As the final page turns on yet another successful Essex Book Festival the final two weekends still has plenty in store for book lovers both young and old.

This weekend the focus will be on a new venue for the festival and one festival director, Ros Green is particularly excited about.

That’s the Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker just outside Brentwood.

On Sunday the festival is doing a bookie takeover with a whole host of events starting from 10am when Essex University lecturer and science fiction author, Matthew De Abaitua, leads a creative writing workshop.

Other highlights include a whole host of drop-in events for families, including haiku poetry and origami workshops led by CND’s Education Team, a Retro games room master-minded by Silver End Scouts, plus Sir Rodric Braithwaite, former British Ambassador in Moscow during the fall of the Soviet Union; award-winning Estonian author Paavo Matsin; Colchester playwright Nicola Werenowska; and Colchester artist Chris Dobrowolski’s brilliant one man show, All Roads Lead to Rome.

Operational from 1952 right through to 1994, and now a fascinating underground museum, talks, panel discussions and the writers’ workshop during the day are individually priced but does not include the admission price for the bunker, which is payable on the door.

That’s £7.50 for adults, £5.50 for children and £18 for two adults and two children.

The Bunker is unable to accept credit or debit cards, so please bring cash to pay for your admission.

Then for the following week’s festival finale it’s off to the Martello Tower in Jaywick on March 31 for an all day event that has the theme of peace running through it.

Running from 10am to 4pm, participate in the Festival Peace Wall where both children and adults have been sharing what peace means to them, writing and drawing messages of peace to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War.

There’s also a chance to see the festival’s 1,000 origami cranes, in memory of Sadako Sasaki, a victim of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. All cranes made so far this March will be exhibited at the Tower

Between 10.30am and 12.30pm, there’s a beachcombing writing workshop in which Essex-based authors Judith Wolton and Wendy Constance will be taking writers on a walk along the beach before returning to the tower to write-up their inspirations, while Wendy returns at 2pm to 3pm for a special natural world storytelling session.

Finally from 1.30pm to 4pm, the Sumi Ink Club run by Liz Spalding, Robert Lock and Andy Gibbs, will be inviting everyone to create a community mural that will evole and grow throughout the afternoon on the theme of Peace, Place and Community.

For more information on all of the events taking place go on-line to essexbookfestival.org.uk