A homage in travel and spirit to Ernest Shackleton one hundred years after the peerless leader and explorer ventured to the South Pole and returned. Chaired by Paul Blezard.
The octogenarian novelist’s first novel features a young buck getting tangled in webs of spies, actors, intrigue and adventure in Christopher Marlowe’s London.
‘I looked in the mirror one morning, and saw the face of a stranger. Who was she, this haggard, bun-faced woman with the softening jawline, the downturned mouth, the world-weary air of a woman who hasn’t had what she wanted from life, and knows she isn’t going to get it now? Why, it was no one else but me, myself and I.’
Join local agronomist Jonathon Harrington and vet Barney Sampson as they explore farms in the local area. Expedition parties meet at 9am at the box office on the day of their excursion, to return at around 1pm. Limited numbers of self-drive tickets are available too, please contact the box office on 01497 822 629 for more information. On the day please wear suitable footwear and waterproof clothing in case of inclement weather.
Andrew and Rachel Giles’ farm has a purely organic dairy herd of 350 cows producing milk for Yeo Valley, who make it into yoghurt and cheese. Visitors will have the opportunity to enter the milking parlour and help to milk some of the cows, as well as see the young calves. Watch how the cows are fed and learn how their four stomachs enable them to digest grass. Samples of whole milk and other dairy products will be provided for tasting.
With thanks to Andrew and Rachel Giles of Maesllwch Farm.
A minimum age of 8 years is required to take part in this expedition.
The permaculture pioneer and PEAT Centre Director guides us around the Centre for Sustainable Food – the most productive acre and a half in the UK, and a blueprint for future food security.
For all outdoors events and walks we recommend walking boots and warm and waterproof clothing.
A heartrending, exquisitely-written memorial to the author’s father, Hector Abad Gomez, whose criticism of the Colombian regime led to his murder by paramilitaries in 1987.
The authors discuss how the wild, rural landscape of Radnorshire inspires their work and that of others before them, from Gerald of Wales to Vaughan and Traherne, Francis Kilvert, Eric Gill, David Jones and Bruce Chatwin.
Three of the world’s (yes, we said world’s!) funniest children’s writers come together in a wonderfully random mish-mash look at laughs. Chaired by the hilarious James Campbell.
Ahoy there me hearties! Join this salty sea dog of an illustrator as he tells monsterish tales inspired by his role as an artist for Pirates of the Caribbean. Don’t forget to dress the part, or you may have to walk the plank!
Whisk away on a flight of fancy to sand dunes and high seas with this talented writer and illustrator. Packed full of giant props and lots of imagination, this is perfect for daydreamers and their families.
From Bluff to Book Town Along the Offa's Dyke Path
Event 892 • •
Venue: Meet at Box Office
Join the National Trail Officer and National Park leaders on this lovely 7-mile walk to the top of Hay Bluff for stunning views of the surrounding countryside before returning to the town along a pretty section of the Offa’s Dyke Path National Trail which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
For all outdoors events and walks we recommend walking boots and warm and waterproof clothing. Please bring packed lunches.
This event has taken place
In association with the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority
The compelling new history shows WWII in a new light, showing Britain as far from the plucky underdog, but as a wealthy country, formidable in arms, ruthless in pursuit of its interests and sitting at the heart of a global production system.
At The Water’s Edge: A Personal Quest for Wildness
Event 294 • •
Venue: Elmley Foundation Theatre
The nature writer’s close observation of his Scottish home also forges wonderful connections between the most unlikely subjects, from photosynthesis and the energy cycle to Norse mythology, to weasels and perfume and to the over-population of our planet. Chaired by Corisande Albert.
Join the Nobel Laureate’s daughter and biographer and the poet and author of The Love of Stones and The Cryptographer to celebrate the novelist whose work included Lord of the Flies, Rites of Passage, To The Ends of the Earth and The Spire.
Hadley’s The London Train is a remarkable portrayal of a man and woman whose lives collide on the Cardiff to London train. In Thirsk’s Not Quite White, the young Jon Bull is sent by Westminster to Wales’ last remaining Welsh-speaking town to see why all attempts to bring it into the twenty-first century have failed. Chaired by Anita Sethi.
