The Marlow Bottom Scarecrow Trail is an annual opportunity for residents in the town to tap into their imagination and creativity, with entries from past years including everything from Paddington Bear to Queen Elizabeth II. 

This year, the Halloween Trail kicked off on Sunday, October 22, with the scarecrows set to remain outside houses in Marlow Bottom for a week, until October 29. 

Charity group Friends of Burford School organises the event each year, with the money raised from map sales and a small competitor fee going towards projects and improvements at the local school.

With 85 scarecrows on display around the town this week, grabbing a £3 map of the trail from local shops Tin Town Coffee, The Barn Club or Da Luca, or paying via the Friends of Burford School fundraising page, was the perfect way to get into the seasonal spirit.

Bucks Free Press:

Nominations on the back of the map also gave sightseers the chance to choose which scarecrow they thought was the ‘funniest’, the ‘most creative’ and the ‘coolest’ – with the results to be announced after October 29.

Maria Fernandez, one of the trail organisers, said the week-long display had gone "very well" and added that it had been "lovely to see people walking around with big smiles on their faces".

She also shared a story about Lily, a 95-year-old Marlovian who had a sweet reaction to the unveiling of a Vera Lynn scarecrow that had been crafted for her by a neighbouring family, the Frances'. 

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Lily was so impressed by the scarecrow, which also came with its own microphone stand, that she burst into song upon its reveal this week.

Among the other scarecrows featured in the Marlow Bottom trail were cinema-inspired creations of Barbie and The Little Mermaid, as well as a Mexican Dia De Los Muertos figure, straw-filled rowers and the robot character Bender from the TV sitcom Futurama.

Which scarecrow is your favourite from this year's display?