Summer daze

Liz Nicholls

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Holidays are on the horizon so let’s get out and have a good time whatever the weather. There’s fun for all ages to enjoy!

Summer feels as though it’s been a long time coming this year, don’t you think? We’re determined to squeeze every last drop from it, once the holidays start!

Luckily, whether you have tiny tots or surly teens to entertain, there are lots of events and attractions nearby to make great memories.

Quainton has been home to a railway station since 1868. And today this lovely rural village is home to a working steam museum and heritage railway (with a smashing visitors’ centre) where kids can enjoy steaming days for just £1pp over the holidays., from 24th July to 1st September. On steaming days the whole 25-acre site is open including steam train rides, miniature and model railways, as well as a gift shop, and travelling post office – a great family day out! Adults £12.50; seniors £11.50; kids £1, under-3s free. If you’re quick you can catch Zog on 30th June and Emergency Services Day is on Sunday, 11th August (£7.50pp & ES workers get free entry with their work ID). And there’s more! A Classic Car Show on BH Monday 26th August & Dino Day on 15th September. Please visit Buckinghamshire Railway Centre for full info.

Chiltern Open Air Museum in Chalfont St Giles, HP8 4AB, is always worth a visit, bringing stories from the Iron Age to the mid-20th century to life. There are 37 historic buildings for you to explore, filled with real objects, including historic toys and games. Try on WW1 uniforms, hats and pinnies, as well as Victorian clothing, accessories and more. Please visit Chiltern Open Air Museum for activities & what’s on.

Based largely in a medieval hall house, Amersham Museum brings to life fascinating local stories through exciting family-friendly exhibitions and events. You can travel through time with the new displays, join a guided walk, get creative in an activity session, or enjoy the herb garden. Also browse the shop full of locally inspired gifts! Amersham Museum

We love Wycombe Swan which offers the best of the West End with a spanking new season of shows, from The Rocky Horror Show starring Jason Donovan (call me, Jason!), to A Chorus Line, Grease, and Elf the Musical plus the magical pantomime, Aladdin, starring local hero Vernon Kay and the sensational La Voix. While we’re in Wycombe, a quick westwards mention for the fabulous Hellfire Caves: visit Hellfire Caves

We hope you enjoy our farms special! We can’t not give a friendly oink to one of our faves for animal adventures and indoor/outdoor fun, Odds Farm Park, HP10 0LX. oddsfarm.co.uk

Kew Little Pigs is the award-winning farm in the Old Amersham with piggy experiences, petting pens and a new barn (which you can hire). If you’re smitten with the porkers (stars on screen & field), there are piglets for sale. Word to the wise: wear wellies! Visit Kew Little Pigs Farm

The Roald Dahl Museum & Story Centre in Great Missenden invites visitors to enjoy a peachy time (sorry) celebrating James and the Giant Peach from 20th July to 1st September. Enjoy Roald’s writing hut, and check out the activities lined up Tuesdays to Sundays including hands-on science workshops, daily storytelling, a themed trail and craft. Call 01494 892192 or visit Roald Dahl Museum & Story Centre

Fancy getting some fresh air? You can go above & beyond at Go Ape which has adventurous sites at Wendover, and Black Park in Slough, among others. Check out the zip wires, Tarzan swings, rope ladders, leafy hideout, Monkey Shuffle and more, including Captain Fantastic & co at the Black Park branch. Visit The Game Fair Festival of the Countryside

An Open Garden Tea Party at 2pm on Sunday, 4th August, at Woodlands House, SL7 3RN, will include a meadow walk, sculpture, arts & crafts, with added sparkle thanks to local wine heroes, Harrow & Hope. What’s more, proceeds will go to Medical Detection Dogs. For tickets & info please email [email protected].

