Calendar

Second of two visits to this exiting, surprising and outstandingly friendly venue in Shropshire. The £1.00 entry fee is in aid of Hope House children’s hospices so dig deep and help us add to their funds. Lots of great plants to buy, iron animal safari and lots, lots more for all the family. Full details http://planthuntersfairs.co.uk/Venues/britishironwork.htm?option=n2

We are incredibly pleased to host this fabulous fair. Top specialist nurseries with thousands of unique plants will be joining us. Entry is £1.00 per person, in aid of Hope House Childrens Hospice.

Join us for an evening in the company of Mike Parker as he talks about his superb new memoir On The Red Hill, telling the story of Rhiw Goch and its inhabitants in an intricately woven celebration of life in modern rural Wales and the redemptive power of nature.

Summer BBQ party at Wilsons.

An amazing outdoor cinema experience at Chirk Castle near Wrexham with a showing of the classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail (15).

Tucked away in the Welsh borders not far from Oswestry there is a beautiful, ancient 13-acre wood, once long inhabited by a hermit. Massive stands of beech, oak, ash and cherry, dating back hundreds of years provide the perfect habitat for a wide variety of species. Ornithologist Keith Offord, who travels the world leading wildlife tours and monitoring birds of prey, will tell the inspiring story of this secret place. Against the backdrop of disappearing habitats, he will show how good things really are happening all around us.

Organisers of the Oswestry & District Agricultural Show are looking forward to another great day on Saturday 3rd August, when people from far and wide will gather at the Park Hall Showground to celebrate this prestigious event that dates back to 1862. Not only does the Show endorse the best of British agriculture it promotes local businesses and activities, countryside pursuits and provides a varied programme of entertainment for visitors throughout the day.

Ibiza style party at the Wynnstay Hotel

Whittington Castle Car Boot Sale. £5 per car if you are selling items – free entrance to visitors to the sale. Cars from 8.30am onwards. No need to book just turn up and staff will show you where to set up and collect your fee. Sorry no trade stands. Dogs on leads are welcome. Tearoom will be open selling hot drinks and bacon baps etc.

Lots of different music from around the world.

Get ready to meet Cookie Haque – funny, science obsessed and ready to take on the world!
Join author, broadcaster and much loved former Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq as she introduces you to Cookie and her adventures in the first of a sparking new series for 8-12 year olds. With live draw-alongs, brain busting quizzes and games galore – prepare for non-stop comedy fun at this celebratory book launch event!

Join us for an evening in the company of Susannah Stapleton as she tells the remarkable true story of Maud West, Lady Detective.
Maud West ran her detective agency in London for more than thirty years, having started sleuthing on behalf of society’s finest in 1905. Her exploits grabbed headlines throughout the world but, beneath the public persona, she was forced to hide vital aspects of her own identity in order to thrive in a class-obsessed and male-dominated world. And – as Susannah Stapleton reveals – she was a most unreliable witness to her own life.
Who was Maud? And what was the reality of being a female private detective in the Golden Age of Crime?
Interweaving tales from Maud West’s own `casebook’ with social history and extensive original research, Stapleton investigates the stories Maud West told about herself in a quest to uncover the truth.
Susannah Stapleton has written a superb biography of a woman ahead of her time offering a deliciously salacious glimpse into the underbelly of ‘good society’ during the first half of the twentieth century.
Susannah will be in conversation with fellow author James Hannah. We’re delighted to welcome her to Booka.
Tickets: £5 (redeemable against a signed copy of The Adventures of Maud West). Includes a glass of wine / soft drink on arrival. Tickets available from the bookshop, or purchase online (with booking fee).
Buy tickets

Join Alix Nathan as she talks about her compelling historical novel The Warlow Experiment, an unforgettably sinister tale of an 18th century human experiment which has unforeseen consequences for all involved.
What kind of person keeps a man underground for seven years? And who would agree to be part of such an experiment?
Herbert Powyss lives on a small estate in the Welsh Marches, with enough time and income to pursue a gentleman’s fashionable cultivation of exotic plants and trees. But he longs to make his mark in the field of science – something consequential enough to present to the Royal Society in London.
He hits on a radical experiment in isolation: for seven years a subject will inhabit three rooms in the cellar of the manor house, fitted out with books, paintings and even a chamber organ. Meals will arrive thrice daily via a dumbwaiter. The solitude will be totally unrelieved by any social contact; the subject will keep a diary of his daily thoughts and actions. The pay? Fifty pounds per annum, for life.
Only one man is desperate enough to apply for the job: John Warlow, a semi-literate labourer with a wife and six children to provide for…
The Warlow Experiment is our book of the month for July and is Radio Four’s Book and Bedtime from 22nd July. We’re delighted to welcome Alix to Booka for this daytime event to tell us more about this original and eloquent novel.
Tickets: £5 (redeemable against a signed copy of The Warlow Experiment). Includes a coffee/tea on arrival. Tickets available from the bookshop, or purchase online (with booking fee).

