HESFES 2010 near Tonbridge

The festival’s own timeline names the Hop Farm as the Kent venue for a second year. The organisers gave Saturday 10 to Saturday 17 July 2010 as the dates for the gathering near Tonbridge. The festival occupied about 60 acres, according to reporting published during the week. Some visitors brought their own shelter while others stayed in local accommodation. The event had filled its places before opening day.

Two views of one festival

A reporter from The Epoch Times described the education conference running alongside camping and workshops. Parents and speakers were discussing the Badman review of home education in England and the legislation debated in the run-up to that year's general election. These discussions belong to the politics of 2010. For sources about present-day arrangements see the home education guide.

A family posting on The Chicken Shed blog a few days after the festival kept a different record. Their photographs show projects made with balsa wood, homemade hoops and circus play. The captions also recall film screenings, campfires and finding friends from previous summers.

Reading the two accounts together

An official programme might give the name and time of a workshop. A family’s pictures preserve another sort of detail, such as the material a child actually chose to work with. Both accounts are linked below. Read the Rougham record to follow the festival’s move to Suffolk the following year.