What’s on regulars
A SELECTION OF IDEAS TO HELP YOU MAKE THE MOST OF THE WEEK AHEAD IN BATH
This week you really ought to…
ENJOY A TASTE OF PERSIA: on Friday, August 17 at the Holburne Museum’s Garden Café from 6pm to 9pm, £15. Culinary genius Simi, of Simi’s Kitchen, will be serving up delicious dishes alongside traditional Middle Eastern music from Majaz. The event coincides with the museum’s new display Bath to Baghdad: A Collection of Middle Eastern Art. For more holburne.org
HAVE A CUPPA: At a coffee morning for Children’s Hospice South West in The Crypt, St Michael’s Church, Broad Street on Tuesday, August 21 from 10.15 am to 11.30 am. There’ll also be a raffle and sales table, £1.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE FILMBATH FESTIVAL: The event is now in its 28th year, with this year’s films being finalised. But by signing up to its newsletter now, you’ll receive priority booking – a must for all movie buffs. The Filmbath Festival will take place from November 1 to 11. For more filmbath.org.uk
WALK AND LEARN: With Bath historians Kirsten Elliott and Andrew Swift. On this guided walk, entitled On The Trail of John Wood, they will be looking at the work of the architect who created many of England’s most ground-breaking buildings right here in Bath, as well as that of his son, John Wood the younger. Takes place on Sunday, August 19 at Topping, the Paragon, at 11am, £10. For more toppingbooks.co.uk
DANCE TO DRUM N BASS: With DJ Roni Size headlining the Lansdown Live Festival at Bath Racecourse. Gates open at 2pm on Saturday August 18, with the Mercury Prize-winner taking to the decks at around 8pm. Tickets from £18. For more bathracecourse.co.uk
ENJOY SOME COLOUR: With Colourscape at the Holburne Museum from August 20 to 29. You’ll discover 25 interlinked chambers, filled with intense colour and music, and perfect for all ages. You’ll even be able to put on a cape and immerse yourself in a new world made up of curved, soft edges, and discover performance spaces filled with music and dancing. 11am to 4pm, £5. For more holburne.org
GET YOURSELF SOME HYGGE: When you listen to vocal quartet Akervinda, who hail from Sweden and Denmark, at Komedia on Sunday, August 19 at 7.30pm, £12/£10. They play traditional Nordic music, and their vocal arrangements are intricate and unusual with lots of improvisation and invention. As for the group’s name, that’s inspired by a Swedish wildflower whose roots spread – a little like the group’s catchy melodies. Part of Bath Folk Festival.
SEE AN OUTDOOR PLAY AT: The glorious setting of Glastonbury Abbey, with a fast-moving and upbeat family-friendly adaptation of The Three Musketeers. Ikproductions bring their own unique brand to Dumas’ classic novel, with swashbuckling and slapstick humour aplenty. There will be an outdoor performance, whatever the weather! Saturday August 18, 7pm. Tickets £10/£8, available from glastonburyabbey.com. Pre-theatre supper is available in Abbey House at 5pm, booked for an extra charge of £15. This touring company performance will also be coming to Thornbury Castle on Tuesday August 21, 7.30pm.
GET CREATIVE WITH POTIONS AT: Herbal Alchemy Workshop with Bath Culture House, held at Combe Grove Hotel, Brassknocker Hill, Bath. Join founder Lucie Cousins for an afternoon of creativity, making concoctions, elixirs and more. You’ll have an opportunity to make your own herbal teabags, forage for herbs, and create your own vinegars, infusions and herbal oils. Saturday August 18, 2pm to 5pm. Tickets £60 (£55 for members), available from combegrove.com.
TASTE HOME-GROWN WINES WITH: Wraxall Vineyard Tours and Tastings, near Shepton Mallet, producers of awardwinning wines grown and made in Somerset. You’ll get to tour the vineyard, before being taken into the winery for the opportunity to taste some wines. Next tour on Saturday August 18, at 11am, lasts an hour and a half to two hours. Tickets £10 from wraxallvineyard.co.uk.
VIEW CONTEMPORARY ART AT: The Summer Show, an exhibition at David Simon Contemporary Art Gallery in Bartlett Street, Bath. With paintings by Malcolm Ashman, Andrew Lansley, Stephen Lavis and Parastoo Ganjei, and a selection of bronze sculptures by gallery artists. Exhibition daily until Monday September 3. Gallery open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm (closed Wednesday and Sunday), davidsimoncontemporary. com, or 01225 460189 for more details.
