In pictures: The beach is brought to Aylesbury for free family event combined with literary show

Aylesbury was transformed into a seaside town for one day as part of a free town council event.

For Aylesbury on Sea, the town council covered Vale Park in 60-tonnes of sand and surrounded it with deck chairs.

Aylesbury on Sea this year, was partnered with the literary and arts festival, WhizzFizzFest, which is aimed at young readers.

The free event took place on Sunday (2 July).

A land train transported residents around the park, and visitors could also enjoy: Punch and Judy shows, prize bingo, mini-golf, beach volleyball, a limbo competition and a Helter Skelter.

Buckets and spades were provided for families to create their own sand sculptures and Zoomania hosted its popular face painting stand with Milo the Monkey.

Across the park, families had a plethora of activities to dive into at WhizzFizzFest which were based around this year’s festival theme of ‘Friendship’.

Families were encouraged to get creative but to also find out about some of the community projects in Aylesbury including a Penpals project, in partnership with Community Impact Bucks, where children were invited to write a letter to a child in Buckinghamshire that has recently moved to the county from Ukraine.

A group of young people, that are supported by disability and autism support charity, Talkback UK’s social enterprise - The Accessible Workshop -, made a wooden book cabinet which was showcased for the first time at the event. This is part of the Town Council’s Little Free Libraries project where residents can swap books in their communities.

Local theatre group, Unbound Theatre, performed an immersive Alice in Wonderland show and there was a chance to chat to and be inspired by local children’s authors Aston Smith and Roselee Guinness in the Creative Marquee.

Bucks Council has funded the festival for more than 10 years, it is used as vehicle to promote children’s literacy and was originally inspired by Roald Dahl.

For the first time this year, the festival is going on tour with events also taking place in High Wycombe (WhizzFizzFest @ Desborough Carnival on 8 July) and Chesham (WhizzFizzFest @ Hats Off Chesham! on 15 July).