09/18

Cheltenham Paint Festival 2018

Looking around Cheltenham town centre for street art created for the paint festival 2018 - boy wearing striped Hugo Loves Tiki onesie

Street art of boy on the Honeybourne line subway - Cheltenham Paint Festival 2018

A year ago, I heard about the Cheltenham Paint Festival after seeing an influx of posts via Instagram of some incredible street art, and the first thing I did (maybe the second, I'm sure there was a bottle or snack that needed fetching before I could get half way to my diary) was pop the date for the 2018 festival in my planner and then precede to forget all about it. At the beginning of September this year, I stumbled across the note and off we went last weekend to hunt down some of the artwork on display for this year, and to see some of the artists at work.

Two boys wearing Mango, Maed for Mini and Hugo Loves Tiki sitting watching the Neptune fountain in Cheltenham town centre

We began our treasure hunt in the town centre and ended up walking for miles trying to discover some of the best art and I think we barely witnessed even a third of what was going on; it was so much fun to turn a corner and see the side of a house shrouded in colour or a huge golden archer shooting at the sun (probably our favourite of all). Since our visit, I've seen some incredible photographs of the artwork we missed and I'm really tempted to go back for another visit.

Street art along the Honeybourne subway and artists working for the Cheltenham Paint Festival; 2018

It's been a hectic few weeks with Archie starting school and Martin, a new job with a longer commute. We're still trying to find our feet with the new routine and family time is now more scarce than it ever has been, so our days together are precious and this was one we loved. To see the rest of the murals and find out more information, check out Cheltenham Paint Festival on Facebook; every day I've seen new photos and articles crop up about the best places to find beautiful art and I'd definitely recommend a visit.