Westonbrit Treefest with Hannah, Ian and the Boys

On Sunday I joined Hannah, Ian and the Boys for another adventure in Gloucestershire. Last time we were at Tewkesbury Medieval Festival together, this time it was Westonbirt Arboretum's annual Treefest, a celebration of all things wooden (thankfully the temperature wasn't so bad!). So after church, we headed out of Bath to Westonbirt, stopping along the way to spot one more Gromit for the Gromit Hunt. Because it was already lunchtime and the boys were getting a little on the grumpy and hungry side, we sat on the grass listening to live music and eating burgers bought at one of the stalls. When TP had decided he'd had enough, he decided to show off for the camera.

He really likes the camera and after posing he would run back to me and have a look at the photos on the viewing screen.

I did manage to get one of Ed, who is little more camera shy, or was yesterday!

The problem with little boys is that they don't stay still for long. Which meant that I couldn't get that perfect close up face shot I wanted. Well, okay, so it wasn't much of a problem because TP moving meant I got this cool shot.

After lunch we headed off to look at all the stalls and I finally took my camera out when we came across some amazing bird boxes and tables from Out of Our Tree.

The Water Tower with bulrushes behind it and some cricket stumps being knocked over in the background!

This is really clever. It's definitely my favourite!

This was at a garden furniture stall - I just liked the lattice work.

In the distance we could hear the whine of chainsaws as some expert wood sculptors put their skills to the test.

I did spot quite a few dragons throughout the day. This was very cool up close. It was just the head, though. Imagine if they had carved an entire dragon!

The owl and the pussy cat went to see in a beautiful wood-carved boat...

The boys had seen the giant Helter Skelter while eating lunch and we couldn't keep them away, so we headed for that, passing by the Falconry Display and the tree climbing too.

Walking away from the rides.

We then spotted a human powered swing which the boys definitely wanted to go on.

And then we headed back towards the Flute Tent which I had noticed earlier, detouring through a few other stalls on the way.

These wire trees reminded me on Cape Town's Scratch Patch and the wire trees they sell there that have gemstones on them.

"Once there was a Magic House where everything was alive — the Teapot and the Kettle and the Pot and the Clocks and the Lamp and the Bin. And in the garden there was a Wishing Well..."

That is from Joe Austen's Magic House series of books. Books that I grew up with and absolutely loved. I can still remember Uncle Teapot getting lost in the Food Wood and Jack Salt rowing his boat through flood waters and the little teacups going to the beach. The work of the Enchanted Woodies reminded me of the Magic House and I wonder if they know about the series of books. Unfortunately they don't have a website and the man who was there was not friendly at all. But his work is amazing!

In the British Woodcarvers' Association tent I saw this cute little guy!

We finally reached the Native American Flute tent and I had a go at playing these lovely instruments. They're played like a recorder but the fingering is slightly different - your second finger stays on the hole the entire time, as it would if there was a hole at the back! The lady I spoke to was very friendly and happily handed me different flutes to play. They range in price from £85 to probably about £2000 - she didn't tell me the price of the ebony one when she handed it to me but she said it was expensive! They have a lovely haunting sound but if not played right can sound too much like a recorder I think. I would still like to pick up an Irish Flute one day!

Here is a video taken on my phone of one of the stall owners playing:

Soon it was 4pm and the boys were getting a bit grumpy again. So we headed off to the car and I was able to get a few shots of TP and Ed in the long grass. Sadly the lighting isn't perfect as it was under a large oak tree but still cute.