A feast of festivals to whet your appetite
MAKE the most of March by planning a visit to one of these exciting events and exhibitions, says KATIE ROWE.
GREAT BRITISH FESTIVAL OF PIES, LEICESTERSHIRE
HANKERING after a freshly baked pie on an island of mash and smothered in gravy? Find one at The Great British Festival of Pies on March 11 – the grand finale of Great British Pie Week. You’ll find market stalls stacked high with award-winning sweet and savoury offerings in Melton Mowbray’s marketplace, as well as a good dollop of street entertainment.
ST PIRAN’S DAY, CORNWALL
CELEBRATE all things Cornish at one of many events taking place across the county to mark Cornwall’s National Day on March 5. Head to Falmouth for a vibrant street parade snaking through the town to Church Corner, where the story of St Piran, one of the county’s patron saints, will be told and traditional songs sung.
Alternatively, head to Bodmin, where celebrations will be held on March 6, with more singing and dancing in the streets and, of course, plenty of Cornish pasties to feast on.
Hardcore pasty fans shouldn’t miss the World Pasty Championships at the Eden Project on March 4. NATIONAL TRUST CHILDREN’S BOOK FESTIVAL, CUMBRIA SET your little ones’ imaginations on fire at a book festival dedicated entirely to children’s literature at the fairytale setting of Wray Castle on March 4 and 5. Beatrix Potter visited this National Trust-owned turreted retreat on the shores of Windermere as a teenager, so there’s no better place to relish in some of the best children’s books ever written. Meet Axel Scheffler, best known for illustrating The Gruffalo, and say hello to some of your favourite storybook characters, including Peter Rabbit.
HOUSE STYLE, CHATSWORTH
CURATED by Hamish Bowles, International Editor-at-Large at American Vogue, House Style is Chatsworth’s most ambitious exhibition to date. Opening on March 25, it will explore the history of fashion while spotlighting some of the most stylish members of the house’s ancestral owners, the Cavendish family.
They include Bess of Hardwick, one of the most powerful women of the 16th Century, and the 18th Century’s ‘Empress of Fashion’, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.
Key pieces on display include a Coronation gown, dazzling couture designed by Jean-Philippe Worth and Christian Dior, as well as contemporary pieces by Gucci, Helmut Lang, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen.
CHILTERNS FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL
ONCE known as ‘the larder of London’, the Chilterns is launching a foodie festival from March 25 to April 2 to showcase the area’s delectable produce. As well as samples of the best food from the Chilterns, there will be plenty of beer to try, gins to sample and vineyard tours.
Aside from the various market stalls, you can also enjoy countryside walks with a foodie touch, an Iron Age-style meal in a hill fort, and demonstrations in the centuries-old Redbournbury Watermill.