FolkEast

About Folk East

Folk East began on the August Bank Holiday weekend in 2012. The 2027 edition runs 20-22 August at Sotterley Estate near Beccles, NR34 7TY, as a cultural festival built around folk and folk arts. Capacity is about 2,000 people a day.

The festival moved to Sotterley Estate in summer 2025 after 12 years at Glemham Hall. Its sustainability track runs through the archive: local sourcing began in 2013, a first solar-powered stage arrived in 2014, and Carbon Charter Gold status followed in 2022 and again in 2025.

Lineup and Programme

The bill sits in folk and folk arts. The named stages are Second Cousins, The Librarium and The Barn.

Beyond music performances, the programme runs through talks and podcasts, dance workshops, film, instrument makers, the art arcade, Young Folk activities and food and drink traders. The emphasis is wider than a straight concert field.

Who Is It For?

The crowd is mixed-age and family-friendly. Ticketing separates adults, 12-17s and 0-11s, while the Young Folk strand and children's activities put families inside the main shape of the weekend.

It is aimed at a folk-arts audience rather than only gig-goers. Talks, dance, makers and food sit alongside the stage programme.

The Venue and Site

Sotterley Estate gives the festival a 500-acre parkland site near Beccles. The estate has medieval origins, and much of the parkland carries SSSI designation.

Camping is available, with weekend camping opening from 2pm on Thursday. Options cover tent-only pitches, tent-with-vehicle pitches and on-wheels pitches for caravans, campervans and motorhomes.

Facilities include free-to-use showers, two toilet blocks, accessible toilets in campsites and the arena, 24-hour first aid, an induction loop in the Information Tent, secure bike lock-up areas and food and drink traders. There is no electric hook-up in the campsite.

Travel to Folk East

Sotterley Estate sits near Beccles in Suffolk. Beccles station is on the Ipswich-Lowestoft line, and cycle route 31 serves the countryside approach.

• Train: Beccles station on the Ipswich-Lowestoft line.
• Cycle: Access via cycle route 31.
• Road: Routes use the A12 via Blythburgh from Ipswich, the A12 via Benacre from Lowestoft, the A146 via Beccles toward Lowestoft, and the A145 local approach roads.
• Local roads: Single-track lanes run around Sotterley Estate.
• Parking: Camping visitors use the campsite car park at the top of the campsite when moving in or out. Blue Badge parking is near the Box Office entrance.