days out in bath

Calling all mini bookworms: Bath’s children’s literature festival is on!

The Little Big One and I enjoyed a thoroughly literary day on Sunday as we headed to the brilliant Bath children’s literature festival. It’s no secret that both of my daughters are mega bookworms (I was as a child too). But I enjoy reading books with them as much as they enjoy being read to. I’m no stranger to literary festivals, having worked in publishing in my previous life, but introducing the Little Big One to the people behind the pages of her favourite books was great fun – for both of us!

With a ten day long programme of events on offer, and a line-up that includes renowned authors such as Julia Donaldson and Michael Rosen, and familiar characters like Hugless Douglas and Elmer, the Bath children’s literature festival is a fantastic event. Talks are categorised by age and although the Little Big One is 3, we snuck into a talk for age 4+ by children’s picture book writer Jarvis, of Alan’s Big Scary Teeth fame.

Jarvis’s talk was hosted in the beautiful Holburne Museum (worth a visit at any time as they often have child-friendly exhibitions and events on). It was entitled Drawing Fun with Jarvis and it was an entertaining mix of storytelling, drawing tutorials and contests. Being the author of the books, Jarvis told the tales in a hugely captivating way and did a great job of getting the kids to interact and listen by testing his audience with questions based on the stories that, if correctly answered, resulted in prizes! And the drawing element was brilliant. By the end of the show every single child in the room had learnt to draw a worm… and an alligator (with varying degrees of likeness!)

Afterwards Jarvis was kind enough to sign the Little Big One’s own version of an alligator and draw his version alongside – something to treasure for years to come.

That afternoon we made a trip to Mr B’s Emporium – the most magical bookshop I’ve visited. We bought a copy of Jarvis’s book (the Little Big One didn’t win a book at the talk so we obviously had to remedy that) and the girls got lost in a heap of other stories for a good while. We were all in our element… even the hubby found a book and got lost for a moment. If you have bookworms in your family, I’d highly recommend a visit when you’re next in Bath.

At Mr B’s we picked up a special Bath children’s literature festival treasure trail sheet – there are 7 favourite children’s book characters hidden in locations across Bath for book fans to find; a great activity to complement the main festival events.

If you have a bit of time over the next week, do check the festival out (it’s on until Sunday 6th October). There are plenty of events still to come, just visit the website for more details.

A day on the (Bath City) farm

For a thoroughly wholesome couple of hours, I’d recommend heading across to Bath city farm. Unlike most other farm attractions, this one is free to visit (although a donation of £2 is encouraged – a snip given it costs £8000 a day to keep the farm running). The farm is tucked away in Twerton on the outskirts of Bath (Wells side), with panoramic views across the city but feeling a million miles away from the hustle and bustle.

Head over on a Tuesday morning and join the Roots and Shoots toddler group (10-11:30am). Aimed at under 5’s, it encourages children (and their grown-ups) to explore the farm and feed the animals. We got to meet the chickens, ducks, pygmy goats, pigs and sheep and hear a little about what their life is like at the farm, before heading back to the cafe area for a hot drink (adults), a multitude of snacks (kids) and storytime (everyone who could sit still and listen). I’m told that there are often additional activities laid on too like bug hunts and crafts, but we were there on a particularly busy day so there wasn’t much time for anything extra. The group is a bargain considering refreshments are included – £3.50 for 1 child, £4.50 for 2 or £6 for 3.

While the group was lovely, and a wonderful way to spend a Tuesday morning, I would recommend going on your own too for a visit. You can wander around the farm at a pace that suits you, and, while you can’t feed all of the animals, you can buy chicken feed from the cafe kiosk, head into the chicken and duck enclosure and enjoy having them flock around you quacking and clucking. Personally, this is our favourite bit of the farm. As well as the animals, there’s a little cafe kiosk where you can buy hot drinks and small bites – there are picnic benches too if you bring your own food; there’s a well-equipped park; and there are two mile long walking trails – a history trail, which features a replica WWII air raid shelter and a nature trail, which takes you through the woodlands. Neither route is prammable so you’ll need a sling for very little ones. Given the site sits on the side of a hill, there are some steep bits too.

IN A NUTSHELL

A brilliant place to while away a couple of hours. Tag a visit on to a day out in Bath, or head there in the morning and stop off at Newton farm shop for lunch on your way back; it’s just down the hill from Twerton (on the way to the globe roundabout).

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