From an authentic French brocante to a daffodil festival, these Cambridge and Suffolk events can't fail to put a spring in your step

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Fancy browsing an authentic French brocante without straying from East Anglian soil? That’s exactly the experience offered by Bildeston’s seasonal Boule-in, the next of which, the Easter-themed Fête du Printemps, runs April 1 to 10.

Held by Cathy and Peter Bullen - who divide their time between their homes in the Suffolk village and the south of France, where they source their stock of authentic French antiques and lifestyle accessories - the event is more than a market: with top-notch coffee and homemade cakes on the menu, you’re invited to take a seat in the garden cafe and soak up some Provencal atmosphere. . .

“We spend five months a year scouring the best French markets and brocantes, so you don’t have to,” adds Cathy. “There is something for everyone, from baskets to Biöt glass goblets, tables and chairs to gardenalia.”

Open 10am to 6pm daily, the Boule-in is at 77 High Street, Bildeston, Suffolk IP7 7ER. See boule-in.co.uk for more information.

A chance to see a village literally swathed in golden daffodils - it’s planted with a jaw-dropping 500,000 bulbs in 100-plus varieties - Thriplow Daffodil Weekend marks the official start of spring for the 10,000-or-so visitors it attracts every March.

Running across March 25 and 26 this year, the flowers aren’t the only attraction: there’s entertainment in the form of blacksmithing demos, Morris dancing and live music; more than 100 stalls selling everything from local arts and crafts to food and drink; plus you can dine out at either the Taste of Thriplow street food market or the village tearoom.

The event, which has been running for 51 years, is held to raise cash for local good causes, including both charities and community projects; to date, it’s donated more than half a million.

For more information, see thriplowdaffodils.org.uk

Cambridge Literary Festival celebrates its 20th year this spring - with a line-up that is, if it’s possible, bigger and better than ever. Spanning 54 events over five days, April 19 to 23, book now to bag audiences with Channel 4 News anchor Jon Snow, Sixties icon Pattie Boyd, War Horse creator Michael Morpurgo, Leon founder and food future-proofer Henry Dimbleby and some of our era’s most influential novelists, including Maggie O’Farrell, Curtis Sittenfeld and Cambridge’s own Ali Smith, long-term festival patron.

The festival is bringing its printed programme back to mark its 20th anniversary, available now to pre-order at cambridgeliteraryfestival.com, where you can also priority-book for all events.

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Reinhild Raistrick, the renowned botanical artist based in Suffolk, is about to unveil a solo show at Bury St Edmunds Guildhall. The result of five years’ study, sketching and watercolour painting, it showcases the internationally significant orchids of Lindisfarne; given special access to Holy Island National Nature Reserve, Reinhild has captured all 10 resident species of the other-worldly wild flowers in painstaking detail.

Destined to become part of the permanent archive collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Reinhild’s orchid paintings will hang in the Guildhall from April 29 to May 4. With entry free, it’s a rare opportunity to see botanical and art history in the making.

For more see reinhildraistrick.co.uk

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Bringing together some of our area’s most creative designers, makers and pre-loved curators to show and sell their wares under a single roof, this month’s Spring Market Pop-up in Grantchester is a definite diary date.

The brainchild of Caroline Biggs, founding member of Eat Cambridge food festival, Cambridge Bake Off and Cambridge History Festival, and Jane Horwood, award-winning web designer and founder of the Trash Chic pre-loved clothing brand, it runs at the village hall on Vicarage Drive, 11am to 4pm, Saturday March 25.

Expect more than a dozen stalls selling locally made and sourced treasures, from Scandi-inspired silver and gold jewellery (Birgitte Bruun) and vintage and pre-loved fashion (Trash Chic) to potted house plants and terrariums (Small & Green), cakes and bakes (One Part Love) and deli produce (Meadows).

Say Caroline and Jane: “We’re both passionate about promoting small local ‘indies’ who do what they do because they love it; often with a heart-warming story behind what made them give up slightly more lucrative careers to follow a passion.”

The Spring Market Pop-up is supported by BeSocial Cambridge. For more email springpopupmarket@gmail.com