Crowds braved the chilly weather in Llanelwedd this morning to catch a glimpse of the visiting Countess of Wessex.

Countess Sophie arrived at the Royal Welsh Showground, near Builth Wells, at 11.30am to enjoy the Royal Welsh Winter Fair.

Despite the low temperatures of around five degrees celsius, it wasn’t long before the royal was followed by a crowd of eager guests trying to snap her on their smart phones.

Thousands of guests arrived at the showground for the first day of the Royal Welsh Winter Fair which finishes tomorrow evening.

The busy showground was filled with various food smells such as Welsh black beef burgers, Welsh lamb chops, chips and locally made cakes while guests happily viewed the livestock and handmade crafts.

One of Countess Sophie’s first stops was the Royal Welsh’ Start-up Farmers Market where she spoke to new business owners.

The market aims to give a spotlight to newly established food and drink businesses from across Wales.

Some of the stalls featured from Powys include: cake and fudge maker Cegin Kate; Hindwell Farm Meats; Chapelle Turkeys; and, Collards Distillery Ltd.

Jess Goodwin, from Walton near Presteigne, and Kate Pinder, from Llangadfan near Welshpool, were two of the first stall holders to speak to the countess.

Ms Goodwin, who was with her business Hindwell Farm Meats, said: “It was good, she really puts you at ease. It’s not awkward at all because even if you don’t know what to say, she’ll be quite forthcoming and the conversation will keep going.”

Ms Pinder, who was her business Cegin Kate, said: “Today was our first selling point and I mean, who meets a royal on their first day of business? It’s just unheard of.

“She was very nice as well, very petite and really quite chatty.”

The countess was shown around the various stalls by figures such as the leader of Powys County Council Rosemarie Harris, the chair of Powys Council David Meredith and the honorary Winter Fair director Will Hanks.

Ms Harris happily greeted the countess and reminded her that she had shown her around the summer show 15 years ago.

Accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of Powys Tia Jones, the Countess of Wessex also took time to talk to a handful of the businesses in the food hall from CwmFarm Charcuterie Products to Cusan with homemade liqueurs, to Radnor Hill Water Company Ltd.

Ruth and Andrew Davies of CwmFarm, which is based in Pontardawe, spoke to the royal and offered her samples of lava bread based salami and fennel based salami.

After tasting the samples, Countess Sophie turned to the crowd and said: “This is really good, really good. Buy lots”.

Ms Davies said: “It was lovely, she was really interested and wanted to know about our bacon curing kits- she said bacon curing was something that she had always wanted to try.

“She tried the lava bread salami and the fennel salami - she seemed to really enjoy them. She even told the crowd they were good and to buy them.”

The countess also enjoyed Christmas music from school choirs, observing the entries to the horticultural competition and observing the Young Farmer’s Club competitions.

Also attending the show today is the Welsh Government’s cabinet secretary for energy, planning and rural affairs.

AM Lesley Griffiths was at the fair from 8am, when she delivered her keynote address at the Hybu Cig Cymru Breakfast, before delivering the Lantra Land-based Learner Awards, speaking to members of the Agri Academy Rural Leadership programme and touring the exhibitions.

Powys County Council’s portfolio holder for learning and Welsh Language Myfanwy Alexander also attended the show where she supported the promotion of Welsh businesses.

Entry to the fair is free from 4pm and guests can expect a firework display to round off the day at 7pm.

After today’s dry weather, tomorrow looks a bit more gloomy for Royal Welsh visitors as the Met Office has forecast rain from 11am until 5pm to go with temperatures ranging from four to six degrees celsius.

For a full list of what’s on at the fair tomorrow, visit the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show’s website.