A Round Up Of Spiritual Gatherings/Festivals…

After the isolation of lockdowns, many of us are looking to connect in person again. Lockdowns have encouraged us to share our services online and connect in online groups and communities, but for me (and many others) it’s not the same as face to face connection.

I’ve been lucky enough to go to a couple of gatherings over the summer. There I met some amazing people and my mind has been opened to alternative lifestyles. I also found out about a lot of other gatherings around the UK, and felt guided to write a post to let others know about these fantastic events. In terms of COVID, I felt really safe – many festivals ask that you take a lateral flow test two to three days before attending, and do temperature checks at the gate. Each one has different guidelines so be sure to check them out before you attend. Most of the festivals have Facebook group attached where you can keep up to date with what’s going on.

They’re in chronological order from now (September 2021 through to 2022).

Lovejam Campout (September 9th – 13th, Cambridgeshire)

Tickets are sold out for this year but you can add your name to a waiting list in case anyone drops out. Move fast as it’s this weekend (I’m writing this on September 6th 2021). Apparently last year was a big success even in the circumstances, and this year there’s a brand new stage, sauna, family area, creative expression zone and chill out cafe space. There are lots of bands (I see Mae Bird is playing, love her), workshops/ceremonies – think sacred sexuality/cacao ceremonies, gong baths, breathwork sessions and talks on things like regenerative ecology and spiritual bypassing. You can also go wild swimming, sweat it out in the sauna and get cosy around the sacred fire.

Price: Tickets from £111.

Mabon Festival (17th – 20th September 2021, Mendips, Somerset) – CANCELLED

Mabon is one of the eight Wheel of the Year festivals; a pagan holiday which marks the autumn equinox. Day and night are of equal length, summer is over and a new phase begins – say goodbye to summer with a bang! Expect fire performances, immersive theatre, workshops, healing therapies and some great bands (Henge, The Undercover Hippy, Gypsy Unit).

Price: £120 (Weekend ticket), Day Tickets £50, Family ticket £200

Unearted Festival (17th to 19th June 2022 – Pembrokeshire)

Unfortunately postponed in 2021, Unearthed in back in 2022 for its ninth incarnation. Unearthed celebrates the expansion of consciousness through talks and workshops, music and arts, great vegetarian food and community spirit. Expect talks on a wide range of spiritual topics, as well as yoga, meditation, holistic therapies, sacred fires, kids activities and performing arts. Line up available soon.

Price: £115.99 (adult weekend ticket), family ticket £252.49

Elementary Festival (Thursday 30th June – Monday 4th July 2022 – Ipsden, Oxfordshire)

Tickets are already on sale for Elementary, a popular festival with an emphasis on world music (I heard a lot of good things about it at Humdrum). Performers in 2021 included Talvin Singh OBE (winner of the Mercury Music Prize) and Kakatsitsi (one of Africa’s leading drumming groups). There’s also lots of workshops (dance, drumming, bushcraft and night sky tours), a wide range of healthy food and drink options, a bustling market and a healing area.

Price: £150 (Adult Weekend, previous year attendees get a discount).

Burning Woman (date tbc – expected to be around 23rd July 2022, Huntington, Cambridgeshire)

Burning Woman is a women’s only festival which gives women the space to relax, rejuvenate, connect and heal their connection with the Divine Feminine. Expect a wide range of talks, classes and workshops during the day and music, fire performers, firewalking and circles around the fire by night. It’s a bigger festival with around 400-500 tickets available, and lots of opportunities to try healing therapies and practices. Apparently 2021 was a great success – I’m really looking forward to attending next year!

Price: Weekend ticket with camping – £150 (Over 12s only)

Little Lindi (22nd – 25th July 2022, Lambton Estate, Co. Durham)

A new family-orientated festival from the organisers of Lindisfarne festival, there’s loads to do for all the family – wellbeing and arts workshops, yoga/meditation dance and drumming workshops as well as bush crafts and den making. There’ll also be hot tubs, forest orienteering and a circus tent. The Hive houses the Main Stage (acts tbc), in the Walled Garden you can get a massage, chill out in hammocks or watch a film at the outdoor cinema.

Price: Tickets available from September 10th 2021, price tbc.

Sacred Sister Gathering (around August 5th-9th, location tbc – was at Cullompton)

I was lucky enough to attend this amazing gathering of women this year, it’s second year. I loved the fact that it was free-flowing, with no set timetable of events and the attendees could choose to offer a workshop or class upon arrival. Expect powerful women’s circles, a wide variety of healing sessions/workshops and a donation-based community meal every night where everyone pitches in to help make it. I loved hanging out in the cafe and doing card readings. Can’t wait to go again next year.

Price: £80 (adult weekend camping).

