The Big Bank Holiday Edition ✅

Good morning, Wycombe!

The sun is shining, we’ve got a Bank Holiday weekend hurtling towards us, and I’ve got a bumper edition of Pulse for you today.

It’s quite a week:

🌙 A moonlit swim under the stars
🍔 Street food fiesta in West Wycombe
🐦 Dawn chorus walk through ancient woodland

Plus a free gut health masterclass, Marlow’s latest quirky dining experience (teaser: it’s a new take on laundry), a huge art fair, Wycombe’s bid for Town of Culture 2028 and much more.

🤣 Select Comedy Club @ Patch — Thursday 14th May 😂

Proper stand-up. Cheap tickets. Good drinks. A night out in Wycombe that actually delivers.

Select Comedy Club has already made a name for itself at Patch — and May's show is shaping up to be the best one yet.

🎭 Headliner: Adele Cliff — UK Pun Champion, four-time Dave's Funniest Joke of the Fringe nominee, writer for The News Quiz and The Now Show. 'Guaranteed laughs' ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎙️ Opener: Yuriko Kotani — BBC New Comedy Award winner, seen on Russell Howard's Stand Up Central

🎤 MC: Elliot Wengler — award-nominated Wycombe comedian and your host for the evening

📍 Patch High Wycombe, Old Library Building
📅 Thursday 14th May — doors 7:30pm, showtime 8pm
🎟️ £10 per ticket, or grab the earlybird 2-for-1 deal before 9th May
💌 Wycombe Pulse readers get £3 off with code PULSE

Earlybird tickets are going fast — don't leave it too late!

👉 Grab your tickets on Eventbrite 

Editor’s Highlights

🍕 Street Food May Bank Holiday

📍 The Walled Garden | 📅 Fri 1st May, 5pm–9pm & Mon 4 May, 12-4pm
Kick off the bank holiday weekend with pizza, burgers and Greek food from three top food trucks, plus the bar will be open. Followed by a lunch session on Monday!

🎨 The Art Exhibitionists Bradenham Art Fair

📍 Manor Farm, Bradenham | 📅 Fri 1st – Mon 4th May
Four days of art, craft, live music and masterclasses in a gorgeous setting with plenty of food and wine to keep you going.

🍸 Gin Fest

📍 The Full Moon Pub | 📅 Sun 3rd May
A full day of gin, live entertainment and good food — family-friendly, free to attend, and a great excuse to get the crew together for a bank holiday Sunday session.

🐦 Dawn Chorus Walk with The Early Birder

📍 Oxmoor Farm | 📅 Sun 3rd May, 7.45am–10am
Local expert Jon Mason guides you through Great Hampden's ancient woodland, teaching you to identify birds by song — think nuthatches, ravens and whitethroats at sunrise. Tickets include a delicious breakfast.

🛒 Spring on the Farm with Coopers Market

📍Peterley Manor Farm | 📅 Fri 2nd – Sun 4th May, 10am–4pm
A free entry artisan market showcasing the best independents from in and around the Chilterns — perfect for a bank holiday browse.

🧠 Free Gut Health Masterclass: The Missing Piece In Your IBS Puzzle

Still bloated, even after cutting out everything? You're not imagining it — and you're not alone.

Rebecca Rama, a local mum of two and BANT Registered Nutritional Therapist, is hosting a free 30-minute live masterclass for women who've tried the elimination diets, the probiotics and the gluten-free everything — and are still suffering.

Her approach goes beyond food, looking at the gut-brain connection that most IBS advice completely ignores.

📅 Tuesday 6 May 2026 at 8pm
💻 Live on Zoom (free to join)
⏱️ 30 minutes
🎥 Replay sent to everyone who registers

You'll leave with five actionable tools you can start using straight away — no more restriction, no more Googling symptoms at 2am.

👉 Save your free seat 

Entertainment

🎵 Vintage, Vinyl & Pre-Loved Pop-Up
📍 The Front Room | 📅 Sat 2nd May, 10am-4pm
Browse vintage clothing, vinyl and pre-loved gems while resident DJs provide the soundtrack.

