We first went to the Spring Tide Festival in 2011 when Eliza was a baby and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Set in the seaside town of Burton Bradstock on the Jurassic coast in Dorset, the festival features passionate local food producers, talented chefs plus an array of exciting exhibitors – all on the World Heritage Site.
For one reason or another we never made it back the following years so this year we were determined not to miss it.
They had over 40 stallholders attending showcasing some of the best food and drink from across the county featuring an all star line up of locally made artisan bread, jams, chutneys, tea, coffee, beer, cider, wine, cheese, chocolate, cakes, confectionary, charcuterie, fish, meat and veg.
As soon as you arrived you got delicious smells wafting past, making your tummy rumble and there was lots to see and do. We loved the rather ingenious boat barbecue!
The kids were instantly drawn to things they could get involved with. Isaac especially was transfixed by the Ancient Wessex Network who were exploring ways of making products like they used to in the Iron Age and had a huge array of animal skulls that we had fun trying to identify.
We then watched a man whittling a mushroom and explored some of the stalls. I fell in love with the ice cream bunting – perfect for the seaside theme bedroom I want to create.
There were plenty of tasty treats to enjoy there or take home and we made sure we stocked up on our favourites. The whole event had a brilliant festival vibe, with live folk music drawing in the crowds and the chance to meet and cuddle some very cute animals.
One of Eliza and Isaac’s favourite activities was the Green Mash Ed stall where they got to make ice creams. Not any old ice cream though – special ones for bees and butterflies!
They were given an ice cream cone each and a picture to colour in. Isaac chose a bee and Eliza a butterfly and they both took their time to ensure their pictures were just right.
In the cone they added some dry moss, followed by a layer of soil, some wild flower seeds and finally a layer of damp moss. They then added their pictures to their cones so they know which one is theirs. We cannot wait to see them start to grow.
Next door was another craft stall, only this time it was painting!
Once they had finished we left them to dry and headed off to explore the beach where we found a traditional Punch and Judy show about to start.
We squeezed an ice cream and some fossil hunting in first and then sat down to enjoy the fun.
Eliza was a little unsure at first but soon started to enjoy herself as they watched Mr Punch get up to mischief. With all the traditional characters from Mrs Punch to the Crocodile, the baby to the Policeman the adults were enjoying it just as much as the children were, and there was soon a large crowd.
Once it had finished we headed back to collect their paintings and then made our way back to the car, stopping to admire a few vintage cars on the way.
We cannot wait for next year!
What a lovely day out. Those Ice creams and paintings look fab x
Perfect weather and a day packed with activities and fun for all the family – including a good old fashioned Punch and Judy shown on the beach! I love these festivals and I certainly would have enjoyed sampling the local produce. Gorgeous happy photos of the children and I see Sebastian has two little teeth to display. Thanks for linking up and sharing your fun day with Country Kids.
Awesome. What a great way to enjoy all things local. A day that caters to everyone is always great too. All looks so fun and sunny! #countrykids
Honestly, you always know of cool things happening, whereas I just read about them after the event on your blog! I love Burton Bradstock but had no idea they had a fair, looks fab – Added to my list of things to try and remember next year…. 😉
Looks like everyone had a fab day out. The weather looks amazing for it and I just love that zebra print VW campervan!
This looks like such a great day out for the whole family! x
Looks like an amazing day out
What an amazing day out! I love the cone growing…and the punch and judy show… I’d be in heaven!!!
this sounds like an awesome day out! some great photos -love the zebra VW and making icecreams for bees and butterflies – fabulous! x
I love local festivals and that zebra print van is amazing!
Oh this looks like good fun. Can you believe I’ve never seen a Punch and Judy show?!
What a fun day out. We love things like this. I need to get organised and find things before they are over! x
I think my girls would love the icecreams too, for butterflies looks a great day x
Local festivals are great but I don’t think we’ve managed to catch one so far this year!
I love festival .. that is a wicked vw van
looks like a great day out, dorset is so pretty i wish we lived tehre!
Sounds like a wonderful festival, your kids look like they are having fun.
I’d love some ice cream bunting too. Sounds like you had a fab day out. And the weather was great too.
What a great festival and the ice cream looks like it was very much enjoyed.
Ahhh looks so fab, reminds me a bit of just so which is our favouritest family festival ever! Love all the crafts and looks like you had some great weather too 🙂 Enjoy next year
Aww looks lovely. Nice weather too which always helps! You’re kiddies are so cute 🙂 x
It looks like you had a lovely day out. I am glad the weather was kind to you.
lovely day out! Perfect weather for it too, I love that van! x
That looks like a brilliant day out. I love the ice creams for the bees!