The Greensand Country Festival 2021 is go!

This year’s Greensand Country Festival, supported by Mulberry Homes, is back for 2021 after being postponed last year due to the pandemic.

With a year off, the Festival is determined to come back with a bang, and it has certainly achieved that. There is a fantastic line up of activities throughout the month of May for all age groups and interests.

How about having a picnic whilst watching vintage planes at a drive in air display at Shuttleworth? Or experience an outdoor sound bath in the beautiful landscape of the Swiss Garden? This involves meditating to the sounds of Tibetan bowls, it is a very relaxing experience.

If you are interested in any of these activities, then book now via www.greensandcountry.com/festival. All walks, tours and events are listed there with plenty of information to help you decide what you would like to do. The walks include ‘Explore Manor Park’, ‘Rocks across Greensand Country’, and ‘Walk the Vale’.

There are of tours of the many historic gardens in the Greensand Country as well as guided walks with experts so you can learn about the wildlife, history, geology, heritage and rich culture of the area.

Young families can enjoy a picnic in the park, while teenagers can go out with the Wildlife Trust youth rangers. Don’t miss Invertebrate day on 29 May, this is a wonderful opportunity for families to find out what creatures live on the Moor – ideal for any young explorer.

The Revealing Greensand Country booklet has just been launched. It contains maps, ideas and details of many local walks, such as the Buzzard Trails which includes the Leighton-Linslade Children’s Trail or the Story in Stone Mosaic Heritage Trail. It can also be found at www.greensandcountry.com/festival.

Greensand Country has commissioned five individual artists to help celebrate the Greensand Country Festival. There will be a film, three theatre shows, and two Zines created by an illustrator detailing the rich history of some of the parklands.

In addition, an artist who makes projects inspired by place, history and communities is producing five new pieces of work which will be exhibited at Shuttleworth during May 2021.

A team of volunteers have received training in Oral History, Archiving and Historical Research and are supporting the artists in their work but are also interviewing local people to build an Oral History Archive.

Working with Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership, Greensand Country will be celebrating the stories, landscape and heritage on the train journey from Bedford to Bletchley. Listen to a 40-minute train radio broadcast as the journey takes in historic parklands, ancient villages, heritage centres and sites of incredible industrialisation.

There are creative writing and photography competitions and a series of talks taking place in May 2021 too.

As the Festival gets even closer Greensand Country is very pleased to have Mulberry Homes on board as key Festival sponsor for 2021. They are committed to building much-needed homes in Bedfordshire and have launched two brand-new developments in Leighton Buzzard and Maulden. They are an organisation that shares Greensand Country values in protecting the environment whilst addressing the evolving needs of local communities and businesses.

There is literally something for everyone, so if you’d like to join the Greensand Country Festival please visit:  www.greensandcountry.com/festival