I used to love taking my little tot to Gulliver’s Land and since then, the fun resort in Milton Keynes, MK15 0DT, has grown to offer even more giant fun! Book tickets to enjoy Dinosaur Discovery and Farmyard Fun from as little as £10pp and there are great stay & play packages too. Visit Gulliver’s Land Theme Park Resort | Milton Keynes (gulliverslandresort.co.uk) and also find our super-duper voucher deal opposite!

If Olympian Sharron Davies has inspired you, historic Wycombe Rye Lido, HP11 1QX, has family sessions and a great gym. Visit fusion-lifestyle.com/centres/wycombe-rye-lido/

Fancy a spin!? Rogue Leisure in Aylesbury, HP19 8DB, has the fastest indoor karts in the UK where you can test your skills on a banked corner up to 45mph. Or give Ten Pin Bowling a whirl, up to seven players per lane and you can wear your own shoes! If karaoke is more your jam, book a pod for up to eight singers with 80,000 songs to choose from all genres and eras, an amazing sound system and 50″ HD TV. To book your trip visit Activity Centre Buckinghamshire – Rogue Leisure

Bekonscot, HP9 2PL, features the world’s oldest and original model village, huge model railway, 1.5 acres of well-tended gardens and intricately detailed model buildings. Travel back to a 1930s idyll, see England how it used to be, and discover this wonderful little world tucked away from modern life. Visit Family Day Out | Beaconsfield | Bucks | Chilterns (bekonscot.co.uk)

Take your kiddies to see another type of kid and interact with the friendly team of animals at Aylesbury Goat Centre in a safe, and caring environment. Along with goats, you’ll find playful piggies, cheeky chickens, very inquisitive alpacas and cuddly rabbits (the best pets!). For more info visit The Bucks Goat Centre Aylesbury

Denham Country Park, UB9 5PG, has loads to keep young explorers occupied, not least Denham Adventure Zone for 12s and under, including a sand put, adventure trail, tube slide, treehouse, toddler swing and more. Join a bird-spotting safari, collect a map and enjoy some family orienteering. Home – Colne Valley Regional Park (colnevalleypark.org.uk)

Widmer Farm Park in Princes Risborough, HP27 0PG, is the perfect place for your little ones to meet llamas, alpacas, goats, sheep, ponies and donkeys amid the picturesque Chiltern Hills. Please visit Farm Attraction | Widmer Farm Park | England

Wishing you all safe, smiley, sunny fun!

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The best rose wines for summer

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Discover the best rose wines for summer sipping with Round & About Magazine’s guide to the best rose wines

The outlook is Rosé…

Summer’s here, according to the calendar if not the weather, so it’s time to slap on some sun cream (pull a jumper on) and crack open a bottle of rosé.  

Rosé wines have come a long way in the last ten years. When I joined the wine trade they were about as easy to shift as a tin bath full of rubble. Wine lovers’ opinions of rosé wine were either informed by the likes of Mateus Rosé or white Zinfandels, a bottle of which could be enough to prompt a diabetic coma, or half-hearted efforts that were pretty, but pretty tasteless.

Today, everything in the world of rosé wines is, well, rosy. Great wines can be found all over the world, and even the finest wines remain affordable. So, to celebrate the arrival of summer and in the hope that we’ll see the sun, here are my top rosé wine recommendations.

First up is a South African, the Wild Child Grenache Rosé from Journey’s End (£13.50 Noble Green). This is a juicy style of rosé that’s easy to love. Made from old vine Grenache, the juice gets a relatively short (3 hours) contact with the skins, giving it its lovely delicate pink colour. That’s about the only thing that is delicate about this wine. Big, opulent and mouth-filling, it’s packed with strawberries, red cherries and raspberries with all the sharpness of a blancmange – just the thing for sipping in the garden.

Spain is an excellent source of great value rosé (rosado). Wines like Viña Sol Rosé  (Waitrose £8.99) never fails to please. Recently, however, there’s been a move to creating rosé fine wines of which the Muga Flor De Muga Rosé (Majestic £21.99) is a fantastic example. I’ve shied away from this wine in the past as you can get the excellent Muga Rosado for £11.99. Having tasted it though, I have to say it is worth the extra money. Produced from ancient high-altitude vines, the concentration of red fruits, melon, and peach balanced by loganberries and citrus is impressive. This should be partnered with fine foods such as shellfish or lightly cooked lamb.