RELAX ON THE BEACH AT: Bath on the Beach, a Caribbean-style beach venue in the heart of Bath. A variety of games for all ages, including beach volleyball, adventure golf, table tennis and boules. Food and drink available at the bar, including
cocktails, soft drinks and hot drinks, and Mexican street food. Space to relax with picnic tables, hammocks and palm trees, along with cabanas available to book for groups. Free entry, open 10am to 9.30pm daily until Sunday September 2, at Royal Avenue, Victoria Park. See more details at bathonthebeach.co.uk.
Why not take the kids to…
Get CRAFTY: At the Roman Baths Minerva’s Mate workshop. Little ones will be able to get all creative and use collage to make an owl puppet at the drop-in events from Monday, August 20 to Friday, August 24 from 10am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 4pm.
DO SOME UPCYCLING: And make cool bangles and badges out of bottle tops and scraps of ribbon. takes place at the Fashion Museum on tuesday, August 21 from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 3.30pm.
Get the FLORAL TOUCH: At Paper Petal Power at the Victoria Art Gallery on Wednesday, August 22. you’ll be able to use different types of paper to make flower decorations to brighten your home, with sessions from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 3.30pm.
LOOK FOR FAIRIES AND DINOSAURS: Head for Whitehall Garden Centre’s land of fairies and dinosaurs. Keep an eye out for fairies in hidden villages and listen out for giant dinosaurs roaring away. But don’t worry, the fairies will be nimble enough to get away. Daily in the school holidays from 10am to 4pm, £3.99. For more whitehallgardencentre.co.uk
Get STICKING: At an arty event at No.1 Royal Crescent until September 3. youngsters will be able to make a collage, creating a framed picture of a special place, real or imaginary, to take away. Coincides with the museum’s exhibition Women’s Suffrage 100: Freedom & Fight in Bath. Included in standard admission price, Discovery cardholders receive discounted admission.
MOVIE MAGIC: On Saturday, August 18 at the Little theatre Cinema in Bath from 10.30am to noon. Kids Club is showing the Land Before time, starting with activities at 10.30am followed by the film at 11am. Strictly kids only.
A BOWOOD HOUSE event: Budding heavy machinery enthusiasts will be entertained at the tractor ted Diggers and Dumpers weekend at Bowood in Calne. With JCB antics, a digger world cup, tug-of-war, tractor and trailer rides, bouncy castle, digger den and more. A fun day out, with the opportunity to explore Bowood House, gardens, adventure playground and soft play palace while you’re there. Saturday August 18 and Sunday August 19, 11am to 6pm. Day tickets from £7.70 (infant) to £12.75 (adult), family tickets (two adults and two children) £38.25. Pre-booking advised for this event, at bowood.org.
POND DIPPING: What could be living in the Serpentine Lake at Prior Park? Pond dipping sessions for ages 3 plus, with the chance to make a souvenir badge to take home. Some of the best bits of being a child: playing with water, discovering wriggly creatures, and the chance to get a bit muddy. Prior Park Landscape Garden, Ralph Allen Drive, Bath (National trust). tuesday August 21, sessions at 10.15am, 11am and 11.45am (booking advised). tickets £3 (child), but normal admission to the garden also applies - £7.40 (adult), £3.70 (child), at nationaltrust.org.uk.
A BADGER WALK: Definitely one for older children interested in wildlife. A chance to experience the tranquil grounds of Glastonbury Abbey after hours. A wildlife expert will take you on a tour, where you’ll hopefully see a badger taking a night time stroll. Sightings are not guaranteed, but usually tours are lucky enough to spot one or two. these walks provide an opportunity to catch a glimpse and find out more about these fascinating animals. Glastonbury Abbey, thursday August 16 and August 23, 7.30pm (ends 9.30pm). tickets £10 (adult), £5 (child), at glastonburyabbey.com.
BECOME ONE WITH NATURE: Green fingered family workshops at the American Museum, Claverton, Bath. Drop in family craft activities inspired by the great outdoors, Monday August 20, 11am to 3pm. Normal admission to the museum garden applies - £7.25 (adult), £4.25 (child) with 50 per cent discount for Discovery card holders, at americanmuseum.org.
A BIKE RIDE: Grab the kids’ bikes and helmets, and cycle 22 miles along the Kennet and Avon canal path from Bath to Devizes, of which 21 miles are totally traffic free. this whole section has now been widened and the surfaces improved. Look out for the impressive Dundas and Avoncliff aqueducts between Bath and Bradford-on-avon, Claverton Pumping Station, and the dramatic Caen Hill Locks at Devizes. the Kennet & Avon Cycle Route free guide is available to download on sustrans.org.uk.