project and we are so proud to be part of this wonderful event. A huge thank you to the amazing community of Market Drayton for making us feel so welcome since we opened our doors. We really feel like we have become part of the community and we couldn’t be more grateful for all of the support, kindness and encouragement we have received. . …here’s to many more community events, celebrations and memories.”

Mayor’s Prize Runner-Up

A big well done to Equity Will Writers on Cheshire Street, runner-up in the Mayor’s Category! Their gingerbread Geri Halliwell, inspired by ‘It’s Raining Men’, caught the attention of judges Councillor Tim Manton and local musician Alisdair Grant McKenzie.

Clare Jones said: “It is nice to be involved in the community and lovely to see the kids enjoying themselves. We chose Geri to go along with the Ginger & Spice theme.”

Another fantastic year for the Heritage Gingerbread Trail, and one we were incredibly proud to be part of. Thank you to everyone who helped bring the town’s gingerbread heritage to life once again. We’re already looking forward to seeing what next year brings!