Provence has always been famed for its rosé wines. In 1955 a system of Cru Classé (great growths) was established, which recognised 23 exceptional estates. While the prices for some have become as eye-watering as the exclusive perfumes their bottles resemble, others remain affordable. If you want to try a wine that tastes as good as it looks – and let’s face it, it’s stunningly pretty – try the Château Sainte Roseline Prestige Provence Rosé (Ocado £19). From its rose diamond hue to its firm, mineral and raspberry finish, this is a class act. Gentle but with a lovely depth of flavour, this is one of those wines that draws you further in with each sip. It starts out offering watermelons and strawberries, but these morph into firmer tones of raspberries, peaches, and nectarines with an undertow of brambles, cream, and cherries. Lovely on its own, it’s made for seafood or fine white meats.

My next recommendation is a first for me. I honestly can’t ever remember recommending a fine Italian rosé wine. In my experience, Italian rosé (rosato) has been pleasant but hasn’t warranted purple (pink?) prose. The Albia 2023 (Vinum £15.05) from Ricasoli is a big exception to this rule. This Tuscan beauty is full, rich, and satisfying. Deep copper pink, it takes a little air to open it up, but once it’s had some times it’s full of red cherries, dried strawberries, and apricots with intriguing, slightly ‘spiky’ red berry acidity that I associate with Sangiovese. Good on its own, great with food, this is a brilliant rosé for alfresco dining.

The Loire Valley is best known for its white wines such as Saumur and Sancerre. While these are classics, both also produce impressive rosé wines.  Take the Domaine Lauverjat Moulin des Vrilleres Sancerre Rosé (Perfect Cellar £23.70). Made exclusively from Pinot Noir grown on limestone and clay soils, it offers precision with power. The nose balances citrus and black berries, roses and dusty minerals, while the palate manages to harmoniously combine raspberries, leafy blackcurrants and grapefruit and savoury, chalky notes. Try this with full-flavoured white fish such as monkfish or cod or with pork or lamb.

Next up a fizz, the Terra Organica Rosé Prosecco (Ocado £13). Rosé Prosecco was only officially sanctioned in May 2020 but on the evidence of this, it was worth the wait. While I find white Prosecco pleasant enough it all too often becomes cloying after a couple of glasses. This wasn’t the case with the Terra Organica. The addition of Pinot Nero to the Glera has added a savoury, black cherry note to the melon, pear, and white peach flavours. Add to this a fresh acidity and a hint of yeast and you have one of the best value fizzes you can buy.

I’ll finish with an Australian wine – well, I did say great rosé can be found all over the world – the Rogers & Rufus Rosé (Latitude Wines £16.50). Made from that classic rosé grape, Grenache, this is an interesting take on New World rosé. Coral pink, the nose is full of red berries, brambles, green apples and honey. The latter took me aback a little and raised fears that this was going to be off-dry, a style of rosé I’ve never found to work. Happily, it turned out to be a false alarm, and while a heather honey note pervaded the palate – probably from the American oak – it was dry, clean, and refreshing. Without wishing to sound stereotypical, I can see this going brilliantly with barbecued seafood and white or red meats. It’s powerful yet rounded and soft-hearted. Oh, and in case you were wondering it’s made 105km from the sea and surf. More labels should carry useful information like this if you ask me!

Well, I hope you’ll try out some of these amazing rosé wines. Next time out I’ll be dishing up some ideas for barbecue wines. Weather permitting.

Cheers,
Giles

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David Walliams’ Awful Auntie goes live! 

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David Walliams invites us all to enjoy a new production of his fourth book at Woking’s New Victoria Theatre from July 4th to 6th and tells us about his collaborations with his fellow Little Britain co-creator & star Matt Lucas

Watch a sneak preview of Awful Auntie in our new podcast, Spotlight: A Diary For The South East, out on YouTube now.

