Platform Panel Project – Station
Southeast Communities Rail Partnership CIC’s Platform Panel Project at St Leonards Warrior Square Station raises awareness of local railway history.
Platform Panel Project – Tunnels
Southeast Communities Rail Partnership CIC’s Platform Panel Project at St Leonards Warrior Square Station raises awareness of local railway history.
Platform Panel Project – Rail Network
Southeast Communities Rail Partnership CIC’s Platform Panel Project at St Leonards Warrior Square Station raises awareness of local railway history.
Growing Up
Find Seaview Project’s creative response to the book in two bench shelters on the promenade. The artists explore personal reflections of growing up responding to the experiences of Roberta, Peter and Phyllis in E Nesbit’s The Railway Children.
Window Displays – Kings Road
Traders in Kings Road explore E. Nesbit’s book in window displays and there’s two more on London Road.
Platform Panel Project
St Leonards Warrior Square Station.
Southeast Communities Rail Partnership With ExploreTheArch’s early career team explore working class stories In the local railway heritage.
“shining metals”
Zoom Arts Gallery.
St Leonards Warrior Square Station.
St Leonards Warrior Square Station.
The Zoom Arts collective explores various aspects of the local rail history and The Railway Children.
“picks and spades”
Station Path
off Station approach.
Artist ARRAN
honours the workers who
built St Leonards on Sea’s
rail infrastructure.
“I thought engineering was making engines.”
Archer Lodge, Charles Road. Automata exhibition by Cabaret Mechanical Theatre working with 200 young artists.
“with a shriek and a snort”
Hastings and Bexhill Mencap’s Active Arts are inspired by E Nesbit’s The Railway Children to make a model of St Leonards Warrior Square Station as it was.
“the rush of its passing”
Activity Hub.
Archer Lodge, Charles Road.
Free family activities accompanying
“I thought engineering was making engines” exhibition and “with a shriek and a snort” exhibition.
Window Displays – Bohemia Creative Quarter
Bohemia Creative Quarter Traders explore E. Nesbit’s book in window displays.
“metals of the up-line”
Bus stops in London Road.
Photographer Jules Earl explores aspects of St Leonards on Sea’s
rail infrastructure.
“a great dragon tearing by”
Asda supermarket path and Thealken Drive.
ExploreTheArch early career artists
curate 3000 children’s sketches inspired by the book bringing trains to this part of town.
Wisdoms Installation
Four Courts Wellbeing Hub.
ExploreTheArch’s
installation featuring
wisdoms shared by the
Four Courts community
prompted by wisdoms in
The Railway Children.
Filmmaker: Rod Morris.
Emotional Landscapes Exhibition
Four Courts Wellbeing Hub.
Mixed media exhibition
by members of the
Four Courts Community
responding to the characters’
explorations in the landscape.
Perks the Porter Activity Hub
Four Courts Wellbeing Hub.
Outdoor art on the
fence of this venue
with free family activities
Inside accompanying
mixed media exhibition
‘Emotional Landscapes’
and installation
‘Wisdoms’.
Scratch Orchestra Rehearsal
Sunday 14 April, 2pm
Christ Church, Silchester Road
Scratch orchestra rehearses for the closing event.
2024 Closing Event
Sunday 14 April, 4pm
Christ Church, Silchester Road.
Explore composer Johnny Douglas’
score for the 1970 film
The Railway Children.
A talk by the composer’s granddaughter.
Live music from the people of
St Leonards-on-Sea.
Bohemia Creative Quarter Day
Sunday 7 April, 11am-4pm
Music in the shops as you
explore E. Nesbit’s life
in a stamp activity.
Kings Road Street Party
Saturday 30 March, 11am-3pm
On the Saturday of Easter weekend Kings Road becomes one big train-themed party.
2024 Writing Competition
5 – 14 year olds are invited to enter the 2024 festival creative writing competition themed on trains.
What do you love about train journeys, stations, tunnels, ticket offices?
A Town Explores A Book 2024 Trail
The 2024 festival has now closed. Creative responses to E. Nesbit’s The Railway Children were originated by Bohemia Creative Quarter, Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, Four Courts Connect, Hastings and Bexhill Mencap’s Active Arts, Kings Road Traders, Seaview Project, Stitch tlc, Zoom Arts and with the larger station project a collaboration between ExploreTheArch and Southeast Communities Rail Partnership with Network Rail and Southeastern Railway. The downloadable trail map guided festival goers round the outdoor art, indoor exhibitions and activities and street events.
Free Holiday Fun
The festival opens Saturday 30th March 2024 in St Leonards-on-Sea with the Kings Road street party, the opening of the Platform Panel project at St Leonards Warrior Square station and a festival trail across town.
