Hanson's Whatley quarry, between Shepton and Frome, hosted a thriving community open day at the weekend offering visitors a chance to learn more about mineral extraction and aggregates while getting up close to some of the site's impressive machinery.

The free event attracted over 5,000 attendees, who enjoyed walking and bus tours of the primary crusher, railhead, and quarry floor, where they saw loading shovels and dumper trucks in action.

In addition to the tours, visitors had the opportunity to explore stands featuring Hanson's apprenticeship programs, minerals and their uses, and fossils from the quarry. The event also included a display on the history of trains at Whatley and a chance to learn about the wildlife that calls the quarry home.

The family-oriented event had something for everyone, including children's fossil painting, radio-controlled machines in a model quarry, and a vintage vehicle exhibition. The open day also raised over £2,000 for the local charity We Hear You Cancer Counselling.

Hanson operations manager Vincent Pitt said: "We would like to thank all those who attended our Whatley quarry open day on Sunday April 23 and for the many messages of thanks we have received from those who enjoyed their visit – which is all thanks to the hard work our employees put in to make the day so engaging for our visitors.  

 "Interest in the event was much more than we had anticipated. Unfortunately, this meant that traffic queues built up and we apologise to those who were impacted by this or had to change their plans.  

 "Given the level of positive feedback we have received, we will look into holding a similar event in the future and will consider if it should be a ticketed event to avoid any disappointment."