👻 Hellfire Caves Ghost Hunt
📍 Hellfire Caves | 📅 Fri 1st May, 8pm–2am
Investigate one of the most haunted locations in the UK — the infamous chalk tunnels steeped in 270 years of dark history, occult rituals and ghostly legends.

🎤 Comedy Night
📍 Odds Farm Park | 📅 Fri 1st May, 6pm–10pm
An adults-only comedy night with headliner Paul McCaffrey (Live at the Apollo) and opening act Fiona Ridgewell — plus after-hours access to the animal barn and soft play.

🎱 Bingo Night
📍 The Front Room | 📅 Fri 1st May, 7pm 
Monthly bingo night in one of Wycombe's favourite spots.

Big Music Events

🎶 Bucks Weekender 2026
📍 The Venue Bucks | 📅 Sat 2nd & Sun 3rd May
A two-day, multi-room festival with Tion Wayne, Joel Corry, Marvin Humes, Not3s and more — plus Drag Cabaret, Shutdown parties, a Silent Disco and food vendors.

🤘 Phoenix Fest 2026
📍 Wycombe Arts Centre | 📅 Fri 1st – Sun 3rd May
Three days of metal, rock, emo and alternative music, with 50+ bands spanning metalcore, post-hardcore, punk and more.

🎸 Far Out Sessions — Live Acoustic Music Show
📍 The Front Room | 📅 Tonight, 8pm–11pm
A packed night of live acoustic music with Beth Coate, Nick Byrne, Whrlet, The Sepia Tone Folk Collective and more — plus special guest Ruby Leigh, who has performed at the O2 and Royal Albert Hall. One to catch.

🎶 Bigworm's Slow Jamz & R&B Day Party
📍 Labyrinth | 📅 Sat 2nd May, 2pm–8pm
A daytime R&B session of 90s and 2000s slow jams, classics and today's smooth hits — come dressed to impress and ready to dance.

High Wycombe has thrown its hat in the ring for UK Town of Culture 2028

I've been following this one with interest — and the more I read, the more I think they might actually be onto something.

The bid makes a compelling case. The argument isn't that Wycombe is culturally empty, but rather under-articulated. A town of real contradictions: world-class heritage and rare chalk streams, yet ranked second-worst in the country for food insecurity. The pitch is that culture can be the missing piece of our social infrastructure.

I can get behind this. St John the Baptist Hospital is a scheduled monument sitting in the centre of town, currently languishing behind a metal fence, half-swallowed by trees. That wouldn't happen in Bath or St Albans. There's a lot of history here that, for whatever reason, isn't celebrated or looked after the way it deserves to be.

If successful, the vision includes a festival celebrating Wycombe's bodgering roots, a Cultural Trail linking the Brunel Engine Shed, Wycombe Museum and the High Street, and youth-led creative programmes across the town.

This could be a real turning point. What do you think — should Wycombe be the UK Town of Culture?

🚘 Fancy a Short Drive?

🐄 Bucks Country Show & Bucks We Love Dogs
📍 Penn House Estate | 📅 Sun 3rd & Mon 4th May, 10am–5pm
A classic countryside day out on our doorstep — think monster trucks, showground fun, and all the fresh air you need.

🖼️ Buckinghamshire Art Society Spring Exhibition
📍 The Fitzwilliam Centre, Beaconsfield | 📅 Sat 2nd – Mon 4th May, 10am–5pm (Preview Fri, 6.30pm)
A free exhibition showcasing paintings, illustrations and 3D work from some of the county's best artists.

🎪 Longwick Village Fete 
📍 Village Green, Longwick | 📅 Sat 2nd May, 12pm–5pm
Something for everyone — including pony rides, Morris dancers and maypole dancing.

🎨 Henley Arts Trail — 20th Anniversary
📍 Henley | 📅 Sat 2nd – Mon 4th May, 10am–5pm daily
A free, self-guided trail across 36 venues — artists' studios, vineyards, a distillery, the Leander Club and a riverside stately home — showcasing 300+ creatives and their work.

