Festivals

Festivals have been taking place in Britain for centuries, though not necessarily in the way we see them today.  

Many of the UK’s popular music festivals have been in welcoming crowds for decades. Reading and Leeds Festival began back in the 1960s as the National Jazz Festival, later becoming the National Jazz and Blues Festival. By the 1970s, the name had changed and it found its permanent home in Reading, before the sister event in Leeds was added in the 1990s. Similarly, Glastonbury Festival started in the 1970s, originally under the name of the Pilton Pop, Blues and Folk Festival. While revellers spend hundreds of pounds on tickets now, the original price was just a pound! 

Music festivals took place in Britain before that though, Cheltenham Music Festival is actually one of the oldest of its kind in the world – it began in 1945. At the time it was at the forefront of the music scene!  

It isn’t just music festivals that the UK is known for, you can also find food festivals, car festivals and a whole host more!  

Find festivals to add to your itineraries here.