Thank you for visiting this site and for your interest in our annual celebration of the landscape, heritage and people of the wonderful Westmorland Dales.
The sun shone on this year's Festival & we hope a fabulous time was had by all!
We'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who was able to come along to the Festival or organised such great events, our wonderful performers and exhibitors and all our supporters and sponsors for making it such a happy weekend.
Hope to see you next year - the dates for your diary are Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 July!
Vivienne Littlefair, Chair, and the Westmorland Dales Festival team
Photographs above © ① Denise Saunders ② Westmorland Dales Landscape Partnership
③ Kirkby Stephen Walkers are Welcome ④ Kirkby Stephen Community Arts ⑤WDF
Photograph right © WDF
Events running on both days
Pick up a programme and hit the Festival trail!
Meet Kirkby Stephen's Walkers are Welcome group, and join one (or more!) of their guided walks
Discover Kirkby Stephen's historic station and steam railway
A special programme of events for the Festival weekend
An exhibition of work by members of the Eden Valley Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers. Kirkby Stephen
Hop on board one of our Festival buses to travel between sites. TIMETABLES AVAILABLE NOW!
Pick up a leaflet from the Upper Eden Visitor Centre and explore Kirkby Stephen and the nearby countryside at your own pace
Events on Saturday 27 July
A beautiful walk along the infant River Eden, exploring Pendragon Castle, St Mary's Church and other sites of historic and historic interest along the way
Lakeland Arts leads this drop-in activity, giving festivalgoers of all ages the chance to contribute to their very own eco-exhibition
Fun and games and crafts at Kirkby Stephen Youth Centre
Discover a traditional Westmorland village, hardly changed in centuries, with a choice of two guided walks
Join Ursula Hurst to make a flag for the 'Drawing Hope' installation in Kirkby Stephen
Explore the geology, archaeology and natural history of Little Asby Common with Friends of the Lake District
Enjoy family activities and nature workshops followed by a guided tour of Kirkby Stephen's Jubilee Park
An easy but scenic walk, taking in Stenkrith Falls, Nateby deer park and Wharton Hall
Events on Sunday 28 July
Meet local artists, makers and producers as well as community and conservation groups
Circus skills workshops and all-day entertainment in Kirkby Stephen with juggler Matt Tiffany
A health and well-being drop in
A great mix of local bands and community groups playing throughout the day
Kirkby Stephen's youngest band! On Church Green from 10:30
Find Diana, our itinerant songstress, on Church Green at 11:30, then playing around town
Kirkby Stephen's oldest and best known band, playing outside the Masonic Hall at 12:00 and in the Market Square at 13:00
Music straight from the heart. On Church Green from 12:30 on Sunday 28 July
Playing a mixture of fifties and sixties classic tunes, perfect for singing along to! On Church Green from 14:00
Playing an effortless blend of gypsy jazz, folk, bluegrass and reggae grooves on Church Green from 15:00
A day of wild play in Kirkby Stephen, on the banks of the river Eden
Catch a Cumbria Classic Coach to these glorious gardens, just outside Kirkby Stephen
Learn how to make gelli prints with Julia Garner, Cumbria Wildlife Trust's artist in residence. Kirkby Stephen
Explore some of Kirkby Stephen's most historic streets and architecture
Local writing group Furrow Green Writers look forward to sharing recent pieces of their work