By Kate Hodges
24th May 2023
EVENTS HALF-TERM ADVENTURES
For many, half-term week starts on Friday. There’s scads of fun to be had around the country!
English Heritage has a whizzy line-up of fun that includes knights tournaments at Pendennis, pirate days at Whitby Abbey, a LEGO build at Stonehenge and a 1940s-themed weekend at Dover Castle. Find something near you here.
The National Trust has a series of fun events ranging from garden games at Claydon House to small mammal trapping at Morden Hall Park. Find one near you here.
In Wales, it’s the Big Pit’s 40th birthday. Celebrate on Tuesday by making a commemorative badge and helping create birthday bunting. In Swansea, there’s a free printing workshop at the National Waterfront Museum, while the High Ropes and traditional fairground return to the brilliant (and free) St Fagans. Or visit the National Museum in Cardiff for a Saturday night Silent Disco. Find more here.
Hay Festival starts this weekend. As ever, there’s a packed programme of bookish events that include fun-packed sessions with much-loved authors Julia Donaldson, Jacqueline Wilson and Greg Jenner, a storytelling adventure with Jordan Stephens as well as poetry parties and a chance to learn about the storytelling power of tarot cards. Find out more here and browse the online programme here.
Scottish families are spoiled for choice for fun. Go on a family trail around the excellent National Museum of Rural Life, or take a twilight tour of The Trembling Museum at Kelvin Hall in Glasgow. And, of course, Edinburgh is alive with theatre for the International Children’s Festival; see more below.
In London, you might head to the LookOut at Hyde Park next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for arts and crafts, plant printing and a meet and greet with Queen Victoria herself*. *Possibly not actually her. Or the Chelsea Physic Garden is hosting a workshop for kids that explores the finger-thrilling range of textures in its beds, from hairy flowers to fuzzy plants.
Over at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, they’re unrolling their sea charts and focussing on cartography at the Making Maps series of events; make your own passport and learn how to navigate using an ancient Arabic tool called a kamal.
Or explore the world’s languages at the south bank as the Southbank Centre’s One and Everything Family Trail leads you through a journey of bouncing alphabets, secret alphabets and mysterious scripts. Free.
DO POTS AND PLANS
Take up your trowels and wheel out the barrow. It’s National Children’s Gardening Week, which celebrates the fun that plots, allotments and containers hold for kids. There are events across the country, or join in at home with creative ideas for things to do and make outside here. This year the gang have teamed up with The World of Peter Rabbit to bring a little joy and mischief (and a few radishes) to the proceedings. Find a limited-edition activity pack in a garden centre near you and Peter-themed activities here.
RECIPE AND DO WICKED WILLY
Our hedges are full of bounty at this time of year. Nettles, wild garlic and the hilariously named sticky willy. Otherwise known as cleavers or goosegrass, this tacky, gummy plant is everywhere, and makes a surprisingly versatile ingredient. Try it in soups and stews or like a vegetable; find a recipe for Cleavers and Aubergine Bake here or Cleaver Pasta here. It also makes for an invigorating spring tonic, and (later in the season) you can even use the seeds to make coffee.
EVENT SHOW TIME
Curtain up! The capital of Scotland is the place to be for fans of innovative family friendly theatre and dance. Edinburgh International Children’s Festival celebrates the visceral thrills of live performance with musicals for toddlers, a sound theatre experience where the audience strap on murmuring backpacks, slapstick ballets, and a dance drama that explores the Problem with Pink. The festival starts with Family Encounters, a free day of pop-up performances and activities at the National Museum of Scotland. Download the full programme here.
RECIPE COOKIE MONSTERS
We don’t need an excuse to crack open the cookies, but Monday is National Biscuit Day, a celebration of all things crunchy. Did you know the fig roll was invented as a health food? Or that biscuits are why Liverpudlians are called scousers? Find out more incredible biscuit facts here. Why not spend some time in your kitchen making your own? Our recipe for child-baker-friendly cheese and chive biscuits is here or find our super-simple heart biscuits here. Or perhaps try some of the more, um, experimental recipes here? Choose from ultra-violet lavender and plum juice cookies to asparagus or even garlic biscuits!
WHAT WE’RE EATING Asparagus Frittata Frittatas are great carriers for seasonal vegetables when there’s some melted cheese thrown into the equation. Asparagus, mushrooms and Taleggio is my favourite combo in springtime says Rachel de Thample. Find the recipe here
WHAT WE’RE READING Exhausted, disconnected and fed up: what is ‘parental burnout’ and what can you do about it? “For many parents, the reality of juggling the demands of caring responsibilities on their time, energy and resources leaves them with little time to take care of their own wellbeing. This can result in “parental burnout”. You could be forgiven for thinking there’s a simple solution to this growing concern: relax and get some sleep! But again, the reality can be far different.” Read more here
