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GIVE HIM SOMETHING SPECIAL TO DO ON FATHERS DAY!

Countryside activities and fun for all the family

Sunday 15 June 2008,
Weald & Downland Open Air Museum

Give dad a special treat this Fathers Day Sunday 15th June, with a day of excitement, challenge, activity and family fun at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton, near Chichester, West Sussex. England’s leading museum of historic buildings and traditional rural life is planning an event packed with unusual and traditional rural activities for dad, and the rest of the family, to discover and enjoy.

Fathers will have a chance to experience a number of specialist countryside skills all in one event-packed day, with activities, demonstrations and competitions designed to appeal to fathers, grandfathers, and children of all ages – and of course, mum will be welcome to join in as well! For example, there will be a chance to drive a vintage tractor and archery. There will be an opportunity to learn more about the Museum’s team of working Shire horses, and join in with their daily work and care. The Museum’s working Tudor kitchen is sure to be a popular destination for fathers to discover the art of traditional brewing!

In addition, a number of competitions are planned including welly boot throwing – always more difficult than it looks; a golf challenge with a difference, and ‘pin the tail on the cow’! The Museum has two pairs of distinctive Sussex Cattle in training to work on the Museum’s farmland: the competition will be run in their honour, but of course with a cardboard look-alike! And to help make up for the disappointing absence of a home team in Euro 2008, there will be a tricky penalty challenge!

Visitors will also be able to enjoy an intriguing taster of some of the courses, such as wattle and daub, run by the Museum under its lifelong learning programme. The Museum offers a rich variety of courses in Traditional Rural Trades and Crafts, alongside its nationally-acclaimed courses in Historic Building Conservation. The programme is designed with broad appeal in mind, catering for students of all abilities, from individuals looking to experience or develop crafts or hobbies, to those with more serious aims in developing life-skills for trades or small rural businesses. For younger visitors, there will be a chance to have a go at a special Fathers Day arts and craft activity.

Visitors on Fathers Day will be able to enjoy all of the Museum’s exhibits, which include over 45 historic buildings, rescued from destruction and carefully reconstructed in a wonderful parkland setting. They will be able to meet the traditional breed farm animals including Tamworth pigs, cattle, and sheep. The 17th century watermill will be grinding flour sold in the shop and used in the café, while children will love the woodland walks and feeding the hungry ducks on the lake with grain from the mill.

The Museum is open daily until 23 December. It is open from 10.30am to 6pm during British Summer Time, and until 4pm for the rest of the year. Admission is adults £8.50, over 60s £7.50, children £4.50, family £23.30, under 5’s free.

 

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The award-winning Weald & Downland Open Air Museum has over 45 historic building exhibits and is designated by the Government for the outstanding importance of its collections. Exhibits include a medieval farmstead; a working watermill producing wholemeal stoneground flour; exhibitions focusing on traditional building techniques and agriculture; historic gardens, farm livestock and a working Tudor kitchen. The Museum runs a well-established programme of courses in building conservation and rural crafts.  There is a café which uses the Museum’s own flour and a shop with gifts and books on countryside and buildings themes.  The modern Downland Gridshell houses the Museum’s building conservation centre and artefact collection. There is a daily tour at 1.30pm when the Museum is open, and an appointments system for visits to the collections for research purposes.

NOTE TO EDITORS

Reporters and photographers are welcome at the Museum. For further information call the Museum information line on 01243 811348 or contact Cathy Clark, Marketing Officer

Tel: 01243 811014.
Fax: 01243 811475
Email: marketing@wealddown.co.uk.

Full details about the Museum and its activities can be found at www.wealddown.co.uk 

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