STARS of BBC's Countryfile welcomed visitors to the live event at Castle Howard - but some were less than impressed with traffic problems getting into the site.

Many motorists took to social media to complain that traffic jams on the A64 caused havoc for those trying to get to the four-day event which opened at the North Yorkshire Stately Home today.

It is the first time that Countryfile Live has been held anywhere other than Blenheim Palace and some visitors were left frustrated at being stuck in queuing traffic for several hours.

Some claimed that there were 'ten mile queues' stretching from the Hopgrove roundabout on York's ring road and along the A64 up to the Castle Howard turn off.

One visitor described the traffic issues as 'a shambles' and claimed many people would be demanding refunds after queuing for up to three hours to get into the event.

The Northern Echo:

Another Twitter user joked that the only people in Countryfile Live were the presenters because everybody else was stuck in traffic.

Countryfile Live organisers urged motorists to follow event signage and ignore their sat navs in an attempt to alleviate the congestion.

They created four alternative routes out of the venue to divert traffic away from the A64 and attempted to reassure people that the issues would improve over the coming days, with a tweet from BBC Countryfile Live saying: "We're working on revised plans for the rest of the weekend but please do aim to be here early and avoid the A64."

Once visitors had made it in to the site, they were treated to a celebration of rural Britain.

There were farming demonstrations, maypole dancing and the chance to meet the Countryfile presenters including Yorkshireman John Craven and County Durham's Matt Baker.