If you would like to see your events featured in our weekly What’s On pages please email info@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk
SEVEN DAYS OF SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AT A GLANCE
>> Wednesday
Wildlife Wednesday
happens every week at Scotney Castle during the summer holidays, so if your children are into creepy crawlies, fish and bugs they’ll enjoy the twice daily pond dipping sessions at 11.30am-12.30pm and 1.30-2.30pm. Visit www.nationaltrust.org/scotneycastle
Tunbridge Wells Museum is putting on a number of fun children’s events over the holidays and today you can enjoy their Bees are Buzzing sessions, which run from 10.30am-12.30pm and 2-4pm. Come prepared to paint and make lots of pretty pictures and find out all about this species, which is sadly on the decline.
>> Thursday
Enjoy a day of Victorian Fun with a special house quiz, watercolour painting, dressing up and period games and activities at Ightham Mote. This is a fun opportunity to look back to the time of the house’s Victorian owners, the Colyer-Fergusson family. Usual admission of £5.50 per child and £11 per adult applies. National Trust members go free. www.nationaltrust.org/ightham-mote
From 5.30-7pm the Park Rangers at Grosvenor and Hilbert Park are hosting a Forest School. Presented in association with Kent High Weald Partnership, anyone is welcome to come along and learn about how to acquire basic survival skills while out in the great outdoors. Meet near the skate park at 5.30pm. Booking is not required for this activity.
The Stag Theatre in Sevenoaks is presenting a screening of Beatrice Et Benedict, first performed at Glyndebourne earlier this summer. Based loosely on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, French romantic composer Berlioz took the most up beat scenes of the play’s eponymous characters and set them to music. The result is a highly entertaining version of the relationship between the witty, lovestruck pair.
>> Friday
Bowles is a popular outdoor activity centre based just outside Tunbridge Wells and it’s got a wealth of interesting events on over the summer holidays. Today’s one is centred around Low Ropes and the Leap of Faith. Children aged over eight can enjoy participating in these balance challenges, which also promote good teamwork. All course prices vary so to find out more visit www.bowles.ac
Sports fans should head to the Culverden Stadium this evening for Tunbridge Wells FC’s football match against the Corinthians. Kick-off is at 7.45pm. For further information and tickets visit www.tunbridgewellsfc.com
The Rusthall Community Cinema is showing The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover at 8pm. This classic celluloid offering from 1989, which was directed by Peter Greenaway and stars Helen Mirren and Michael Gambon, is a black comedy that focuses on the owners of a high-class French restaurant and their extra-marital goings-on. Doors open at 7pm and there will be a discussion after the film around 9.30pm. No booking necessary, £2 for members or £7 for others. www.rusthallcinema.club
>> Saturday
The National Youth Training Choir is putting on its Summerfest concert in Tonbridge School Chapel at 5pm. Performing a selection of music inspired by ‘the heavens’, this promises to be a wonderful event given the talented choir and the chapel’s glorious acoustics. Tickets are priced from £5. For more information visit www.tonbridgearts.com
Staying on a musical note, Brittens in Tunbridge Wells is hosting a special woodwind and brass showcase from 9.30am-5pm today. The music shop’s knowledgeable staff members will be on hand to give instrument demonstrations and answer any questions you may have. John Seabrook from Trevor James Products will also be there with some of the more unusual members of each instrument family, including the bass flute! For more information call 01892 526659.
Bring your children’s history lessons to life by taking them along to one of the jousting days at King Henry VIII’s former home Hever Castle. The Knights of Royal England will be running these energetic and entertaining events most weekends throughout the summer. Entry is included with a standard admission ticket, £9.30 for children, £16.50 for adults. www.hevercastle.co.uk
>> Sunday
Today is day two of the World Military Show at the Hop Farm. Promising fun for all the family, there will be an array of large army tanks and trucks on display, as well as re-enactments of famous battles. Tickets cost from £10 per adult and £8 per child while a family ticket costs £25. To book or for further information visit www.militaryworldshow.com
Tonbridge Castle will host another afternoon of live music courtesy of Second Wind jazz band, who will be performing from 3-5pm. The event is free but for more details visit www.tonbridgecastle.org
If you’re looking for a great family day out then head to Ashdown Forest. Not only is it a wonderful area for walks, its connection with AA Milne’s Winnie The Pooh makes this corner of East Sussex a must-visit for children of all ages. When you’re there make sure you pop into the Pooh Corner Café in Hartfield.
At 5pm there will be a performance of Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well by the Changeling Theatre company at Eridge Park. One of his lesser performed pieces, it focuses on relationships, social standing and unrequited love. If the weather is fine it will be performed in the open air. For more details visit www.changeling-theatre.com
>> Monday
If you’re aged ten or over and love being outside and challenged to the max then the Hunger Games Camp is the ideal day out for you. Running from 10am until approximately 3pm, you will learn plenty of survival skills, face thrilling tasks and experience exciting adventures. For ticket information and prices visit www.buzzadventures.co.uk
Naomi Bedford and Paul Simmonds will be performing an evening of folk music at the Chequers Inn, Tonbridge from 8-11pm. Musicians and singers are welcome to come along and join in.
Every Monday to Wednesday throughout the school break there will be a Mountain Bike Summer Camp at Bewl Water. Taking place from 9am-12noon for different age groups, participants will learn a variety of skills including how to navigate bike trails and forest paths. There will also be the opportunity to experience an obstacle course and take part in an Introduction to Maintenance workshop. For details on age groups, timings and tickets visit www.bewlwater.co.uk
>>Â Tuesday
Chiddingstone Castle is a great day out for all the family. As well as its interesting historical artefacts curated by former owner and antiquarian Denys Bower, this summer there is an interesting Egyptian Experience to enjoy too. For more details visit www.chiddingstonecastle.org.uk
If you want to do something a little bit different during the holidays then why not take advantage of the Spa Valley Railway Kids for a Quid incentive? Every Tuesday throughout the summer, children can travel on one of the vintage trains for just £1 when an accompanying adult pays £11 for their ticket. You can sit back, relax and enjoy your return journey around the Wealden countryside, stop off at Groombridge Place or scale the boulders at High Rocks if you’re feeling more energetic. www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk
WORTH THE TRIP:
Cranbrook Go Ape! Junior
If you really want to have a go at swinging through the trees and navigating wobbly wooden bridges but are too small for the Go Ape! at Bedgebury, then try out this excellent junior version in Cranbrook. Tickets are priced from £18. www.goape.co.uk
