The natural world takes center stage at these joyous gatherings, with support acts including live music, immersive art, and fire ceremonies. Here are 10 of the best UK nature festivals for late spring and summer 2026.
Between the Trees, South Wales
Winner of the UK's best micro-festival in 2025, Between the Trees returns to Candleston Woods in the spectacular Merthyr Mawr National Nature Reserve, located between Cardiff and Swansea. Designed to reconnect people with nature, the program features science and nature activities, folk music, and storytelling. Workshops in the Eco Hub include micrographia sessions exploring the world of insects on the reserve, as well as nature crafts. The Seren area offers new talks and walks, including stories of Welsh witches and forage-and-taste outings. With camping spots next to a wild beach and huge dunes, the site itself inspires awe. Dates: 27-30 August. Weekend tickets: £195 adults, £50 children. More info: betweenthetrees.co.uk.
Secret Wildlife Festival, East Sussex
On peaceful, rewilded fields between a 75-acre wood and a quiet country lane near Barcombe, the Secret Campsite is bursting with nature, from nightingales to slow worms. The best time to soak it up is during the Secret Wildlife festival, when Michael Blencowe, also known as the Sussex Naturalist, leads non-stop nature activities for about 90 campers. Alongside drop-in bushcraft activities, guided walks from dawn to dusk, and a big communal barbecue, hands-on activities include moth trapping, building hedgehog tunnels, and a glow-worm safari. Each evening, the Seven Sisters Astronomy Group helps campers explore the universe, and the event closes with a Secret Cinema screening of the campsite's camera traps. Dates: 26-28 June. Weekend tickets including camping and all activities: from £112 adults, £56 children. More info: thesecretcampsite.co.uk.
Isle of Wight Biosphere Festival
The Isle of Wight Biosphere Festival spans the island, showcasing the diverse species and landscapes of this UNESCO reserve, from beaches and wetlands to chalk downland and woodland. Featured events include a freediving safari in seagrass meadows at Seaview led by marine photographer Theo Vickers, open days at Permaculture Island (as seen in Ben Fogle's New Lives in the Wild), and a UV night walk exploring forest biofluorescence in Firestone Copse. Red Funnel offers discounted ferries from mainland England (£14, adults on foot) to celebrate the week. Dates: 27 June-5 July. Mix of free and paid events. More info: iwbiosphere.org.
North Pennines NatureFest, County Durham
Coinciding with European Geoparks Week, North Pennines NatureFest promises a packed agenda of informative and interactive events across the North Pennines National Landscape and UNESCO Global Geopark. An adder exhibition at Bowlees Visitor Centre showcases the region's commitment to this venerable native species, and all ages are welcome to join ecological experts in a bioblitz "wildlife recording frenzy" at Housty Farm in East Allen Valley. During the middle weekend, families are invited to a nature camp at Low Way Farm in Teesdale for activities ranging from bat detecting to birdsong walks. Dates: 23 May-7 June. Events priced individually; nature camp from £30 adults, £20 children. More info: northpennines.org.uk.
Nuts About Nature, Norfolk
Local nature experts guide activities and workshops during Nuts About Nature at Kelling Heath Holiday Park, a 120-hectare (300-acre) woodland and nationally rare open heathland near Holt. Coinciding with the unveiling of the park's new red squirrel enclosure, guests are invited to become "acorn adventurers" for the weekend, taking part in activities including pond-dipping, nature crafts, and self-guided trails. The park's countryside team is on-site to answer questions about the red squirrel population, conservation efforts, and the recently refurbished and enlarged enclosure. Dates: 5-7 June. Tent pitches from £39.50 per night; 3-for-2 nights offer with code NUTSABOUTNATURE26. More info: kellingheath.co.uk.
Urban Wild, Southampton
Run by the Southampton National Park City initiative and part of its Youth for Climate and Nature scheme, Urban Wild 2026 uses communal events to explore the theme Reimagining Southampton. Designed to bring people closer to the city's green and blue spaces while imagining a greener future, the festival opens with Urban Wild on the Common (24 May), featuring stalls, music, and family activities on Southampton Common. Other activities are organized by community groups and include group bike rides, creative workshops, and wildlife identification sessions. Dates: 23-31 May. Free. More info: southamptonnpc.com.
Orkney Nature Festival
Organized by a committee of local volunteers, this weeklong festival immerses visitors in Orkney's unique wildlife, from puffins to Risso's dolphins. Across the islands of Hoy and Birsay, guided walks visit seabird colonies clinging to cliffs, while RSPB wardens allow close observation without disturbance during guide-in-a-hide sessions. Other activities include snorkel safaris with Kraken Diving, an exploration of 5,000 years of people and nature at Skara Brae, and nature-inspired pottery sessions with Robin Palmer. Dates: 11-17 May. Events priced individually. More info: orkneynaturefestival.co.uk.
Solstice Festival, Cornwall
Nature the Artist – an initiative recognizing nature as a recording artist and using royalties to fund conservation work – takes over Trematon Castle Estate over the solstice weekend for the first time this year. Overlooking the Tamar Estuary, live music, immersive art installations, talks, and fire ceremonies are led by the likes of female group Boss Morris, Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip), and Deb Grant (6 Music DJ). Nature immersion is plentiful, with botanical guided walks, foraging sessions, and participatory workshops focused on ecology and seasonal change. This not-for-profit gathering donates 100% of festival profits to EarthPercent's nature restoration efforts. Dates: 19-22 June. From £260 for a weekend ticket, adults only. More info: gardenoftomorrow.org.uk.
Goren Festival, Devon
Spread across the wildflower meadows and orchards of Goren Farm near Honiton, Goren Festival is a family-friendly weekend celebration of music and nature. Pop-up stages fill the farm with music all weekend, and everyone is invited to get involved in creative arts through workshops, open mic, and fireside sessions. A nature zone inspires and delights younger visitors with nature trails, bat walks, wildlife stands, and a forest school. Dates: 3-5 July. Weekend tickets from £44 adults, £29 children; camping pitch £18. More info: gorenfestival.co.uk.
Festival of Nature, Bristol
Organized by the Bristol Natural History Consortium, the Festival of Nature aims to inspire public action for nature and the climate through free events in Bristol, Bath, and online. As the UK's largest free nature festival, hundreds of events are on offer, including guided wildlife walks, river and shoreline surveys, citizen science projects, seed planting, pollinator tracking, and hands-on conservation activities. Highlights this year include insect ID walks with Bath City Farm, family tree trails in Victoria Park, river dipping in Brislington Brook, online poetry-writing workshops, dementia-friendly allotment sessions, and a bioblitz species count at Stoke Park. Dates: 6-14 June. Free. More info: bnhc.org.uk.
