Festival Programme
Immerse yourself in a diverse range of activities and experiences designed to connect you with Cumbria's natural beauty. Our programme offers something for everyone, from engaging workshops, inspiring talks, guided walks, family & children activities and music.
Please note: the timings or activities are subject to change depending on the weather or the attendance of the Lead/Guide/Speaker. Please check on the day.
Please note that the programme is designed to give you an idea of the events taking place. We have received many expressions of interest from persons/organisations wishing to participate and therefore the programme is evolving as information is agreed.
Three Day Programme
Friday 8 May 2026
Sunset 21.01
| Time | Activity | Lead/Guide/Speaker | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13.00 | Festival Site and Camp Site Opens | Tents and Caravans in position | |
| 16.00 | Festival Opens | Welcome and Opening by the Festival Committee | Main Marquee |
| 16.30 | Site Exploration Walk | Festival Committee Members | From the Main Marquee |
| 17.00 | Evening Food | Binsey Field Kitchen | |
| 17.00 | University of Cumbria films | Main Marquee | |
| 18.00 | Glade Bar opens | The Glade | |
| 19.00 | Music | Wild Chorus | Location to be confirmed |
| 20.00 | Moth Traps Setup | Rob Pickett | Sawmill Fire Pit |
| 20.30 | Music | Bitterbeck | The Glade Stage |
| 21.30 | Bat Walk | Sam Griffin | From the Main Marquee |
| 22.00 | Craic | Sawmill Fire Pit or the Sawmill Shack | |
| 23.00 | Festival closure until 5am |
Talks
| Time | Talk | Speaker | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18.30 | How an upland working livestock farm also became a place for nature. | Tom Bowser | The Glade Stage |
| 19.30 | Conservation | Derek Gow | Main Marquee |
Saturday 9 May 2026
Sunrise 05.19 Sunset 21.03
| Time | Activity | Lead/Guide/Speaker | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05.15 | Dawn Chorus Walk | Martin Harris, recording officer at Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre | Meet at Information Point |
| 07.00 | Yoga/Mindfulness | Gentle stretch with self-led options (outside if dry) | Meet at Information Point |
| 08.00 | Food available all day until late | Binsey Field Kitchen | |
| 09.00 | Moth Trap Reveal | Rob Pickett | The Glade |
| 09.00 | Open Mic | The Glade | |
| 09.00 | Family Wildlife Education | Hazel Pickett | Teepee 2 |
| 10.00 | Displays all day | Various Organisations (see button below) | Main Marquee & small marquees |
| 10.00 | At intervals across the day - build a dead hedge, bug hotel, osprey/eagle nest, swift trail. | Lucy Dunn, Lake District Wildlife Park, will be nest building and will have examples of eagle feathers and other information. We hope to establish a live link to the Bassenthwaite osprey nest. | Various locations |
| 10.00 | Willow Weaving for children (bookable at the information point) | Wood, Wick & Knot | Army Tent/Sawmill Fire Pit |
| 10.00 | Amazing Amphibians | CARG | The Glade |
| 10.00 | Family Nature Connection (all day) | Riversmeet Community Coop | Teepee 1 |
| 10.00 | Storytelling | John Miles | Teepee 2 |
| 10.00 | Local Invertebrate Fauna (until noon) | Cumbria Invertebrate Group | Sawmill Shack |
| 10.30 | Exploring bryophytes | Clare Shaw | Meet at the Information Point |
| 12.00 | Wooden Spoon Carving (bookable at the information point) | Colin Harper | Sawmill Fire Pit |
| 12.00 | Exploring Bees - Demo with walk | Bee Ed | Sawmill Shack |
| 12.00 | Birdbox making (till 4pm) | The Rebuild Site | Teepee 2 |
| 13.00 | Tree Amble Podcast | Pete Leeson | The Glade |
| 13.00 | Willow Weaving for Adults (bookable at the information point) | Wood, Wick & Knot | Army Tent/Sawmill Fire Pit |
| 14.00 | Introduction to mushroom cultivation & demonstration | Fells and Fungi | The Glade |
| 15.00 | Open Mic | The Glade | |
| 15.00 | Exploring bryophytes | Clare Shaw | Meet at the Information Point |
| 16.00 | Storytelling | John Miles | Teepee 2 |
| 17.00 | Food available for the evening | Binsey Field Kitchen | |
| 17.00 | University of Cumbria Films | The Shack | |
| 18.00 | Daily Energy Routine | Katja Broadbent | Main Marquee |
| 18.00 | Glade Bar opens until 11pm | The Glade | |
| 21.00 | Music | Dan Cropper | The Glade Stage |
| 21.00 | Moth Traps Setup | Rob Pickett | Meet at Main Marquee |
| 21.30 | Bat Walk | Sam Griffin | Meet at Main Marquee |
| 22.00 | Craic | Sawmill Fire Pit or the Sawmill Shack | |
| 23.00 | Festival Closes until 5am |
Talks
| Time | Talk | Speaker | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09.00 | Wildlife Recording | Rebecca Slack, Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre | Main Marquee |
| 10.00 | Workington Nature Partnership | Raegan Blacker, Workington Nature Partnership | Main Marquee |
| 11.00 | Protecting Cumbria's Badgers | Sally Heesom, Cumbria Badger Vaccination Project | Main Marquee |
| 11.00 | Wilder Ponds | Lizzy Benn, Cumbria Wildlife Trust | The Glade Stage |
| 12.00 | Remarkable Reptiles | Suzanne Collinson, CARG | Main Marquee |
| 13.00 | Looking after hedgehogs in your garden | North Lakes Hedgehog Rescue | Main Marquee |
| 14.00 | Restoring Hardknott Forest | John Hodgson, Upper Duddon Landscape Recovery | Main Marquee |
| 15.00 | How a small organisation can have a big impact. | Monique Speksnyder, Wigton for Wildlife | The Glade Stage |
| 15.00 | Allonby Bay - The most protected beach in England | Allonby Bay Partnership | Main Marquee |
| 16.00 | Can we save our swifts? | Nicki Baker, Keswick Swifts | Main Marquee |
| 16.00 | Carlisle Natural History Society | Anne Abbs, Carlisle Natural History Society | The Glade Stage |
| 17.00 | Cumbria's Red Squirrels | Terry Abraham | The Glade Stage |
| 19.00 | Return of the Sweet Mart, the work of South Cumbria Pine Marten Recovery Project | Mic Mayhew, Jess Stevens, South Cumbria Pine Marten Recovery Project, University of Cumbria. | Main Marquee |
| 20.00 | Bison – Biodiversity Heroes | Paul Whitfield, Wildwood Trust | Main Marquee |
Displays - Main Marquee
For details of organisations mounting displays.
