It’s 2020 and the first day back for us at Walton Hall and Gardens after Christmas, and wow what a shock to the system!

After a week of no alarms, to have one go off at an ungodly hour is genuinely shocking. Furthermore, with it still being dark outside, the commute to work wasn’t half as cheery as it was before Christmas where every window twinkled with fairy lights.

January blues?

Filling up and putting on the kettle on this morning, there were still a few boxes of mince pies hanging around as well as the sweets that no one likes at the bottom of the Quality Streets box – you know the ones. Yup, coconut! It felt like Christmas was still hanging on, but it’s not the same this side of Christmas is it?

So, it might sound like we’ve all got the January blues. However, after our first brew, mince pie and a glance at the calendar, those blues lifted away like an early morning mist and the bright sunshine of 2020 began to filter through.

Bring on 2020

Why are we looking forward to 2020? Simple – it’s going to be another bumper year full of events and, AND it’s our 75th birthday! Yep, it’s 75 years since Walton Hall and Gardens opened as a public park, so we’ll be planning something special.

However, before we get too excited about our 75th birthday celebrations, let’s talk about disco. First up this year is a new event for Walton Hall and Gardens, and one that will blow away the January blues. During February half term we’ll be hosting a very first roller disco at Walton Hall and Gardens. Boom.

It may be 2020, but we’re bringing back the 80s this February folks. Tickets for this new event will be live next week, with Early Bird tickets available on all slots. Sound good?

We’ll also be bringing back Outdoor Theatre this year as well as the now firmly established Walton Film Festival in late summer. The Walton Food Festival will be turning in an appearance nearer Easter and with 75 years on the board, who knows what else – all will be revealed soon!

Happy New Year

In the meantime, if you’re back in work like us, brew up and bring on 2020. If you’re off for a few more days, then lucky you, we don’t envy you – much!

Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, we’d like to wish you a belated Happy New Year and look forward to celebrating 2020 with you all in style.

‘Felice Anno Nuovo’ (Happy New Year in Italian – Why not?)