Peep! Peep! Thomas the Tank Engine is back at Llangollen Railway Station for a Day Out With Thomas.
A Day Out With Thomas event now travel to CORWEN.
This fun-filled event offers children and their families the opportunity to take a ride with Thomas, meet The Fat Controller and enjoy trips on Thomas up and down Llangollen Station, you can ride in Rickety and Clarabelle as many times as you like. Take the Big steam Engine to Corwen and then go to Carrog to the puppet show
See Rusty and Dusty… and have some fun
The event, which has been held at Llangollen Railway for many years, is an excellent day out for all Thomas fans and there’s plenty for the whole family to enjoy.
A Fantastically FUN Family Event!
Day Out With Thomas™ is an all day event and gates open at 10am.
To ensure all activities on offer can be enjoyed we recommend visitors arrive before 2pm.
Ticket Prices
Adults £19
Seniors £17
Children £11.50
Family (1 Adult + 1 Child) £27.50
Family (1 Adult + 2 Children) £38.00
Family (2 adults + 1 Child) £41.00
Family (2 Adults + 2 Children) £55.00
Children aged under 2 FREE
Your all day ticket includes:
Brake Van Rides with Thomas & Clarabel at Llangollen Station
Unlimited travel on the Steam trains and Thomas
Access to our Activity room which includes;
Face Painting
Stickers
Thomas DVD screening
Colouring & Craft Workshop
Day Out With Thomas Certificate
Balloon Modeller
Story Telling
Live Story Re-enactments
Puppet Show
A Day Out With Thomas is an all day event, no matter what time you show up, there will always be something to entertain the children. However, we do recommend that you arrive at the station before 2pm to make use of the whole day.
Our Day Out With Thomas event is NOT an event that sells out so we will have tickets no matter what time you arrive at the station. To get the most out of your day please arrive early as the ticket price is the same all day

What life is there in a small inner-city park? Penny Metal spent five years observing a small patch in South London and identified a remarkable 555 species of bug, beetle and other insects. She will introduce us to her remarkable neighbours, including homeless bees, solitary wasps, spiders who jump, harlequin ladybirds and snail-killing flies. She will talk with urban beekeeper and author Alison Benjamin who has documented the decline of pollinators around the world and whose three books have helped transform the way we think about wildlife in urban areas.

Peep! Peep! Thomas the Tank Engine is back at Llangollen Railway Station for a Day Out With Thomas.
A Day Out With Thomas event now travel to CORWEN.
This fun-filled event offers children and their families the opportunity to take a ride with Thomas, meet The Fat Controller and enjoy trips on Thomas up and down Llangollen Station, you can ride in Rickety and Clarabelle as many times as you like. Take the Big steam Engine to Corwen and then go to Carrog to the puppet show
See Rusty and Dusty… and have some fun
The event, which has been held at Llangollen Railway for many years, is an excellent day out for all Thomas fans and there’s plenty for the whole family to enjoy.
A Fantastically FUN Family Event!
Day Out With Thomas™ is an all day event and gates open at 10am.
To ensure all activities on offer can be enjoyed we recommend visitors arrive before 2pm.
Ticket Prices
Adults £19
Seniors £17
Children £11.50
Family (1 Adult + 1 Child) £27.50
Family (1 Adult + 2 Children) £38.00
Family (2 adults + 1 Child) £41.00
Family (2 Adults + 2 Children) £55.00
Children aged under 2 FREE
Your all day ticket includes:
Brake Van Rides with Thomas & Clarabel at Llangollen Station
Unlimited travel on the Steam trains and Thomas
Access to our Activity room which includes;
Face Painting
Stickers
Thomas DVD screening
Colouring & Craft Workshop
Day Out With Thomas Certificate
Balloon Modeller
Story Telling
Live Story Re-enactments
Puppet Show
A Day Out With Thomas is an all day event, no matter what time you show up, there will always be something to entertain the children. However, we do recommend that you arrive at the station before 2pm to make use of the whole day.
Our Day Out With Thomas event is NOT an event that sells out so we will have tickets no matter what time you arrive at the station. To get the most out of your day please arrive early as the ticket price is the same all day

Steam trains funning on Cambrian Railway.

Do you want to know more about Oswestry? Hear about our history as you wander around the town with one of our local guides, listen to myths and legends as you stroll through the parks and alleyways of our border market town – then come on a guided tour.

