Once the most important city in the U.K, it’s little wonder the first and former Capital City of England has lured some of the greatest writers of our time, from Jane Austen to John Keats. Today it’s little wonder why it’s stunning architecture and rolling countryside bestows the perfect filming location for huge blockbusters – From ‘The Da Vinci code’, with the impressive Cathedral standing in for the Vatican (Winchester Cathedral is so impressive that It’s also the only Cathedral to have had a top ten U.K pop song written about it!) and most recently Netflix’s ‘The Crown’.
Taking a step back to a time far from today, the winding, cobbled streets and Quaint Medievil buildings of Winchester high street provide the perfect backdrop for the Annual Hat Fair (England’s answer to Scotland’s ‘Edinburgh Fridge Festival’).
The aim of the hat fair is ‘to shine a light on the City, transforming the everyday into the extraordinary’. The Hat Festival doesn’t just achieve it’s aim – it transcends it.
Taking place during the first weekend of July, the hat festival was first Established in 1974 by Jonathon Kay as a ‘busking festival’ for street performers. The name was conceived from the idea that audiences would place money in hats to show their appreciation for each performance.
This free family event has something for everyone, During the event the city is sectioned into 4 quarters, showcasing some of the best and unconventional in Comedy, street theatre and music. This is the place where audiences get to experience space-walking astronauts, roof-top dancing, mobile bath-tubs, peaceful sky-gazing, Heavy metal Morris’s dancers and comedians who will make you laugh till you cry, the atmosphere is electric!
It’s not difficult to imagine why Winchester has been dubbed ‘Practically perfect’ and ‘the best place to live in Britain’ by the Sunday Times.
Written by Eurospeak Team
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