That festival feeling - five festival ideas for 2026
Glastonbury may be on a break in 2026, but there are five more fantastic festivals to tempt visitors this summer
Ed Grenby - 12 June 2026
Reckon it's all drum circles in a field at 1am? Convinced that tuning in to the Isle of Wight Festival on Sky Arts and Sky One this week is the best way to experience Britain’s summer festivals? You can’t be blamed. But if you haven’t ventured to one for a while, it’s worth knowing that “festival” now means almost anything. There are music festivals, obviously, but also festivals for books, food, opera, families, nature, comedy and crime fiction. And the best bit is that plenty cater for audiences who appreciate a proper bed, decent loos and the possibility of being asleep before midnight. Here are five worth circling in the diary this summer.
GLYNDEBOURNE FESTIVAL Now–30 August, East Sussex
Best for: high culture and high-end hampers Who says a festival has to end with trainers wrecked by mud? Glyndebourne has quietly been offering a different model for decades: opera in an idyllic country house setting with long dinner intervals and picnic hampers spread across immaculate lawns. Even if opera isn’t normally your thing, there’s something deliciously (if elegantly) decadent about the whole ritual. People dress up, the gardens are gorgeous and everyone behaves as though they’ve accidentally wandered into a Merchant Ivory film. It still has world-class performances at its heart, of course, but even sceptics can find themselves won over by the atmosphere. glyndebourne.com
LATITUDE 23–26 July, Suffolk
Best for: rock ’n’ droll Latitude (which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year) is the festival for people who still love live music but also think, “Actually, I wouldn’t mind hearing a novelist discuss modern politics before lunch.” Held in Suffolk’s lovely Henham Park, it has spent years positioning itself as the thinking person’s big summer festival: music, yes, but also comedy, poetry, theatre, podcasts, wellness and literary talks. The 2026 line-up stretches from Lewis Capaldi to Lenny Henry and from David Byrne to Jack Dee. And Radio Times will also be there to mark Latitude’s 20th birthday by hosting a star-studded panel to decide – live! – the best TV show of the last 20 years. To help create the shortlist visit latitudefestival.com/ news/20-years-of-latitude/ and vote for your favourite. latitudefestival.com
THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL 23–26 July, North Yorkshire
Best for: those who read “just one more chapter” at 1am Literary festivals can sometimes feel faintly intimidating, but this North Yorkshire crime-writing weekend isn’t that. It feels more like a gathering of clever people who happen to enjoy (fictional) murder. Held at Harrogate’s Old Swan Hotel, it mixes blockbuster authors with emerging talent. Big names in this year’s programme – Anthony Horowitz, Ann Cleeves, Brenda Blethyn – may already have sold out, but there are plenty of other fascinating speakers. And the atmosphere is enthusiastic rather than reverential: readers chatting over drinks, authors mingling and everyone swapping recommendations. Like a giant book club – with more corpses. harrogateinternationalfestivals.com
CAMP BESTIVAL 30 July–2 August, Dorset
Best for: kids – and parents! Family festivals can sound suspiciously worthy: educational activities, wholesome crafts and children learning things. Camp Bestival manages the trick of doing all that while still feeling like a proper festival. Set around sensational Lulworth Castle, it combines music with theatre, activities, workshops and enough entertainment to keep younger attendees occupied for days. Parents emerge grateful for the fact that children aren’t simply expected to stand in muddy fields pretending to enjoy indie bands: there are circus acts, adventures, stories and things to climb, build and create. And because organisers understand their audience, there’s also decent food and enough comforts to stop adults feeling they’re serving a sentence. campbestival.net
LUDLOW FOOD FESTIVAL 11–13 September, Shropshire
Best for: anyone who considers lunch a hobby September still counts as summer – and Ludlow’s food festival is too good to miss on a technicality. Set in and around this pretty border town’s castle, it remains one of Britain’s original and best food gatherings, leaning heavily into regional producers and artisan makers from the Welsh Marches and beyond. You’ll find cooking demonstrations, tasting sessions and enough local cheese, cider and baked goods to make you wonder whether you should perhaps loosen your belt pre-emptively. There’s a pleasantly unfashionable confidence to Ludlow, too. It doesn’t chase trends; it gathers lots of excellent food in one place and lets you get on with enjoying it. ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk
Isle of Wight Festival 2026, from Friday 7.00pm Sky Arts, 10.35pm Sky One
Reckon it's all drum circles in a field at 1am? Convinced that tuning in to the Isle of Wight Festival on Sky Arts and Sky One this week is the best way to experience Britain’s summer festivals? You can’t be blamed. But if you haven’t ventured to one for a while, it’s worth knowing that “festival” now means almost anything. There are music festivals, obviously, but also festivals for books, food, opera, families, nature, comedy and crime fiction. And the best bit is that plenty cater for audiences who appreciate a proper bed, decent loos and the possibility of being asleep before midnight. Here are five worth circling in the diary this summer.