Family Activities - TeePee
For details of organisations holding family activities.
Sunday 10 May 2026
Sunrise 05.17
| Time | Activity | Lead/Guide/Speaker | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05.15 | Dawn Chorus Walk | Martin Harris, recording officer at Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre | Meet at the Informaton Point |
| 08.00 | Family Yoga/Mindfulness | Mindful Guru | Meet at the Informaton Point |
| 08.00 | Food available until closure | Binsey Field Kitchen | |
| 09.00 | Moth Trap Reveal | Rob Pickett | The Glade |
| 09.00 | Identifying and Recording | Butterflies, Harvest Mice, Taxidermy, Bones/Traps | Army Tent |
| 09.00 | Daily Energy Routine | Katja Broadbent | The Glade |
| 09.00 | University of Cumbria Films | Sawmill Shack | |
| 09.00 | Family Wildlfe Education | Hazel Pickett | Teepee 2 |
| 10.00 | Displays until closure | Various Organisations (see button below) | Main Marquee |
| 10.00 | Family Activities throught the day | Various Organisations (see button below) | TeePee |
| 10.00 | At intervals across the day - build a dead hedge, bug hotel, osprey/eagle nest. | Lucy Dunn, Lake District Wildlife Park, will be nest building and will have examples of eagle feathers and other information. We hope to establish a live link to the Bassenthwaite osprey nest. | Various Locatons |
| 10.00 | Family Nature Connection (all day) | Riversmeet Community Coop | Teepee 1 |
| 10.00 | Guided Nature Meditation | Mindful Guru | The Glade |
| 10.00 | Willow Weaving for children (bookable at the information point) | Wood, Wick & Knot | Army Tent/Sawmill Fire Pit |
| 11.00 | Open Mic (until 13.00) | The Glade | |
| 11.00 | Owl Pellet Disection | John Martin | Sawmill Shack |
| 12.00 | Wooden Spoon Carving (bookable at the information point) | Colin Harper | Sawmill Fire Pit |
| 12.00 | Exploring Bees - Demo with walk | Bee Ed | Main Marquee |
| 12.00 | Writing with Nature | Monique Gadella, nature and travel writer | Sawmill Shack |
| 12.00 | Why ring birds? | Thalia Spake & John Callion, West Cumbria Ringing Group | Location to be announced |
| 12.30 | The Earth is also Speaking | Jessie McMeekin Storyteller | Teepee 2 |
| 13.00 | Willow Weaving for adults (bookable at the information point) | Wood, Wick & Knot | Army Tent/Sawmill Fire Pit |
| 14.00 | Local Invertebrate (until 4pm) | Cumbria Invertebrate Group | Sawmill Shack |
| 14.00 | The Earth is also Speaking | Jessie McMeekin Storyteller | Teepee 2 |
| 16.00 | Festival and Camp Site Closes | Round up by the commttee | Main Marquee |
| 18.00 | Festival Site Closes |
Talks
| Time | Talk | Speaker | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09.00 | Wildlife Recording | Rebecca Slack, Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre | Main Marquee |
| 10.00 | Cumbria Harvest Mice Project | Jude Hartley | Main Marquee |
| 11.00 | What's that plant? An overview of plant families and an opportunity to identify plants on-site | Damien Hicks | Main Maruee |
| 12.00 | Bees walk and demonstration | Bee Ed | Main Marquee |
| 13.00 | Small Blue Butterflies | Steve Doyle | The Glade |
| 13.00 | Nature Rich Miterdale | Jack Hatton, Nature Rich Miterdale Project | Main Marquee |
| 14.00 | Regenerative Farming | Mark & Jenni Lee, Park House Farm, Torpenhow | Main Marquee |
| 14.00 | Q & A | Paul Whitfield, Wildwood Trust | The Glade Stage |
| 15.00 | Bird Ringing | Frank Mawby, Watchtree Nature Reserve | Main Marquee |
Displays - Main Marquee
For details of organisations mounting displays.
Family Activities - TeePee
For details of organisations holding family activities.
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