2024 Festival Flyer
The A Town Explores A Book 2024 book choice is E. Nesbit’s The Railway Children.
Explore the book from 30 March – 14 April in two festival street events, the festival art trail with two activity hubs offering week day exhibitions and free family activities and an exhibition at Zoom Arts Gallery accompanying the Station Platform Panel Project.
Kings Road on Easter weekend
The festival runs through the spring holiday with multiple free family activities…
The World of the Book in Miniature
Cabaret Mechanical Theatre CIC have begun their automata-making workshops in schools as part of the 8 Ways to Connect festival schools engagement programme.
3000 Children Draw as they Explore the Book
The A Town Explores A Book 2024 sketch assemblies are under way with the team’s musicians, Cai and Sam.
Artists Representing Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Communities
The team are eagerly awaiting news of funding for artists from Gypsy, Roma, Traveller communities and heritage whom the festival are honoured to work with.
Funding for Four Courts Community
A Town Explores A Book is a reader-led festival. We are excited that #MakingItHappen funding has been granted through Hastings Voluntary Action for the Four Courts high rise neighbourhood to take part in the festival.
Marking the Centenary of Author E. Nesbit’s Death
The St Leonards-on-Sea’s community and festival visitors are exploring E. Nesbit’s I905 book and have a number of editions of “The Railway Children” to choose from. The festival book choice for 2024 was published in I905 and has remained in print.
Researching Steam Trains
Three trains sped core team members from St Leonards-on-Sea to the National Railway Museum at York and back for a research day in December.
PSHE in literacy with A Town Explores A Book
The A Town Explores A Book ‘8 Ways to Connect’ schools engagement programme innovates PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) learning within literacy.
Active Arts community to explore a key moment from The Railway Children for ATEAB2024 pop-up museum
Hastings and Bexhill Mencap’s Active Arts service users plan to highlight key moments from The Railway Children in their festival pop-up museum adjacent to St Leonards Warrior Square Station
Sketch Assemblies – one of the ‘8 ways to connect’ to A Town Explores A Book
Our introductory school activity invites a whole school community to sketch as they listen to a member of the festival team announce the book choice and share core themes…
Automata Making in 2024 with Cabaret Mechanical Theatre
We are delighted to partner with Cabaret Mechanical Theatre in 2024 to offer automata-making workshops to primary school aged children as one of the ‘8 Ways to Connect’ schools engagement offer.
An exciting New Rail Heritage Project as part of the ATEAB 2024 Festival
The festival team is delighted to announce that Southeastern Communities Rail partnership CIC will become one of two major project partners in the 2024 festival exploring book choice The Railway Children by E Nesbit.
Creative Writing Competition prize winners announced!
Discover which 12 young writers are prize winners this year, with competition judges Yasmin Aishah and Maya Coombs reading the shortlisted entries
Schools festival bunting designs brought to life!
We invited schools to create their own bunting designs inspired by this year’s book. Explore this animated showcase of pupils’ work…
Schools Bunting Gallery
School Bunting Gallery COMING SOON This space will be updated to display all the artwork produced by young artists participating in our bunting activity inspired by Wonderful Adventures of Mrs […]
“Confidence in my own powers” – Festival Opening Event
Join us at Christ Church, St Leonards, for the launch of A Town Explores A book 2023! An evening of live music and conversation led by our early-career artist team
Secondary school students write songs inspired by Mary Seacole
Artists Ruby Colley and Hannah Collisson have been working with students at local secondary schools to write new songs on the theme of adventure
Festival activities for families this Spring holiday
A Town Explores A Book runs throughout the Spring school holiday. Here is a round-up of family activities during the festival!
Outdoor Art Trail
Explore the art trail to explore the book! The outdoor art in the open spaces of St Leonards-on-Sea invites you outside for multiple visits to consider what this heritage book means to you
Shop Window Displays
The independent businesses in the town offer their perspectives on Mary Seacole’s book in a trail of window displays…
Workshop: Make a porcelain boat
Make a boat in porcelain to hang in your home with Liz Emtage of Pelham’s, in Kings Road. The workshops run over two afternoons
Bohemia Creative Quarter Sunday
Pick up your hand-made festival passport and explore the creative businesses in Bohemia Creative Quarter, complete with activities and live music…
Breakfast & Read Aloud at The Clifton Centre
A free family event at The Clifton Centre bringing Mary Seacole’s words to life
“Longing to travel” – Active Arts Community Exhibition
An exhibition of work by the Active Arts community at The Clifton Centre, inspired by their exploration of the life of Mary Seacole
Challenges in Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands – exhibition by Zoom Arts
Zoom Arts collective explore the theme of challenge in Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands.