Bestselling children’s author David Walliams and the award-winning Birmingham Stage Company have teamed up for a new production of the family adventure Awful Auntie. This is their latest collaboration in a series of shows which includes the Oliver Award-nominated Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy.

So how does David feel about Awful Auntie, his fourth book, being translated into a play by this talented lot? He says: “It’s a thrill. They’re the kings of doing family shows and so I’m really lucky I can trust them 100% with it. With this story you have to be very imaginative moving it from the book to stage because it’s a book on a big scale. You’ve got a ghost, you’ve got a killer owl, you’ve got a car chase. The show has to be spectacular, funny and thrilling, and it is.

“Neal [Foster] is a writer, director, actor, and he adapted the book, he’s directed it and he’s starring in it… a very humble man! I’ve realised what an amazing part Aunt Alberta is: a female part played by a man so one day I’d like to play Aunt Alberta, but I can’t commit to a production for practical reasons like being a dad and having to do others things. But I’d like to.”

Speaking of cross dressing, does David have anything in the pipeline with his Little Britain co-star Matt Lucas? “Me and Matt Lucas started our first show in Edinburgh in 1995, nearly 30 years ago. In fact, Matt recently sent me a picture of Jackson’s Lane Community Centre which was our very first gig and he said ‘wow 29 years ago’. That’s how long we’ve been in each other’s lives! We did a show in Edinburgh and we took it on a small show of art centres and little theatres. That was quite exciting and then we did a Little Britain tour which was on a much bigger scale.

“Me and Matt are working on a brand new show together with brand new characters. So that’s exciting because as much as I love writing on my own books, it’s very rare that it’s collaborators writing the same story together. I’m working on a cartoon series of Gangsta Granny and I’m writing a movie screenplay of Slime for Nickelodeon. We have a few other bits and pieces in development, a film of Fing from one of my books so there’s loads of activities that flow from the books that’s more than just writing the books. So, there’s lots to do, we’re working on a Gangsta Granny musical, all kinds of things. That’s one of the incredible things about writing books, the book is not the end! Can it be a play? Can it be a TV series? Can it be a movie? A Gangsta Granny theme park ride?!”

“Me and Matt are working on a brand new show together with brand new characters.”

“Normally when I’m writing I’m thinking about them as films. Something I learnt from reading Roald Dahl was that if you can make your villains equally funny and scary then you probably are on the right path. In Awful Auntie there’s a giant owl called Wagner who can fly after Stella the heroine and pick her up and fly off with her as if she is a bit of prey. It’s fun to come up with things that are pretty surreal and still scary but within safe boundaries.”

David says he’s inspired by his son who often comes up with ideas when they’re at park… “Sometimes he gives me great ideas – he gave me the title and the idea for Mega Monster, which came out a few years ago, but the problem is he does want 50% of the royalties!”

You can catch Awful Auntie, which is adapted and directed by Neal Foster, (assistant director/movement director Richard J Hinds, designer Jackie Trousdale, lighting by Jason Taylor, sound by Nick Sagar and the music by Jak Poore) on the following dates in the South East:

4th-6th July at New Victoria Theatre, Woking 

25th to 27th July at Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham 

19th to 22nd  September Waterside Theatre, Aylesbury 

31st October to 2nd November at Milton Keynes Theatre 

7th to 10th November at New Wimbledon Theatre 

Tickets are available from the theatre box office and via Birminghamstage.com 

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The milky way at Laceys Farm!

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Will Lacey of Laceys Farm tells us more about life in the beautiful Bucks farm his great great grandparents started a century ago

Summer isn’t just our favourite season. The ladies on Laceys Farm – set amid a glorious patchwork of hills – also love the sunshine, as do their calves.