GLYNDEBOURNE FESTIVAL Now–30 August, East Sussex
Best for: high culture and high-end hampers Who says a festival has to end with trainers wrecked by mud? Glyndebourne has quietly been offering a different model for decades: opera in an idyllic country house setting with long dinner intervals and picnic hampers spread across immaculate lawns. Even if opera isn’t normally your thing, there’s something deliciously (if elegantly) decadent about the whole ritual. People dress up, the gardens are gorgeous and everyone behaves as though they’ve accidentally wandered into a Merchant Ivory film. It still has world-class performances at its heart, of course, but even sceptics can find themselves won over by the atmosphere. glyndebourne.com
LATITUDE 23–26 July, Suffolk
Best for: rock ’n’ droll Latitude (which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year) is the festival for people who still love live music but also think, “Actually, I wouldn’t mind hearing a novelist discuss modern politics before lunch.” Held in Suffolk’s lovely Henham Park, it has spent years positioning itself as the thinking person’s big summer festival: music, yes, but also comedy, poetry, theatre, podcasts, wellness and literary talks. The 2026 line-up stretches from Lewis Capaldi to Lenny Henry and from David Byrne to Jack Dee. And Radio Times will also be there to mark Latitude’s 20th birthday by hosting a star-studded panel to decide – live! – the best TV show of the last 20 years. To help create the shortlist visit latitudefestival.com/ news/20-years-of-latitude/ and vote for your favourite. latitudefestival.com
THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL 23–26 July, North Yorkshire
Best for: those who read “just one more chapter” at 1am Literary festivals can sometimes feel faintly intimidating, but this North Yorkshire crime-writing weekend isn’t that. It feels more like a gathering of clever people who happen to enjoy (fictional) murder. Held at Harrogate’s Old Swan Hotel, it mixes blockbuster authors with emerging talent. Big names in this year’s programme – Anthony Horowitz, Ann Cleeves, Brenda Blethyn – may already have sold out, but there are plenty of other fascinating speakers. And the atmosphere is enthusiastic rather than reverential: readers chatting over drinks, authors mingling and everyone swapping recommendations. Like a giant book club – with more corpses. harrogateinternationalfestivals.com
CAMP BESTIVAL 30 July–2 August, Dorset
Best for: kids – and parents! Family festivals can sound suspiciously worthy: educational activities, wholesome crafts and children learning things. Camp Bestival manages the trick of doing all that while still feeling like a proper festival. Set around sensational Lulworth Castle, it combines music with theatre, activities, workshops and enough entertainment to keep younger attendees occupied for days. Parents emerge grateful for the fact that children aren’t simply expected to stand in muddy fields pretending to enjoy indie bands: there are circus acts, adventures, stories and things to climb, build and create. And because organisers understand their audience, there’s also decent food and enough comforts to stop adults feeling they’re serving a sentence. campbestival.net
LUDLOW FOOD FESTIVAL 11–13 September, Shropshire
Best for: anyone who considers lunch a hobby September still counts as summer – and Ludlow’s food festival is too good to miss on a technicality. Set in and around this pretty border town’s castle, it remains one of Britain’s original and best food gatherings, leaning heavily into regional producers and artisan makers from the Welsh Marches and beyond. You’ll find cooking demonstrations, tasting sessions and enough local cheese, cider and baked goods to make you wonder whether you should perhaps loosen your belt pre-emptively. There’s a pleasantly unfashionable confidence to Ludlow, too. It doesn’t chase trends; it gathers lots of excellent food in one place and lets you get on with enjoying it. ludlowfoodfestival.co.uk
Isle of Wight Festival 2026, from Friday 7.00pm Sky Arts, 10.35pm Sky One