Last Summer we had the most amazing time at the first ever Timber Festival and I'm delighted to say they've invited us back again this year to review. The setting is Feanedock, a gorgeous 70 acre woodland in the National Forest in Derbyshire, and the programme is absolutely packed with all kinds of theatre, music, dance, performance, arts, workshops, discussion and debate for adults and children aged around 5+.


Timber won Best New Festival at the UK Festival Awards and they were a worthy winner. My boys are now 9 and 10 and were ecstatic when they heard we would be returning this year - even when we told them we'd definitely want to go and see Stuart Maconie talk about rambling again.

Timber is the festival for hippies, eco-warriors, tree-huggers and laid back types of all ages. If you want to sit in beautiful, natural surroundings listening to live bands, talks and stories, watching theatre and joining in debate, it might just suit you too.


There is an eclectic mix of entertainment on offer at Timber and a hint of what you'll find is listed below. I'm particularly excited about Cardboardia myself... The photos are from 2018 and don't represent exactly what you'll find this year, but it'll give you a good idea...

Wild Rumpus are brilliant at bringing a bit of magic to our lives and this year they are launching a brand new festival for families in the heart of the country. Feanedock in the National Forest, just south of Burton-On-Trent (and very close to where I grew up) will play host to Timber: The International Forest Festival. Running from 6-8th July 2018 it promises adventure for everyone...


We've been invited to review and I couldn't possibly pass up the opportunity. My young boys, just like their siblings, can create a day's worth of amazing pure fun given only a bit of woodland and some freedom to explore and imagine. It should be a weekend off for everyone...


Unlike other festivals, Timber is about music and art, but also philosophy and sustainability. It will be carbon neutral and powered by 100% renewable energy. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about their environment as well as play in it, joining discussions and workshops with thinkers and scientists.

This August Wild Rumpus, the people behind Just So Festival, will be busy at Dunham Massey hall and gardens with a brand new Lost Carnival event. We popped along on Saturday evening to have a preview of what is going to be hidden among the trees for visitors this Summer...


We haven't been to Dunham Massey before, but the gorgeous gardens double up as a deer park, which delighted our children. In fact there was wildlife in evidence everywhere, those woods are alive!

The Bee is a small and incredibly beautiful creature, and The Bee children's book from Moonlight Publishing is also small and beautiful. From the My First Discoveries range, this is a non-fiction book aimed especially at children aged 4-8.


The Bee really is a gorgeous book. Created by Gallimard Jeunesse, Ute Fuht and Raoul Sautai, (the latter two of whom also illustrated) it is full of warm, vibrant colour and drawings so detailed that you look twice to see if they're really photographs.