THE Forestry Commission laid out the red carpet for visitors to Dalby Forest, near Pickering, on Saturday and Sunday, March 16 & 17, and adding its weight to the Government's "Your countryside, you're welcome" campaign.

The 8,600-acre North Yorkshire woodland - visited by more than 250,000 people each year - contribute to its rustic charms to the initiative by removing the normal forest toll for the weekend and offered a star-studied array of free events.

Andrew Smith, forest district manager, said: "We wanted to get the season off to a flying start by welcoming people back to one of Britain's most spectacular woodlands. This year promises to be one of our busiest ever, with two more open air concerts planned in June and our largest rallying event in ten years set for Dalby in the autumn. There's never been a better time to enjoy Yorkshire's great outdoors."

The Forestry Commission also published this year's events calendar for the North Riding Forest Park, listing activities from badger watching to nature workshops. Copies are available at Dalby Forest Visitor Centre. It's also accessible on online at www.forestry.gov.uk/dalbyforest.

The nine-mile Dalby Forest drive is the country's longest tarmaced woodland roads snaking through spectacular scenery between Low Dalby and Hackness.

One of the highlights of this year's events diary is a debut performance by Jarvis Cocker and Pulp in Dalby on June 22.

"Your countryside" is a national campaign to encourage people into the English countryside. The campaign website address is www.yourcountryside.info.

Updated: 10:58 Thursday, March 14, 2002