We had been counting down to the annual Fairy Fair for months, we’ve been going since Eila was one and she absolutely loves it.
We are so lucky to have such an event on our doorstep, run by the the Fairyland Trust charity. The Fairy Fair is set in the stunning and magical grounds of Holt Hall in North Norfolk and has been since 2007 after moving from Narborough hall near Kings Lynn. People come far and wide to attend, many making a holiday out of it by staying in the local area.
This year the Fairyland trust announced a few changes, this time there was a charge for car parking which was £2 so very reasonable, and the ticket prices included 10% from each sale to the Fairy Meadow project further supporting the environment and educating people about caring for it.
As usual there were many wonderful workshops on offer, fairy training, elf training and treasure hunt took place in the woods, and fairy gardens, fairy pets, magic wings, elf sticks and crowns were in the grounds beside the hall. This year we tried out the all new fairy training which Eila absolutely loved as it involved “flying” lessons, identifying wild flowers, taking the fairy pledge and knocking down empty bottles of slug and weed killer with pine cones. She was extremely proud to complete her training and is hoping there is a level 2 for next year.
Eila also chose to create a fairy garden and planted 3 wild flowers in her garden and is watering them every day. She still refers back to the fairy book she made last year and is able to identify a range of wild flowers. This is the true magic unfolding, inspiring and delighting children.
The workshop leaders are wonderful with very passionate and knowledgable people running them, Belle, who was one of the “fairies” running fairy training really awed Eila as she reminded her of Tinkerbell.
New for this year was the fairy photobooth, where you could dress up and have a photo taken against a giant backdrop of woodland, it cost £3 for an instant picture or £5 for a digital copy. I have just received it and already have it as my desk top wallpaper and will be printing and framing it.
Other noticeable changes were the Corn Cockle cafe and the Good Elf pub being next to each other, and I must mention now the abundance of CAKE, every year I have missed out on cake but this year I had a lovely slice of carrot cake so that made me very happy! As well, due to many parents concerns, they decided to keep the trolls to one area and informed people of this on Facebook so that families could choose to avoid if their children weren’t keen. Fairyland Trust are great at listening to their customers like this.
Another thing we noticed (or my husband noticed) were the presence of more mens urinals, however from his observations many men were not aware of them and so queued up at the toilets, hence my husband got some funny looks as he overtook the queue. He was however delighted as any regular festival goer knows their presence really eases congestion in this area. On the subject of toilets they were fantastic, very well stocked and cleaned by a bog fairy after they were used each time. It would however be fab to see composting toilets there as it would suit the feel of the fair and their passion for the environment.
I really can’t fault the Fairy Fair, the location is stunning and such a magical place in itself, the activities are well organised and excellent value for money, the facilities are great, plenty of food on offer, baby changing and feeding areas, great craft tents, plenty of entertainment and room to create your memories in Fairyland. There is nothing more wonderful than walking round a mellow festival site seeing people with big smiles feeling the magic and having lots of fun.
The Fairyland Trust will be appearing at Latitude in Suffolk.