Twenty things to leave town for

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Watch a Yankee scrap

Watch a Yankee scrap on the fields of England. Battle displays, musket and cannon firing, living history camp and a children's toy exhibition.
American Civil War Spectacular, Fort Brockhurst, Gosport, Hampshire. Time: 25-26 August, 10am-5pm. Cost: adults £5; children (5-16 years) £2.50; under fives free. Information: 020 8926 7699; www.soskan.co.uk

Wander in an enchanted forest

Wander in an enchanted forest containing the Serpent's Lair, Mystic Pool, Dark Walk, Indian Camp, Celtic Forest and Romany village, then take a boat ride to the historic formal gardens set around a 17th century moated manor house. Other attractions include birds of prey and a new maze, plus scarecrow workshops and sheepdog trials.
Groombridge Place Gardens and Enchanted Forest, Groombridge, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Time: 25-26 August, 9am-6pm. Cost: adults £8; children (3-12 years) £6.50; family £26. Information: 01892 861 444; www.groombridge.co.uk

Twilight aerobatics

Gasp at twilight aerobatics by a unique collection of historical planes. Earlier in the day, pleasures include a falconry school and Swiss Garden in the beautiful grounds of Old Warden Park.
Sunset air display, Old Warden Park, Shuttleworth, Biggleswade, Beds. Time: 24 August, 10am-6pm. Cost: adults £10; children under 16 free. Information: 01767 626 200, www.shuttleworth.org

Besiege a castle

Besiege a castle as part of a colourful event that includes a medieval traders' market, archers, fire-eaters and minstrels.
Herstmonceux Medieval Festival, Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex. Time: 24-26 August, 10am-6pm. Cost: adults £11, children (3-13 years), £6; under threes free. Information: 01323 834444; www.herstmonceux.com

Walk under the huge propeller

Walk under the huge propeller of the world's first great ocean liner. Pace the 320ft deck of the SS Great Britain, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, before going below to gawp at the opulent luxury of the cabins and grand dining room, first used on its maiden voyage to New York in 1843. There's also a Maritime Museum.
SS Great Britain and Maritime Museum, Great Western Dock, Gas Ferry Road, Bristol. Time: daily 10am-5.30pm. Cost: SS Great Britain free. Maritime Museum: adults £6.25; children £3.75; family £16.50. Information: 0117 926 0680.

Uncover state secrets

Uncover state secrets in the displays in a maze of passageways and rooms created at the height of Cold War paranoia in the 1950s as a vast underground bunker for Essex County Council to use in event of nuclear strike. It's closing for good in October, so go now!
Essex Secret Bunker, Shrubland Road, Mistley, Manningtree, Essex. Time: daily 10.30am-6pm. Cost: adults £4.95; children £3.75; family £15. Information: 01206 392 271; www.essexsecretbunker.co.uk

Visit a rainforest

Stroll through a rainforest to learn how the Aztecs discovered chocolate, explore the process of making the dark stuff and take a trip into the fantasy Cadbury Land in the company of bouncy Buttons and friendly Fudge. And dare you take the Chocolate Challenge - guzzling fresh liquid chocolate until you can eat no more?
Cadbury World, Linden Road, Bournville, Birmingham. Time: daily 9.30am-4.30pm. Cost: adults £8.50; children £6.40; family £26. Information: 0121 451 4159; www.cadburyworld.co.uk

Meet Henry VIII's fool

Meet Henry VIII's fool, Will Somer and his accomplice, Jane, at Hampton Court and learn skills such as juggling and stiltwalking. The stilts might come in handy if you then decide to tackle the maze, though less so for a stroll around the 60 acres of gardens. If you're feeling lazy, just chill out to some ancient royal music in the palace courtyards.
Fool School, Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey. Time: daily 9.30am-6pm. Cost: adults £11; children (5-16 years) £7.25; family £33. Information: 0870 752 7777.

Get crafty with an Earl

Browse through more than 100 craft stalls and skill displays at the home of the Earl of Lichfield (aka snapper Patrick Lichfield). You can also explore 18 acres of historic, sculpture-strewn garden and an agricultural museum.
Summer Craft Fair, Shugborough Estate, Milford, Stafford. Time: 25-26 August, 10am-5pm. Cost: adults £3.50; children £1.50. Information: 01889 881 388.

30,000 toys in one place

Play away at a toy museum - the largest privately owned one in Europe - which has collected more than 30,000 items dating from late Victorian times to the present day from all over the world. A trip to see the House on the Hill's tin toys, puppets, novelty toys, games and coin-operated machines can be combined with a visit to nearby Mountfitchet Castle whose Norman Village affords a glimpse into life from the Iron Age to medieval times.
The House on the Hill Toy Museum and Mountfitchet Castle, Stansted, Essex. Time: daily 10am-5pm. Cost for toy museum: adults £3.80 children £3; entry to castle: adults £5; children £4; 10 per cent discount for visitors buying tickets to both on same day. Information: 01279 813 237.