“The cows are all out to graze the fields now”, says Will Lacey. “We have cows calving all year round, so new arrivals are possible every day. The calves love warmer weather, charging round the fields burning off their energy.”

“The calves love warmer weather”

Will’s family have farmed the same land for seven generations and welcomed visitors last month for LEAF Open Farm Sunday. “We’re a working farm, so it’s great to open the farm, with milking demonstrations, tractor and trailer rides, a barbecue and special offers in the shop.

“We’re doing lots of work to improve and enhance the environment across our farm, with a patch work of different habitats including hedgerows, chalk grasslands, wildflower meadows and winter bird feed crops. The soil is our most valuable assest, so how we manage this and look after it is crucial for the success of our crops and the future of farming.

“Farming is very consistent year on year. Our summer stars with harvesting our grass before moving on to hay, barley and maize crops. We have benefitted from the wet spring, being on a chalk hills we need regular rainfall, and our grass volumes have been good this year.

“We are so lucky in this area to have such a variety of habitats. And with a great mix of dedicated farmers and land managers looking after the countryside we are all fortunate to be able to enjoy it through out the seasons.”

“It’s great to see the work started by my great great grandparents more than 100 years ago continue. We’ve always farmed in a way that supports farming and looking after the countryside. Through the farm shop we can tell people what happens on their local farm and you can enjoy the harvest of our produce.

“One thing few people know about farming is that it’s a tech industry! Every cow is managed individually so that we can know everything from how much milk she produces, how many steps she does a day and even how many hour she sits down for!”

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Grayshott Folk Club favourites

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Grayshott Folk Club are delighted to welcome back award-winning trio Harp & a Monkey

Award-winning song and storytelling trio Harp & a Monkey specialise in poignant, uplifting and melodic short stories, original and traditional, about everyday life, love and remembrance – the extraordinary ordinary.

Expect songs about everything from Medieval pilgrimages to bare-knuckle Victorian boxers and naked lifesavers at Grayshott Village Hall, Headley Road, GU26 6TZ on Friday, 28th June at 7.30pm.

The Mancunian outfit’s work has been described as ‘bold and brilliant’ by The Observer, ‘fantastic’ and ‘fascinating’ by Mark Radcliffe on BBC Radio 2, ‘inventive’ by Mojo magazine, ‘excellent’ by The Guardian, and ‘unique’ by folk legend Mike Harding.

With four acclaimed albums under their belts, the multi-instrumentalists (banjo, harp, accordion, guitars, glockenspiels and more) are regulars on the national concert circuit and guarantee poignancy, humour and great audience rapport at their live shows.

They have delighted us with their charm and wit here at Grayshott in the past (March 2018, September 2019), and it’s been far too long since we persuaded them to travel back down here – making this a show you will not want to miss.

Check out Harp & a Monkey here: Harp and a monkey Soldier’s song (youtube.com)

Tickets £15. Available (in person only) from Grayshott Post Office, by phone with Des O’Byrne on 01428 607096 or Harp And A Monkey Nr. Hindhead, Surrey Tickets

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Dinton Pasture’s Great British Food Festival

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Get ready for a culinary extravaganza at Dinton Pastures Country Park on June 29th and 30th as The Great British Food Festival comes to town

Indulge in a fantastic culinary delights at the Great British Food Festival, Dinton Pastures which is set to host a tantalising celebration of British cuisine.

On June 29th and 30th, culinary enthusiasts, families, and foodies alike will gather to savour the best of Great British food at the Great British Food Festival.

This two-day extravaganza promises a feast for the senses, showcasing the richness and diversity of British gastronomy. From traditional classics to innovative twists, attendees can expect an unparalleled culinary experience.

“We’re thrilled to bring the Great British Food Festival to Dinton Pastures,” said Daniel Maycock, Event Manager. “This event celebrates the best of British street food and artisan produce highlighting its heritage, quality, and creativity. It’s a fantastic opportunity for people to come together, enjoy delicious food, and create lasting memories.”

