Holiday Here! Godalming Staycation
GODALMING'S POPULAR STAYCATION RETURNS 11th to 19th AUGUST 2012!
60 great reasons to stay in Godalming and Farncombe
See all the events nowHolidaying at home has never been more fun. Leave traffic worries behind and plan to stay in Godalming and Farncombe this summer.
Take advantage of the generosity of local businesses and groups who have offered a vast range of exciting and fun activities for individuals and families to enjoy during 11th August to 19th August at this year's Staycation. These special events and activities have the added benefits of either being completely free or at a specially discounted Staycation price and are close to home so you don't have to worry about expensive travelling costs either.
Some of the exciting activities to enjoy are boating on the River Wey, swimming, cupcake making, cookery demonstrations, canoeing, town trail activities, a Fantastic Family Party in the Park, Cycling, Street Dance, Junior bowls, TST STAYCATION LIVE music festival, bandstand concerts and so much more. Don't forget to mention Staycation when you book or turn up for an event/activity. Thanks to a generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund Staycation will also be introducing :
STAY PUT & DIG IN An exciting community archaeology project is the latest innovation for Godalming's third Staycation.
This year, for the first time, families will have the opportunity to unearth some of Godalming's fascinating past. Under the supervision of archaeologists from Surrey County Council volunteers young and older will dig a series of test pits at locations across the town’s centre and help with the washing, identification and cataloguing of finds. Test pits will be dug each day from Tuesday 14th August to Saturday 18th August; these pits will be at a number of locations across the town and culminate on Saturday 18th August with some test pits at the Phillips Memorial Ground (between the Memorial Cloister & Ss Peter & Paul Church) as part of the Staycation "Family Party in the Park". All finds from the test pits will be washed, identified and displayed at the Wilfrid Noyce Centre from 14th to 17th August and on Saturday 18th August at the Family Party in the Park. Anyone wishing to participate in this project should contact Louise Goodfellow at townclerk@godalming-tc.gov.ukor call 01483 523575.
A full programme of all the Staycation activities is printed in the August edition of Round & About Godalming.
If you are interested in finding out exactly what is on offer to you during the week of the Staycation please check back here on this webpage for all up to date information and news.
List of Staycation Events
Staycation events appear here as they are added to the diary.
Previous Staycations in Godalming
Slideshow 2011 and report
Super Staycation Success 2011
Saturday 13th August 2011 saw the last day of the Godalming Staycation which had run from Saturday 6th with a hugely successful Summer Family Party in the Park.
The Phillips Memorial Park was filled with families enjoying the afternoon's activities, varied food concessions, craft stalls for parent's to browse, a beer and Pimms tent run by the Godalming Round Table and the delicious cream tea tent run by Godalming Town Council meant there was something for everyone. Children were entertained by Professor Dumpling's Punch & Judy show, Molly Moo Cow, inflatable Noah's Ark and Helter Skelter and a children's Carousel from the Hollicombe Collection. Entertainment on the bandstand included G Factor winner Caleb Rowan, members and friends of the Surrey Hills Ukele big band and the Community Gospel Choir. Steve Mohabir from the Toy Box ran an all-day recycle your cardboard into toys event with an ingenious kit from Makedo and was knee-deep in families trying to outdo each other in their creative efforts!
The Family Party in the Park was a great way to finish what has been an incredibly successful Staycation. The varied programme of 50+ activities and events, which were either free or heavily discounted, gave people in Godalming a vast choice of things to do.
The first event of this year's Staycation was hugely popular with record numbers turning up for the Godalming Angling Society's free Fishing for Fun morning and barbecue; this set the scene for the rest of the week. Many of the businesses and groups who had generously contributed towards providing the community with an activity or event reported an increase in customer enquiries, or people trying an activity for the first time. John Richardson and PC Pete Harris took vocational leave to offer a week-long kayaking course which, like many of the Staycation activities, was over subscribed. Examples of activities on offer were Boating on the River Wey, ballet and musical theatre workshops, sweets and cake making, swimming, cookery demonstrations, music workshops, town trail activities, Godalming Town Football Club's Open Day, Tours & Teas at Ladywell Convent, Bingo at The Denningberg Centre, Warhammer, Canoeing by the Godalming & District Scout Canoe Club as well as the week-long canoe course run by the Go Godalming Canoe Club, Tennis at Busbridge Tennis Club, Signing for Fun, Ghost Walks and a car boot sale held by The Meath.
The OXJAM music festival, organised by The Saturday Thing to raise money for Oxfam, took place at the bandstand at the beginning of the week and there were also bandstand concerts on both Sunday's, which added greatly to a fabulously full programme of Staycation activities which was distributed to every house in Godalming in the July edition of Round & About Godalming.
The Mayor of Godalming's chosen charity, Community Street Team, will benefit from the generous donations made during Staycation week. Staycation was put together by Godalming Town Council and Godalming Together Community Interest Company and supported by Waverley Borough Council and Surrey County Council as well as Godalming's business community and voluntary organisations.
