Big Fun at the “Big Skill 2011”

Yesterday we spent the day outside Brecon at The Big Skill Rural Craft Festival. It was definitely a different kind of festival for us – and we had an amazing time.  The idea behind the festival is “to promote the rural crafts and skills that surround our beautiful countryside”.

There truly was a really wide range of activities to try your hand at: stitching a saddle, weaving a willow basket, fly fishing (which Boo surprised the Hubs with – both that he wanted to try it, and that he was actually better than his daddy at it).  I’ll be honest – I missed out on a lot of activities simply because Pea was so involved in making her Greenman mask (put on by Arts Alive Wales) – thankfully she finally conceded to letting Mum help as I was both impatient and anxious to get my hands on a paintbrush!

They had kits to take home, if you didn’t want to decorate them there – as much fun we had doing them, unless you are going to spend a full day there, I’d take advantage of the offer to take them home – they included instructions and a plastic bag to keep it dry. (I took one home for me to make later Boo, because he was more interested in everything else to take as much time as Pea did to make one there.) Hers turned out pretty spectacularly, if I do say so myself.

The first thing that we saw as we entered the festival was a marquee by Falconry UK and their collection of falcons and owls. Pea surprised us both by asking if she could hold one of the birds, and after much thought, selected a small (less intimidating) American Kestral.

We then let the kids then have a jump on the bouncy castle so as to use up some of the manic energy they had so they could focus on the activities. The kidlings had a go at milking a (fake) cow, and watched a man help a boy turn wood to make a spinning top (Boo would have liked to have a go, but he is not quite 8 yet, the age limit for working the machinery.)

There were baskets to weave, textile jewelry to make, and a clay wheel to have a go at. Boo made himself a necklace from a medallion of cut wood. Maddie and I made some butter.

Mmmm….butter. The kind lady let us take it home!

Musicians were playing on-and-off all day in front of Penpont House – it was nice to take a break from all the activities, have a rest and eat some scrummy crepes. (The Nutella & banana were delish!)

And of course, the kidlings will never pass by a maze! It was good fun, and at the end of the maze was an agility course. Boo surprised the Hubs by wanting to try it – he is pretty tentative about this sort of thing – but after the first go was hooked! He went through twice again before coming to find us (and having one more go!)

Pea loved it too – especially the zipline! She fared pretty well, considering she was wearing wellies…

Seriously, there was so much to do, you really could spend two days here in order to take it all in. We’re staying home today, mostly because Boo is pretty anxious to help the Hubs have the Hubs put together the box drum we bought from the Dragon Drums stand.  They had everything you needed food, ales and apple juice, a lovely little cafe – I’ll be honest, if you’ve got picky eaters, you may want to pack something for them – but that said, they were very accommodating in helping us find something for the pickiest eater in Wales.

I do hope that they find a way to better publicize the festival, as I only stumbled upon it via a Twitter post by another local tweeter – and it’s such a different sort of day out, I think it shouldn’t be missed!  So if you’re reading this and are nearby the Brecon Beacons, get off your backside (the forecast for rain looks to be wrong, the sun is shining outside!) and take a ride there – the day is still young!