Programme

Ten Reasons to Love a Turtle   In partnership with the Natural History Museum, Catherine Barr has written a new series of beautifully illustrated books giving children ten reasons why each animal is amazing, and five ways they can show they love it. Take, for example, 10 Reasons to Love a Turtle: Turtles go on incredible journeys,…

Owl Sense Owls have captivated the human imagination for millennia. We have fixated on this night hunter as predator, messenger, emblem of wisdom or portent of doom. Miriam Darlington tells a story about the wild in nature and in the unpredictable course of our human lives. In her watching and deep listening to owls in…

Emma will be running a Seedlings session in the woods for anyone aged 0-5, and their older siblings and parents can come and join in too! You will be taken on an adventure into the woods where your little ones can create some natural art and learn how to brew a cup of tea for…

We are delighted to have Badger Bushcraft with us again at this year’s festival.  Phil has an infectious passion for all aspects of bushcraft and country living combined with an exceptionally professional attitude, a host of relevant qualifications, years of experience and tremendous enthusiasm.  He will be running various bushcraft events throughout the weekend including…

Gregory Norminton & Natasha Carthew – Tales of Place This event explores the role of place in fiction.  In The Devil’s Highway Gregory Norminton weaves together three tales of human struggle linked by one ancient road that resemble one another more than they differ. Spanning centuries, and combining elements of historical and speculative fiction with…

Kate will host a series of workshops where participants are invited to create their own patterns.  Kate’s inclusive approach to making work enables all abilities to create beautiful designs inspired by the surroundings. Children under 14 free of charge. Limited availability.

Michael offers a unique opportunity for people to learn a wide range of authentic rural skills and will be leading mini-foraging expeditions over the weekend.  Check out his stall for more information. Woodland foraging expeditions will be taking place at allotted times during the day. For more information and to book your place, head over…

Come and join this secret fairytale adventure into the woods and discover some fairy magic at Boldshaves… Suitable for ages 3+. Various adventures will be going on throughout the weekend, so head over to the Wondrous Adventures stall to find out more…

Please feel free to enjoy the woods, garden and fields surrounding Boldshaves.  All trails begin from below The Weald Den.  Just follow the markers or feel free to ramble at your will.

How to Eat a Peach Food writer Diana Henry talks about her favourite foods and places that feature in her new book, How to Eat a Peach. Putting together a menu is Diana Henry’s favourite part of cooking. But what is perhaps most special about them is the way they can create very different moods…

Come and join this secret fairytale adventure into the woods and discover some fairy magic at Boldshaves… Suitable for ages 3+. Various adventures will be going on throughout the weekend, so head over to the Wondrous Adventures stall to find out more…

Kate will host a series of workshops where participants are invited to create their own patterns.  Kate’s inclusive approach to making work enables all abilities to create beautiful designs inspired by the surroundings. Children under 14 free of charge. Limited availability.

Adder, Bluebell, Lobster If you add an adder to an adder they are prone to have a dance, they writhe around each other till the strongest gets a chance to PUSH the other down. Watch out for bossy Beetroot! Be enchanted by a Bluebell witch’s thimble and spot a dive-bombing Lark or a cute Great-Crested…

Come and join this secret fairytale adventure into the woods and discover some fairy magic at Boldshaves… Suitable for ages 3+. Various adventures will be going on throughout the weekend, so head over to the Wondrous Adventures stall to find out more…

The Immeasurable World Travelling to five continents over three years, visiting deserts both iconic and little-known, William Atkins discovers a realm that is as much internal as physical. His journey takes him to the Arabian Peninsula’s Empty Quarter and Australia’s nuclear-test grounds; the dry Aral Sea of Kazakhstan and ‘sand seas’ of China’s volatile north-west;…

Lucy Mangan – Bookworm A Memoir of Childhood Reading Lucy Mangan’s Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading relives our best-beloved books, their extraordinary creators, and looks at the thousand subtle ways they shape our lives. She also disinters a few forgotten treasures to inspire the next generation of bookworms and set them on their way.  

Kate will host a series of workshops where participants are invited to create their own patterns.  Kate’s inclusive approach to making work enables all abilities to create beautiful designs inspired by the surroundings. Children under 14 free of charge. Limited availability.

Come and join this secret fairytale adventure into the woods and discover some fairy magic at Boldshaves… Suitable for ages 3+. Various adventures will be going on throughout the weekend, so head over to the Wondrous Adventures stall to find out more…

Peter Fiennes and Lisa Samson – Journeys through Trees The magic and mystery of the woods are embedded in culture, from ancient folklore to modern literature. They offer us refuge: a place to play, a place to think. They are the generous providers of timber and energy. They let us dream of other ways of…

Blackbird, Bye Bye Moniza Alvi’s new collection of poems is unified by birds. Her creations ‘Motherbird’ and ‘Fatherbird’ are inspired by her parents, and by the loss of her father and by his emigration from Pakistan. Among the many bird-related poems are versions of the French poets Jules Supervielle and Saint-John Perse, and poems ‘after’…

As Kingfishers Catch Fire Preston gave up birdwatching at the age of 15. His love of birds did not go away and he created his own anthology of nature writing about birds in the books that he read. Preston says he looked for moments when ‘heart and bird are one’. The result is an anthology…

For the first time this year, we are offering an evening campfire feast. Michael White – local woodsman, forager, wild food chef – sources many of his ingredients from within a stone’s throw of the Festival site. As the sun sets at Boldshaves Garden, join Michael for a simple, yet sumptuous lamb and nettle tagine…

Join the celebrated naturalist, Mark Cocker, on a captivating tour of the wildlife of Boldshaves Garden. Limited availability.