The festival will feature a vibrant array of food stalls, offering everything from mouth-watering street food to artisanal produce. Attendees can explore a treasure trove of flavours, whether indulging in freshly baked pastries, sampling gourmet cheeses, or relishing succululent meats cooked to perfection.

In addition to the delectable food offerings, the festival will host live cooking demonstrations by renowned chefs, providing insight into the techniques and inspirations behind their signature dishes. From mastering the art of pasty to perfecting the ultimate barbecue, these sessions are sure to inspire culinary enthusiasts of all levels.

Families can delight in a range of activities tailored to both adults and children, ensuring there’s something for everyone to enjoy with interactive workshops and entertaining performances.

Visitors can immerse themselves in the vibrant atmosphere with live music adding to the festivities throughout the day. Whether relaxing on the grass with a tasty picnic or exploring the various attractions, there’s no shortage of entertainment at the Great British Food Festival.

Tickets for the event are available online at Great British Food Festival at Dinton Pastures Berkshire, offering visitors the opportunity to secure their place. Why not upgrade your visit and enjoy the VIP experience with lots of tempting extras.

Join a weekend of gastronomic delights, entertainment, and community spirit at the Great British Food Festival.

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Bells and beers for Pilgrim Morris

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The cheery sight and sound of morris dancers is a sure sign of summer, so make sure you catch Pilgrim Morris this season

Pilgrim Morris of Guildford were established in 1972 and dance a variety of traditions in the Cotswold style, generally dancing around Surrey and north-east Hampshire during the summer season.

After kicking off the season on St George’s Day as one of the guest sides on a walking tour of Odiham, Pilgrim Morris followed up with the ever popular Summerpole event on Guildford High Street – perhaps you enjoyed their dancing last month?

There is a full schedule of events for the summer season that can be found on the Pilgrim Morris website with some of the highlights for the coming year being the Walking Tour of Windsor dancing as guests of Windsor Morris in the streets of the historic town on Saturday, 29th June and the Albury Produce Show on Saturday, 20th July as well as numerous pubs this month and next.

Pilgrim Morris always welcome new members so if you fancy giving it a go, come along during the Practice Season (October to April). We practice at Holy Trinity Junior School, Addison Road, Guildford, on Wednesday evenings between 8pm and 10pm.

Being a Pilgrim is about more than dancing: we normally have a music session after our pub gigs and the team has a strong social side. We also present the traditional Guildford Mummers Play on Twelfth Night (January 6th) in the oldest pubs in Guildford town. Please come to one of our events this summer and join in the fun.

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New life for Newbury’s Old Library

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A public fundraising campaign is being launched to repurpose the interior of Newbury’s Old Library to meet the creative wellbeing needs of the local community

Can you help open up the historic much-loved Old Library to connect with the community and boost opportunities for all ages through creative activities?

The Corn Exchange (Newbury) Trust, which comprises of the Corn Exchange, 101 Outdoor Arts and the Learning Centre, and which also manages The Base Greenham, will restore this beloved Newbury building, creating a permanent home for creative participation work to engage locals with the arts.

Corn Exchange’s creative initiatives focus on improving access to high quality cultural experiences, particularly to improve mental health, and to support older communities and young people. These activities seek to address issues of social isolation, health inequality, and deprivation in West Berkshire, and dismantle the financial barriers that historically prevented people from pursuing the arts.

Key projects set to feature at the Old Library include Ageing Creatively, addressing social isolation of older communities with classes with 5,000 engagements annually, and Links to Thrive, a pioneering ‘arts on prescription’ project bringing free creative opportunities to people with mental health conditions.

Careers in the Arts (run jointly with the Watermill Theatre) will also operate from the new venue; working with local schools and young people to raise aspiration and awareness of the career opportunities within the creative industries and to develop transferable skills through creative engagement, advice, mentoring and fully-funded placements. This area of the company’s work is flourishing, with 27,000 attendees across these programmes in 2022/23.

