ALB Festival

About ALB Festival

ALB began as a Colchester Facebook group in the early days of COVID-19. By 2027, ALB Festival is back in Lower Castle Park, Colchester as a city-centre music festival with a community brief. The annual event attracts over 4,000 people.

The festival’s roots are local. ALB Festival was in its sixth year in 2026, after a first festival year implied in 2021, and the wider ALB organisation also took on the lease of Stanway Lakelands Community Centre in 2023.

Who Is It For?

The crowd is mixed-age and local, with the weekend pitched at families as much as regular festivalgoers. Short days help. Family entertainment, stalls, food and bars sit alongside the live music.

Visitors can bring camping chairs or picnic blankets into the site. The event is charity and community-led, with fundraising supporting local causes.

The Venue and Site

Lower Castle Park puts the festival in a historic central Colchester setting, with the main entrance at the east end of High Street next to the Castle. The park setting means the site is close to the town centre rather than on an out-of-town field.

Facilities include food stalls and bars, street-food pitches, family zones, Castle Park café and a Changing Places facility. The VIP area has a rooftop viewing platform, private bar, posh loos and covered space, plus a separate entrance.

Travel to ALB Festival

Lower Castle Park sits in central Colchester, around 50 miles from London, 24 miles from Chelmsford and 15 miles from Ipswich.

• By train: Colchester Town Station is approximately 0.4 miles from Colchester Castle via Queen Street. Colchester North station is approximately 1 mile from the Castle.
• By road: Access points around Castle Park include the east end of Colchester High Street next to the Castle, Castle Road, and Ryegate Road / Middle Mill Road.
• Main routes: The A134 / Balkerne Hill serves central Colchester. A12 Junction 28 connects with Colchester Park and Ride.
• Parking: The closest car parks are Priory Street and Leisure World, with further town-centre car parks available. Blue Badge holders can park free for up to three hours in bays on High Street, North Hill, and Museum Street / Castle Bailey.