Great American Songbook, latin & blues

£12.50 advance, includes light supper

Peep! Peep! Thomas the Tank Engine is back at Llangollen Railway Station for a Day Out With Thomas.
A Day Out With Thomas event now travel to CORWEN.
This fun-filled event offers children and their families the opportunity to take a ride with Thomas, meet The Fat Controller and enjoy trips on Thomas up and down Llangollen Station, you can ride in Rickety and Clarabelle as many times as you like. Take the Big steam Engine to Corwen and then go to Carrog to the puppet show
See Rusty and Dusty… and have some fun
The event, which has been held at Llangollen Railway for many years, is an excellent day out for all Thomas fans and there’s plenty for the whole family to enjoy.
A Fantastically FUN Family Event!
Day Out With Thomas™ is an all day event and gates open at 10am.
To ensure all activities on offer can be enjoyed we recommend visitors arrive before 2pm.
Ticket Prices
Adults £19
Seniors £17
Children £11.50
Family (1 Adult + 1 Child) £27.50
Family (1 Adult + 2 Children) £38.00
Family (2 adults + 1 Child) £41.00
Family (2 Adults + 2 Children) £55.00
Children aged under 2 FREE
Your all day ticket includes:
Brake Van Rides with Thomas & Clarabel at Llangollen Station
Unlimited travel on the Steam trains and Thomas
Access to our Activity room which includes;
Face Painting
Stickers
Thomas DVD screening
Colouring & Craft Workshop
Day Out With Thomas Certificate
Balloon Modeller
Story Telling
Live Story Re-enactments
Puppet Show
A Day Out With Thomas is an all day event, no matter what time you show up, there will always be something to entertain the children. However, we do recommend that you arrive at the station before 2pm to make use of the whole day.
Our Day Out With Thomas event is NOT an event that sells out so we will have tickets no matter what time you arrive at the station. To get the most out of your day please arrive early as the ticket price is the same all day

Steam trains funning on Cambrian Railway.

Dino Show Fun Time
Meet a humungous T Rex
Fossil Digs
Get involved in our Fossil Dig and discover Dino bones, ammonites and gastropods
Egg Hunts
Discover and identify the dinosaur babies
Follow the Dino Egg Trail to earn a prize
Hunt for hidden eggs

Meet with friends or family for a traditional Summer Afternoon Tea at Derwen College’s Garden Cafe from 12th to 28th August.
The college, near Oswestry, will be serving up an elegant selection of traditional afternoon tea treats at the Garden Café this summer.
Enjoy a delicate assortment of finger sandwiches. Then indulge in freshly-baked scones and cream with Derwen’s home-made jam, followed by home-made cakes and pastries and an unlimited supply of tea and coffee. All for just £8.95 per head.
Eat in the cosy café or make the most of the sun in the Garden Café’s outdoor space before enjoying time at the College’s Garden Centre and Shop and beautiful Walled Garden.

What happens when a lifelong love of butterflies becomes a complete obsession? For journalist and naturalist Patrick Barkham it meant spending a year trying to find all 59 species that are known to breed in the British Isles. Out of it came an extraordinary book, The Butterfly Isles. Patrick is the Guardian’s resident Nature writer, and he has travelled the world, observing and celebrating animal life both in the wild and in danger. His other books include Badgerland and Islander, a Journey Round Our Archipelago.

Discover how the Victorians harnessed steam to power their engines and other machines on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 August, when Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Ironbridge, Shropshire will be ‘in steam’. The weekend will provide a rare chance to get up close and personal with an eclectic collection of Victorian steam powered machines, all of which will be in their full working splendour.
The Town’s replica of Trevithick’s 1802 Coalbrookdale locomotive will be running; the original is believed to be the world’s first steam locomotive. Other museum engines in steam will include ‘Billy’, a fantastic 1903 Wallis & Steevens road roller as well as a variety of special guest machines including rare ploughing engines.

A Tudor period surveying party who will portray the events after the death of the last heir of the Fitzwarine family when the castle was handed to the crown. They are hoping for a special visitor (King Henry V111) to pop in to have a look for himself in case it would make a good hunting lodge. They will have a support team of kitchen staff preparing period food

Steam trains funning on Cambrian Railway.

Steam trains funning on Cambrian Railway.

Join international bestselling author Phillipa Gregory as she talks about her new novel Tidelands, the first in a brand new historical series.

Why are insect populations collapsing around the world? Why are there fewer birds and frogs? What is happening to Nature in Shropshire and the Welsh Borders? To round off Oswestry’s first Festival of Nature, Damian Carrington, the Guardian’s environment editor will moderate a major debate at the Willow Gallery about the steep decline of the natural world and what we as individuals can do. Entry will be free, but you will need a ticket.

Diesel Gala at Cambrian Heritage Railways

Do you want to know more about Oswestry? Hear about our history as you wander around the town with one of our local guides, listen to myths and legends as you stroll through the parks and alleyways of our border market town – then come on a guided tour.

Matt Billing who makes Ascension Cider in Sussex is a keen hot air balloon pilot and is sponsoring the Oswestry Balloon Carnival flyers this year. We will be having a small cider festival in The Bailey Head with a range of his cider, perry an flavoured ciders during the festival. All ciders will be £3.60 a pint.

Welcome to the Sweeney’s Fourth Annual Gin-Fest – August 24th & 25th. Come and meet the exhibitors on the Saturday & Sunday, sample their wares and buy a bottle of your favourite (1-6pm). A plethora of Live Music both days. Street food and our wood fired pizza’s will be in full flow….. Various Gin Bars will be open around our grounds and in the Exhibitors room. For those that are not partial to Gin we have a fully stocked bar in the hotel. Don’t forget the fireworks to close the night on both Saturday and Sunday!
Tickets are priced according to date and include entry to the Sweeney, a Gin on arrival and all entertainment
All Gin and mixers are priced at £5.00. Cocktails will be individually priced.
Our Sponsor this year is our Locally made Gin Henstone!