BBC Countryfile Live is returning to Oxfordshire with a musical twist this summer.

An all-new musical stage will be headlined by the UK’s biggest-selling country act The Shires, acoustic guitar virtuoso Newton Faulkner and country folk duo Ferris & Sylvester, as Blenheim Palace hosts the popular event for the third consecutive year.

The four-day festival, featuring live arena shows, hands-on activities, farm animal demonstrations, food, drink and shopping, runs from Thursday, August 2, to Sunday, August 5.

The Woodstock event is an offshoot of the BBC’s flagship rural affairs programme, Countryfile, presented by a host of famous names, including Matt Baker and John Craven.

Tim Etchells, managing director of show organisers, SME London, said: "We're bringing Countryfile Live back this year celebrating the 30th anniversary of the show, with a huge range of activities and new announcements for 2018.

"With more than 30 different areas we are excited to be back at Blenheim Palace for four days packed with everything to celebrate the British Countryside."

The Countryfile Live Summer Party, featuring this year's musical acts and hosted by BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris, takes place on the Saturday, from 6pm to 9pm.

Additional tickets, priced at £38, are needed and go on sale on Monday, May 21, at 10am.

Those with day tickets are eligible for a £13 discount on the party.

Alongside the music, more than 500 independent retailers and lifestyle brands will attend the festival.

The show is marketed as a celebration of rural Britain ‘to cherish the British countryside in the grounds of a famous stately home’.

The National Trust debate theatre and the Quilter Cheviot Theatre have a full line-up each day.

Debates, talks and ‘audiences with’ include discussions on the future of farming, photography workshops and 'what it takes to become an astronaut'.

More than 30 stages feature a variety of events, ranging from family fishing in the River Glyme to the Equine Arena, the STIHL Timbersports British Championships and dog lovers’ arena.

Countryfile Live was dogged by traffic problems in its first year, but a traffic management plan in 2017 solved some of the issues caused by the mass influx of visitors to the palace.

Opening times are 9.30am to 6.30pm Thursday to Saturday, while on Sunday the event closes an hour earlier.

Tickets are available from countryfilelive.com