THE noisiness and diversity of the Liberty and Livelihood marchers created an atmosphere closer to that of a carnival procession than a political demonstration on Sunday.

Fanfares of hunting horns were answered with choruses of tin whistles and whoops as smiling protesters from across the country got into the party spirit, despite long delays caused by weight of numbers.

People from all walks of life dressed in full hunting regalia, waxed barber jackets, flat caps and working overalls smiled and joked as they marched on Whitehall with their banners flying high.

March organisers, the Countryside Alliance, had arranged for coaches start arriving at 9.30am, in staggered intervals to reduce disruption in the capital.

The demonstration was divided into two, the liberty march and the livelihood march, which converged in Trafalgar Square before marching down Whitehall together.

A coach bound for London from Wiltshire contained a rector and his congregation. The Rev Christopher Mulholland was in great demand and at Reading service station he blessed three coaches of people heading for the march.

In a prayer on one coach he told people they were marching with one heart, soul and voice for the liberty and livelihood of friends and family and when he finished he was given a rousing round of applause.

In the spirit of the march the his service was lively and full of rousing hymns, including Onward Christian Soldiers and Jerusalem.

Passengers in coaches from the south west disembarked in Suffolk Street, south of the Thames, before heading towards Tower Hill and walking to Blackfriars, where the livelihood march started.

The liberty march began in Hyde Park Corner before heading down Piccadilly and Pall Mall.

At first the livelihood march moved agonisingly slowly as sheer numbers reduced the marchers to a shuffling trudge, but once the river of green reached Blackfriars the march opened.

At every bridge and corner crowds of people who had completed the march stayed to cheer on the procession, waving, cheering and applauding the streams of protesters.

There were five giant screens placed on the route of the march, with pictures of the jubilant marchers and digital counters displaying the numbers of marchers, which were loudly cheered whenever the figure rose.

Bands played for the crowds on special stages but, although they were clapped, the noise made by the protesters was so deafening their music was drowned out.

Parents carried their children in pouches or put them in pushchairs, while disabled and elderly people travelled in electric buggies or wheelchairs.

There were few anti-hunt protesters on the route and most were in Whitehall, separated from the marchers by barriers.

They waved goodbye to the marchers as they streamed past, in an ironic gesture symbolising their belief that hunting with dogs would soon be banned.

The march divided at Westminster Bridge and the protesters headed towards coach depots and home.