My brother was visiting us with his family from Northern Ireland this weekend so, like last week, we had another Sunday morning dilemma - four adults and five children ranging from one year old up to nine, what shall we do? Luckily it was Heritage Open Days weekend and there were lots of events taking place around the county so plenty of choice. We settled on the Towneley Heritage and Woodland Festival in Burnley.
As it was fine, we spent all our time outside in the park, although Towneley Hall, home to the Towneley family for over 500 years, was offering free entrance all weekend and is worth a paying visit. Every hour, against the backdrop of the hall, there was a re-enactment of the civil war along with musket fire although we weren’t able to watch the show as the bangs were too much for my youngest who complained, with her hands stuck theatrically over her ears, that it was “too woud!”
Luckily she was distracted by the captivating “Green Man” wandering around the event, dressed from head to toe in green, complete with painted green face and a wreath of leaves on his head. Beating a drum and with his eyes flashing wildly, he told us about the spirit of the green man, who symbolises rebirth and whose face you may see carved on many an ancient building.
What I particularly liked about the event was that the majority of the activities were in keeping with the woodland theme. There was the ubiquitous funfair, but there were only a few rides and food vans. You could weave willow, visit a viking camp, make a bird box and have your face painted as a woodland creature (does Spiderman count?). Even the tombolas I saw were to raise money for endangered badgers and hedgehogs and the side stalls seemed carefully selected for this event, amongst them tin can alley, hoopla and target shooting, not with a toy gun, but a toy cross bow. Even my son’s choice of prize, at a stretch, was along a woodworking/craft theme – an inflatable hammer!
Barbara Howorth
This sounds really good family fun and an interesting spin on 'heritage' - I still haven't visited Towneley Hall but I hope to change that very soon.
Posted by: Sally Jastrzebski-Lloyd | 16 September 2009 at 11:08 AM