Saddle up for a fun summer
FROM festivals to Ironman races, countryside pursuits are a varied affair these days. Here are some of the most thrilling on offer this summer…
DEER SHED FESTIVAL, NORTH YORKSHIRE
ALONG with plenty of music, comedy and arts, Deer Shed Festival subscribes to the ‘science is cool’ mantra, offering heaps of events dedicated to everything from robots to forensics. Taking place from July 21 to 23 and set in Baldersby Park, the line-up features Kate Tempest and The Divine Comedy as musical headliners, plus waterbottle rockets, tree-climbing and a giant game of hungry hippos as fun diversions from the main stages.
TROPICAL PRESSURE FESTIVAL, CORNWALL
SET on a farm overlooking the sea at Porthtowan, the Tropical Pressure Festival brings African, Latin American and Caribbean music to the north Cornish coast from July 14 to 16. It will be jam-packed with live bands, DJs, music and dance workshops, yoga and healing treatments and world music films. A special Kids’ Zone also features craft sessions and storytelling. The festival’s food market and cantina cafe serve vegetarian food, and an eco-spa site will offer a spot to relax in wood-fired hot tubs.
IRONMAN 70.3 UK, EXMOOR
IRONMAN is the ultimate test of triathlete endurance, and on June 25, the half-Ironman race returns to the scenic Wimbleball Lake in Exmoor National Park. Clocking in at a monstrous 70.3 miles, the halfIronman combines a swim, a cycle and a run. The swim portion of the race circumnavigates the lake before triathletes set off on a gruelling, hilly and picturesque ride through Exmoor, finally returning to Wimbleball for three loops on a mixture of terrains.
RELIVE BRITISH HISTORY AT KYNREN, DURHAM
DID you know that there’s a place in North East England where you can watch the Viking and Norman invasions? On Friday and Saturday nights from July to September, an open-air theatre takes shape in the town of Bishop Auckland for performances of Kynren – An Epic Tale Of England. Set in the grounds of Auckland Castle, the stage for the liveaction drama is the size of five football pitches. More than 1,500 cast and crew along with horses, sheep, goats, cattle, ships, a steam train, pyrotechnics and special effects combine to form a 90-minute, edge-of-your-seat show.
EROICA, DERBYSHIRE
EROICA Britannia is one of a global network of events that spun off from the Italian L’Eroica cycling festival in 1997 to celebrate the history of cycling and Italian culture. Since its inception in 2008, Eroica has become the largest of the interconnected events, bringing nearly 5,000 cyclists and more than 40,000 visitors to its three-day festival and cycle ride in the Peak District National Park. This year’s musical headliners include Norman Jay MBE and ABC. Pop-up cocktail bars, camp fires, a kids’ club, street food, crafts and an outdoor cinema all feature, along with three cycling routes for riders on pre-1987 road bikes. Eroica takes places from June 16 to 18.