Hemp Redemption (around 6th to 8th August, Avalon Priory)

Created by popular folk band Mobius Loop, Hemp Redemption is a family-friendly weekend of live music, art and hemp education in the grounds of the stunning Avalon Priory near Glastonbury. There’s a wider range of activities going on, including group jamming sessions, hemp educations talks and weaving sessions, morning meditations and yoga and plenty of hemp products on sale. (Dogs not allowed).

Price: TBA (check website for updates)

Singing Sticks Didgeridoo and World Music Weekend (5th-7th August 2022, Northampton)

Again I heard good things about this gathering at Humdrum this weekend. They actively promote coming and chilling out/not doing a lot which is great (at some gatherings you might be inspired to do a lot of workshops and at others just chill depending on how you feel). Again the emphasis is on music with lots of live music in the evenings, open mic during the day and jamming sessions all night. You can learn to play the didgeridoo, drums, Native American flute plus other instruments. You can also give yoga workshops, sound baths, circus skills workshops a go too!

Price – Adult Weekend £100, Day tickets £40

Medicine Festival (around 19th – 23rd August 2022, Berkshire)

Medicine combines the spiritual (music and ceremony) and the modern (new technologies) and encourages us to ask ourselves, “how can we be the medicine?” The programme is massive with over twenty areas offering wild workshops, yoga, a healing village, ceremonies, movement classes and many other opportunities to try new experiences.

You can buy extra workshops and ceremonies in advance if you want to go deeper into particular areas.

Price: £225 (+ booking fee) – early bird tickets available

Shambala/Shambino (August 25th to 28th 2022 – Northamptonshire)

Unfortunately the epic Shambala didn’t go ahead in 2021, but they managed to go ahead with a smaller festival, the cutely-named Shambino which sounded just as amazing. Shambala is a four day festival with about 15,000 tickets on sale, so it’s a biggie. You can enjoy a wide range of music, as well as workshops, comedy, an art trail/contemporary art, an organic market, talks and debates, (deep breath) an organic market and much more. There’s a big emphasis on fancy dress with around 7,000 people dressed up on the Saturday night, and a carnival procession where anything goes. There’s also a full and diverse programme for kids.

Shambino, the smaller festival sounds like a great success, so there’s a possibility that both may go ahead next year.

Into The Wild (August 26th – 28th 2022 – East Grinstead, Sussex)

This gathering is all about supporting biodiversity and rewilding with the aim of creating a positive change for future generations. Workshops, music, talks and arts are focussed on how we can make a difference in our own lives (to help to support all life on earth). As well as the usual music, workshops (you can choose from over 100 workshops) and healing sessions you can experience bush crafts, falconry, archery, martial arts, stargazing and many more nature-based activities. You can also attend Wild Weekends from May until September (find out more here).

Price: Adult Weekend Early Bird £95 (+ booking fee)

All About Love Festival (around August 31st, Somerset)

The mission of this gathering is to accelerate the awakening and dissolve the separation between all of the people who are waking up right now. The organisers say that the gatherings “are more than just ‘festivals’ or ‘parties’. Personal relationships and connectivity, service to others and loving kindness are what we stand for. Of course it’s good to party together, this is a very healing and helpful part of our lives but we want more than ‘just’ that. Meaningful connections, deep friendships and co-creative vision really matter to us, this is what we are all about.”

Check out the video from the last gathering here

Price: Tickets yet to go on sale for 2022 – check website for updates.

Humdrum Festival (around September 3rd to 5th, location tbc)

I’ve just come back from this wonderful gathering of around 300. Humdrum has been at Clophill Complementary Therapy Centre near Biggleswade for the past few years, but it looks like it’s changing venue in 2022. It has a real family/community feel – many people have been going for years. It’s really laid back and very compact with live music on Friday and Saturday nights, and workshops/classes during the day (I went to the drum workshop and Shakti Dance), you can also do foraging, sound healing and even didgeridoo classes. The cafe is amazing with the best vegan chocolate cake ever!

Price: £90 for adult weekend camping

Lindisfarne Festival (around September 3rd to 5th – Beals Farm, Northumberland)

I would have been at Lindisfarne if I hadn’t have gone to Humdrum – it’s at a great location in the North East and attracts top-draw headliners such as Groove Armada and Dizzee Rascal. The emphasis is on live music (there are nine different stages) but there’s also a wide range of other things to do, such as yoga classes, relaxing holistic therapies and much more. It’s also known for its epic fancy dress so find out the theme and get your costumes ready!

Price: Between £70 and £130 (depending on how many nights camping) – early bird available

Remember that most festivals will have volunteer opportunities too if you want to check out quite a few, meet new people and save some money! Most are child friendly and dog friendly, click on the links to visit the websites.

Please let me know if there are any I’ve missed out and I’ll add them to the list!

Hope to see you at a festival/gathering soon!

Debbie x