THOUSANDS of people flocked to Middlewick House in Corsham on Saturday and Sunday (August 3 and 4) to see the gardens owned by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and his wife, the actress Annette Lynton Mason.

The couple bought the Grade 2 listed Georgian house in Middlewick Lane in 1995 from the Duchess of Cornwall after she divorced her first husband Andrew Parker-Bowles.

The Mason family now opens the house and gardens to the public once a year to raise funds for two local charities, the Wiltshire Air Ambulance and the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, of which Mrs Mason is a vice-patron.

Mr Mason, 75, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support we have received this year.

“We seems to have attracted double the number of visitors that we were expecting and have run out of sausages!”

This year’s open gardens event is the fifth the couple have organised with help from Jennie Shaw, director of the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust.

On display were the couple’s gardens, plus Mr Mason’s personal collection of high performance cars, including Ferraris and McLarens, vintage and children’s models.

Among the visitors were the Wood family from Malmesbury - mum and dad Sarah and John, with sons Harry, 14, and Charlie, 12.

They were stood admiring a blue and yellow Michael Andretti McLaren race car. Mr Wood said: “I came for the cars, Sarah for the gardens and the boys for the animals.”

Another visitor was former band roadie, Willie Porter, from Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, who now works in the film industry.

“I came to look at Nick’s collection of cars, and my wife Alison is looking at the gardens,” said Mr Porter, who used to roadie for Genesis, David Bowie and the Rolling Stones among others.

The organisers had bought in 700 sausages for their traditional barbecue but these rapidly ran out on Saturday as more than 2,500 people toured the gardens.

Mrs Mason, 65, says they are hoping to beat last year’s £22,000 fundraising total by raising £25,000 this year to be split between the two charities. Over the past four years, they have raised more than £85,000 for charity.

This year’s event was held later than usual to fit in with Mr Mason’s European and US touring commitments with his new group, Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets which features him on drums and ex-Spandau Ballet singer Gary Kemp on guitar and vocals.

One explanation for the dramatic increase in visitors this year may be the Masons recent interview with the BBC about their garden during the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

Visitors were also able to see Mrs Mason’s four horses, Oscar, Mr P, JB and Ted, and a menagerie of animals, including sheep and piglets, two of which will be auctioned off for this year’s charities.

Other attractions included the Wiltshire Outdoor Learning Team’s climbing wall for children, and artisan and traders selling everything from plants to art, clothing and luxury goods.

There were also refreshments from home-made cakes and ice creams on offer, as well as the barbecue.

Mrs Mason said: “We love supporting the two charities - the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust, of which I am a vice patron, and the Wiltshire Air Ambulance - on our open weekend and it’s a wonderful way of making sure we get everything done in the garden.”

Mrs Shaw added: “Even with his busy touring commitments Nick and Annette know how important this weekend is to local charities.

“It’s a super weekend which thousands of people have attended over the years.”

Barbara Gray, director of income and communications at Wiltshire Air Ambulance, said: “This is the second year that Nick and Annette have chosen Wiltshire Air Ambulance as one of the charities to benefit from their open gardens weekend.

“The funds raised at the event will enable us to continue saving lives, as we have been doing so since 1990.

“Nick and Annette are also ambassadors for our charity and we are truly grateful for their support.”