Keeping the kids and yourself entertained on a Bank Holiday can be a tough one – do you fork out for an expensive day out, or opt for more home-grown entertainment with a picnic and a day at the park? And what are you meant to do if it’s raining? Here at Motors HQ we love our three-day weekends, and we’re always looking for fun and interesting things to do around the country.
One of the events that we’ve caught on our radar is the Nuts in May music and arts festival. This six stage festival hosts a whole range of acts from comedy, music and dance to activities for the kids and delicious, gourmet food stalls, all in the glorious countryside of Cumbria. The festival started yesterday and continues until the 6th May: tickets are available on the website and are very reasonably priced. Oh, and fans of eighties music will be happy to hear that Nik Kershaw is headlining!
If you’re in or around London, there’s a host of activities that are suitably cultural and entertaining for both you and the rest of the family. The Canalway Cavalcade takes place in Little Venice in Paddington, and features – as well as decorated canal boats – plenty of traditional May Day activities like Morris dancers, live music and an illuminated boat procession in the evening.
For something a little more scientific – and ever so slightly creepy – the Brains Exhibition at the Wellcome Collection in London is a must-see this bank holiday. With real brain specimens, artworks around and about the brain, and a huge collection of documents looking at our relationship with the brain over the last 500 years, science geeks will love this exhibition.
Sticking with a scientific theme, the Wild Planet exhibition at the Natural History Museum has been created to celebrate the best images from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Whether you’re a nature or a photography fan, this is a fantastic exhibition: plus, taking a trip round the Natural History Museum is never boring!
In other parts of the country, there’s a number of quaint English customs that have morphed into bigger events through the decades that are all worth a visit. The tradition of well dressing in Derbyshire (literally, decorating wells with pictures and paraphernalia) results in a very colourful county during May; Padstow in Cornwall celebrates with ‘Obby ‘Oss Day where families dress to show their allegiance with the Red ‘Oss or the Blue ‘Oss, creating yet another colourful spectacle.
And of course, across the country there are a number of May events that involve maypoles, flags, bunting and everything else you might need to welcome in Spring. So where are you going to go first?