A day at the seaside

Celebrate a seaside Jour de Fete at free outdoor performances by comedians, illusionists, jugglers, stilt- and tightropewalkers from around the world, as well as film and dance events. The event builds up to a finale at dusk with Blast! set against the backdrop of one of England's most striking modernist buildings.
Jour de Fete, De La Warr Pavilion, Marina, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex. Time: 25 August, 1pm-9.15pm. Cost: free. Information: 01424 787 949; www.dlwp.com

Travel to Africa

Travel from Discworld to Africa, starting on the Saturday with a comic production of Lords and Ladies, by Discworld's creator Terry Pratchett, followed by an African Sunday as 15-piece African music and dance theatre group Siyaya show why they've become Womad favourites with an exhilarating, early-evening outdoor show.
From Discworld to Africa, South Hill Park Arts Centre, Ring Mead, Birch Hill, Bracknell. Lords and Ladies. Time: 24 August, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. Cost: adults £7; children £6. Siyaya. Time: 25 August, 7pm. Cost: adults £10; children £8. Information: 01344 484 858; www.southhillpark.org.uk

Look on the light side

See the positive side of negatives in the museum revealing how Victorian pioneer William Fox Talbot invented the photographic negative. The museum is in the village where he grew up, Lacock, which has entranced the makers of TV's Pride And Prejudice and Moll Flanders. While you're here, walk or picnic in the gardens of one of Britain's most beautiful medieval abbeys. Visit on Saturday, 24 August, and you can enjoy the village fete, too.
Fox Talbot Museum, Lacock, Wilts. Time: daily 11am-5.30pm. Cost: adults £4; children £2.40. Information: 01249 730 459. Lacock Abbey, Wilts. Time: daily 1pm-5.30pm. Cost: adults £6.20; children £3.40; family £16.80. Information: 01249 730 227.

Run off to the circus

Run away to see the circus hailed as "the nation's most glamorous troupe". This traditional outfit fuses acrobatics, dance and other traditional skills in a magical show. The interval is almost as much fun as the main event, with vintage swingboats and merry-go-rounds.
Giffords Circus, The Great Park, Minchinhampton, Cheltenham, Glos. Time: 24 August, 2.30pm and 7.30pm; 25 August, 2.30pm and 5.30pm; 26 August, 5pm. Cost: adults £10; children £6. Information: 01242 572 573.

Water footy

Cheer for your river football team at this madcap annual event in the babbling brook that runs along the main street of the Cotswold village of Bourton-on-the-Water. Six-a-side teams play footy games where taking an early bath is unavoidable given they're knee-deep in water. Between matches, wander the stalls on the village green and enjoy similarly daffy side events such as duck racing.
River Football and Village Fete, Bourton-on-the-Water, Glos. Time: 26 August, fête starts at 11am; game at 4pm. Cost: free. Information: 01451 820 211.

The battle of the Knights

Witness battling knights bring colour (hopefully not blood-red) and the sounds of the clash of steel and the thunder of hooves to the ancient backdrop of Warwick Castle.
Warwick Castle Jousting Tournament, Warwick, Warks. Time: 24-26 August, 10am-6pm. Cost: adults £12.50; children £7.40; family of four £33. Information: 01926 406 600/0870 442 2000; www.warwick-castle.co.uk

Earth's mystery camp

Delve into the Earth's mysteries, myths and energies at this celebration of druidism. Take part in storytelling, visits to ancient sites, tarot reading and leyline hunts in a farm setting.
Earth Mystery Camp, Gloversbridge Farm, Grigg Lane, Headcorn, Kent. Time: 23-25 August. Cost: whole three days, adults £110; children (over 10) £50; under-10s free; day rate £15-£20. Information: 01622 890 601.

Relax at the sculpture park

Relax in the peace and quiet of the Jerwood Sculpture Park at Witley Court, while your children romp through the free workshops and sideshows of its Children's Festival nearby. Once one of the great houses of England, Witley Court is now a ruin whose atmosphere is enhanced by the sculpture park which focuses on contemporary British works by artists such as Elisabeth Frink, Kenneth Armitage and Anthony Gormley.
Jerwood Sculpture Park, Witley Court, Great Witley, Worcs. Time: 25-26 August, 10am-6pm. Cost: adults £5.60; children £2.80. Information: 01299 896 636.

Flying hunters

See flying hunters give regular demonstrations at the world's leading collection of eagles, owls, vultures, hawks and falcons. Plus falconry and owl experiences, children's playground and woodland walks.
National Birds of Prey Centre, Newent, Glos. Time: daily, 10.30am-5.30pm. Cost: adults £5.95; children £3.65; under fours free; family of four £17. Information: 0870 990 1992; www.nbpc.co.uk

A fairytale picnic

Picnic by a moated manor house whose grounds house otters, llamas, deer, ponies, water birds and a butterfly pavilion.
Mole Hall Wildlife Park, Mole Hall, Widdington, Essex. Time: daily, 10.30am-6pm. Cost: adults £5; children £3.50; family of four, £15. Information: 01799 540 400; www.molehall.co.uk

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