📜 An Introduction to Parish Registers
📍 Buckinghamshire Archives, Aylesbury | 📅 Sat 2nd May, 10.30am
A free talk for anyone curious about tracing their family history — learn how to use parish registers as a research resource.

Sports and Activities

🏊🏼‍♀️ SWIMMING

Moonlight Swim at Wycombe Rye Lido on Fri 1st May at 8.45pm.

⚽ FOOTBALL

Wycombe Wanderers vs Rotherham United at home on Sat 2nd May. KO 3pm

🏉 RUGBY

HWRUFC vs Old Elthamians at home on Sat 2nd May.

🏏 CRICKET

View HWCC’s fixtures for this week.

🏃🏻‍♂️ RUNNING

Regular runs: Parkrun (Saturday, Rye Lido, 9am) | Junior Parkrun (Sunday, Pann Mill, 9am) | Risborough Run In The Park (Sunday, Wades Park, 9am).

Off-Grid Run Club
📍 Oxmoor Farm | 📅 Sun 3rd May, meet at 9.45am
A free 5k woodland trail focused on connection, nature and good conversation rather than pace.

Wendover Night Trails — 12km Chilterns Guided Run
📍 High Street, Wendover | 📅 Weds 6th May, 7.30pm
Explore the Chilterns after dark on this guided 12km trail run through Wendover's woodland.

🗓️ Dates for your Diary

🌍 Stand Up to Climate Chaos
📍 Wycombe Arts Centre | 📅 Fri 5th June
Climate comedian Dr Matt Winning brings his stand-up show to High Wycombe, with environmental stalls, local group talks, hot vegan food and a bar.

🐄 Laceys Open Farm Sunday
 📍 Laceys Farm, Lane End | 📅 Sun 7th June 
Get behind the farm gates for milking demos, tractor trailer rides, and a chance to meet the animals — plus a BBQ, ice creams, milkshake bar and the farm shop fully stocked with award-winning local produce.

Business News

Sad news for fans of authentic Thai food — Easy Thai in Flackwell Heath have announced they're closing their doors for good. 😢

If you've never been, their Pad Kaprow was the real deal — complete with a fried egg on top, the kind of thing that takes you straight back to a Bangkok street food stall. It will be missed.

Community Notes

🛍️ The Sunday Market
📍 High Street | 📅 Sun 3rd May, 11am-4pm
The 2026 season kicks off this weekend — and this one's extra special, with the soft launch of the Young Traders Market bringing fresh faces aged 16–30 to the high street.

🚒 Charity Car Wash  
📍 High Wycombe Fire Station | 📅 Sat 2nd May, 10am–4pm
Come down to the station — get your car cleaned, grab a free tyre depth check, and book a home fire safety visit. Donations welcome!

🧠 Rejection Sensitivity & Shame
📍 Patch | 📅 Tonight, 6.30pm
A supportive in-person session for neurodivergent adults exploring why rejection can feel so overwhelming — and how shame shows up in everyday life. Science-led, lived-experience informed, and zero pathologising.

🏗️ Easton Street Car Park: after decades looming over the town centre, the multi-storey is closing for good on Monday 4th May, with demolition expected to follow this spring. If you usually park there, head for Wycombe Swan or Railway Place instead — both a short walk from the high street. 👀

The Wycombe Wordle

Six guesses. Five letters. One Wycombe connection. Let me know if you get it!

🟩 Right letter, right spot
🟨 Right letter, wrong spot
⬜ Not in the word

👉 [Play here]

That’s a wrap for this week’s Pulse!

Have a smashing weekend — but before you dash…

❤️ Know someone who’d love this? Please forward it.
📬 Was this forwarded to you? Subscribe here so you don’t miss next Thursday’s edition.
👋 We’re chatting all week on Instagram, Facebook and X — come say hi!
🗓️ Got an event or local story? Just hit reply.

See you next Thursday,
Steph