Jessica Jhundoo-Evans, Director of Corn Exchange Newbury & 101 Outdoor Arts, said: “We are asking you to help us raise the money to transform the Old Library into a new community space and a permanent home for our creative participation activity. This area of our work provides a wide range of inclusive opportunities with specific projects for young people, schools, under-5s and new parents, over-55s, and a thriving youth theatre. It provides a lifeline to many local people and is more vital now than ever before: reducing social isolation and loneliness within our community; improving mental health locally; and supporting young people in building confidence and self-esteem.

“The Old Library is the perfect new space and we are asking for your support to help open up this historic, much-loved Newbury building for our community. With dedicated engagement spaces, a small café/bar and a place to gather and connect with others, the possibilities for our communities are really exciting.”

For further information and to donate, please visit Old Library fundraising campaign (cornexchangenew.com)

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Peter Adamson’s tribute to Wallingford book

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In his latest book, A Town Called Wallingford, local author Peter Adamson shares the stories that made the town

Many thanks to the many readers of Round & About who bought my previous book Landmark in Time – the World of the Wittenham Clumps. The response was so encouraging that I have now written a follow-up – A Town Called Wallingford.

Once again, I have tried to make each chapter into a story that starts in our local town but doesn’t necessarily end there – and I hope there will be a few surprises along the way.

There are stories of Alfred the Great and William the Conqueror… but also stories of internationally important, state-of-the-art enterprises in the town’s business parks. There is the story of the Wallingford blacksmith’s son who rose to be the greatest mathematician of the age… and of the small-town lawyer who became one of the most influential figures ever born in these islands. There are stories of thousand-year-old Saxon defences… but also of the ‘great coffee shop invasion’ of our town centres. Stories of the great castle that gave England the Plantagenets and the Tudors… and of an act of heroism and that averted a 20th-century disaster.

From the world of the arts, there are chapters on the four sisters who overcame Victorian prejudice to be acclaimed as Royal Academy artists… and on why Wallingford’s most famous resident and the world’s best-selling novelist is scorned by the literary critics. Plus the first in-depth investigation into an extraordinary rumour that has lingered on in the town for the last two hundred years.

A Town Called Wallingford is a tribute to small towns in general and to Wallingford in particular. And just as Landmark in Time set out to add to the pleasure of those who know and walk the Wittenham Clumps, I hope that this book will add to the interest and enjoyment of those who have grown to love Wallingford as I have over the years.

A Town Called Wallingford is available from Wallingford Bookshop and from Peter Adamson (peteradamsonwriting.com)

Peter Adamson is a winner of the Royal Society of Literature V.S.Pritchett Memorial Prize and in addition to non-fiction writing has published three novels and a collection of short stories. 

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Stonesfield open gardens glory

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In need of gardening inspiration? Visit Stonesfield open gardens and pick up some tips

Enjoy the glory of nine open gardens in Stonesfield on Sunday, 23rd June, including some which have never been open to the public before.

Organised by Stonesfield Gardening Club, a number of gardens are opening in aid of local charities. There are a variety including a mix of flower beds with a productive vegetable garden including soft fruits and apple trees. The lawns are slowly being left to become meadows.

A garden for wildlife where you are asked to pause a while, maybe sit for a few minutes, smell the roses, listen to the bird song and the waterfall. Stepped gardens with shrub and herbaceous borders, wildflower orchard, fruit cages and kitchen garden and a peaceful, work in progress garden, full of labours of love from lockdown learnings. Come for the view not the gardening knowledge.

Entry is £6 per person, cash only (accompanied children under 16 free). Tickets and maps will be available from St James Centre, High Street, Stonesfield OX29 8PU where teas and plants are also on sale. Gardens are open 2pm-5.30pm, last tickets at 5pm.

Limited car parking will be available in Stonesfield Primary School opposite St James Centre.

More at Open Garden | Stonesfield Gardening Club

Stonesfield Gardening Club is a friendly, sociable club with a full programme of events through the year. Membership is open to all.

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