If you read my post 10 Autumnal Days Out In Hampshire 2017 you would have seen me mention Hampshire Harvest Festival that was held in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral this weekend. I don’t know if we’ll manage to go to all of the things on that list, but the Harvest Festival was one that I definitely wanted to tick off. So on Saturday afternoon we set off after lunch to have an afternoon wandering around the stalls.
It was set out very similarly to Winchester Christmas market in the grounds of the Cathedral with stalls set up in two different areas, live music from a Ukulele band, falconry and farm animals. If you’re a regular reader of my blog or if you know my daughter in real life, it won’t take you many guesses to figure out what her favourite part was! The section for the farm animals was actually pretty small but we still managed to spend a good bit of time there, looking at the pony, donkey, sheep, chickens and ducks. There was also a dog asleep in the corner that Darcie ‘woof’ed at gleefully and didn’t seem at all disappointed when he didn’t reply.
There was an area for birds of prey and then a falconry display later on in the afternoon during which they picked out volunteers from the crowd and myself and Dan kept our eyes firmly at the floor. I’m not sure at what point I developed a fear of birds but the thought of having an owl land on me does not appeal in the slightest! But still, it was nice to watch, even though I think it was totally lost on a 16 month old.
The Ukulele band was a really lovely touch and the music they were playing was very cheerful, we stood and watched for a while and it was nice to hear it in the background while we wandered around too.
The stalls were mainly fresh produce and locally brewed beers and ciders, so Dan sampled a pale ale while Darcie and I shared an amazingly gooey chocolate brownie. There was also vintage farm equipment and a woman demonstrating a traditional loom. Darcie spent a long time inspecting a shiny green tractor, specifically the wheels which were more than twice her height and made her look even tinier than she usually does. There were two huge Shire horses pulling an old fashioned wagon which you could have a ride on, but Darcie was having such a lovely time running around we decided not to try and get her to sit still for that.
All in all it was a really lovely day out and something that I intend on going back to again next year. It wasn’t a huge event but there was plenty to keep us occupied for an afternoon and anywhere with a a large expanse of grass for Darcie to run around on is a winner for me!