The Secret Life of Cows Rosamund Young describes how cows are as varied as people. They can be highly intelligent or slow to understand, vain, considerate, proud, shy or inventive. Although much of a cow’s day is spent eating, they always find time for extra-curricular activities such as babysitting, playing hide and seek, blackberry-picking or…

We are delighted to have Badger Bushcraft with us again at this year’s festival.  Phil has an infectious passion for all aspects of bushcraft and country living combined with an exceptionally professional attitude, a host of relevant qualifications, years of experience and tremendous enthusiasm.  He will be running various bushcraft events throughout the weekend including…

Kate will host a series of workshops where participants are invited to create their own patterns.  Kate’s inclusive approach to making work enables all abilities to create beautiful designs inspired by the surroundings. Children under 14 free of charge. Limited availability.

Robert Winder – The Last Wolf: The Hidden Springs of Englishness It is often assumed that the national identity must be a matter of values and ideas. But for Robert Winder, it is a land built on a lucky set of natural ingredients: the island setting that made it maritime; the rain that fed the…

Michael offers a unique opportunity for people to learn a wide range of authentic rural skills and will be leading mini-foraging expeditions over the weekend.  Check out his stall for more information. Woodland foraging expeditions will be taking place at allotted times during the day. For more information and to book your place, head over…

Come and join this secret fairytale adventure into the woods and discover some fairy magic at Boldshaves… Suitable for ages 3+. Various adventures will be going on throughout the weekend, so head over to the Wondrous Adventures stall to find out more…

Rosie Wellesley is a magical blend of doctor/author/illustrator. Join Rosie as she reads from her new book – The Itchy-Saurus – and talks about why she wrote this story about a dinosaur with an itch that can’t be scratched. Suitable for ages 3-6, you’ll be joining in with the dinosaur roars and potion-making and then drawing along with Rosie…

21st-Century Yokel Tom Cox’s 21st-Century Yokel explores the way we can be tied inescapably to landscape, whether we like it or not, often through our family and our past. It’s not quite a nature book, not quite a humour book, not quite a family memoir, not quite folklore, not quite social history, not quite a…

Come and join this secret fairytale adventure into the woods and discover some fairy magic at Boldshaves… Suitable for ages 3+. Various adventures will be going on throughout the weekend, so head over to the Wondrous Adventures stall to find out more…

Sonia Overall is a poet, novelist and psychogeographer. Her chapbook The Art of Walking explores movement, place and the relationship between self and setting. She teaches Creative Writing at Canterbury Christ Church University and the Open University. Using journaling techniques, movement and place-based writing, this workshop will help you to focus and articulate your observations of the natural world. Working in…

Kate will host a series of workshops where participants are invited to create their own patterns.  Kate’s inclusive approach to making work enables all abilities to create beautiful designs inspired by the surroundings. Children under 14 free of charge. Limited availability.

Come and join this secret fairytale adventure into the woods and discover some fairy magic at Boldshaves… Suitable for ages 3+. Various adventures will be going on throughout the weekend, so head over to the Wondrous Adventures stall to find out more…

Mark Cocker and Tim Dee – The Place of Nature Two of the country’s most celebrated naturalists examine the state of the relationship between people and the natural world. Radical, provocative and original, Mark Cocker’s Our Place: Can We Save Britain’s Wildlife Before it is Too Late? tackles some of the central issues of our…

Michael offers a unique opportunity for people to learn a wide range of authentic rural skills and will be leading mini-foraging expeditions over the weekend.  Check out his stall for more information. Woodland foraging expeditions will be taking place at allotted times during the day. For more information and to book your place, head over…

Yuval Zommer – The Big Book of the Blue Why do octopuses have eight arms? Why do crabs run sideways? Are jellyfish made of jelly? Yuval Zommer’s beautiful new book provides the answers to these and many more fishy questions. His wonderfully quirky illustrations show off all kinds of slippery, shimmery and surprising sea creatures,…

Kate will host a series of workshops where participants are invited to create their own patterns.  Kate’s inclusive approach to making work enables all abilities to create beautiful designs inspired by the surroundings. Children under 14 free of charge. Limited availability.

Tim Birkhead’s most recent book, The Wonderful Mr Willughby, is a fascinating insight into the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century and a lively biography of the first true ornithologist, Francis Willughby. Tim is the author of several acclaimed books including The Most Perfect Thing which was the source of inspiration for the BBC programme Attenborough’s…

Come and join this secret fairytale adventure into the woods and discover some fairy magic at Boldshaves… Suitable for ages 3+. Various adventures will be going on throughout the weekend, so head over to the Wondrous Adventures stall to find out more…

The Meaning of Things The poet Elaine Randell lives on Romney Marsh where she keeps Soay sheep, chickens and English Setter dogs. Rural life in Kent and Turkey, where she also has a home, is important to her. The Meaning of Things is Elaine’s latest collection of prose and poems which reflects upon the art-life…

The Electricity of Every Living Thing The Electricity of Every Living Thing tells the story of the year in which Katherine comes to terms with an Asperger’s diagnosis. It leads to a re-evaluation of her life so far – a kinder one, which finally allows her to be different rather than simply awkward, arrogant or…

Helen Scales – Eye of the Shoal Seventy per cent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. This vast aquatic realm is inhabited by a multitude of strange creatures and reigning supreme among them are the fish. Helen Scales guides us on an underwater journey, as we fathom the depths and watch these animals…