Gate To Southwell Festival

About Gate To Southwell Festival

Kirklington Lakes off Eakring Lane, Newark, is the setting for Gate To Southwell Festival 2027, a folk, roots and acoustic music festival running from 1 to 4 July 2027.

The festival began in 2007, moved from Southwell Racecourse to Kirklington lakeside parkland in 2021, and reaches its 20th anniversary and 20th edition in 2027. There was no festival in 2020.

The scale is compact. The official 2025 review put the 18th edition at over 3,000 visitors, while the 2027 ticket page lists adult early-bird weekend tickets from £143pp to £163pp, plus separate camping, pitch and Wednesday add-on tickets.

Lineup and Programme

The bill leans into folk, roots, acoustic, Americana, Celtic, blues and world music, with 60+ acts across three main stages. Six stages are named.

Those stage names are Lake Stage, Folk Stage, Frontier Stage, Boathouse Bar Stage, Children's Stage and Steeples. The programme also includes workshops, ceilidhs, dance sides and Morris procession, street theatre, walkabouts, family entertainment, bar sessions and campfire sessions.

Who Is It For?

The audience is mixed-age and family-facing, covering roots-music fans, families and couples. Under-12s go free.

Under-18s receive discounts, and anyone under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. The children's stage and family entertainment sit inside the wider festival programme.

The Venue and Site

Kirklington Lakes is lakeside parkland off the A617, using Eakring Lane and the Archway House NG22 8NX satnav reference. Camping sits by the lake.

On-site camping and glamping are listed, with campers able to park on pitch or use the campsite car park after unloading. The Lake Stage has audience cover, the Folk Stage is in a marquee, and the Frontier Stage has an audience-covered area near the stage.

Facilities listed by the festival include showers, accessible toilets, disabled parking, an accessible camping area, chemical waste disposal points, a dog exercise area and free electric charging points for mobility and medical equipment.

Travel to Gate To Southwell Festival

The site is at Kirklington Lakes off Eakring Lane/A617 near Newark, around 13 miles from Nottingham.

• Rail: Mansfield station is 10 miles away and Newark station is 11 miles away.
• Road: Access is via Eakring Lane and the A617, with Home Farm Lane also listed.
• Satnav: Archway House NG22 8NX is the stated reference.
• Parking: There is a free day car park near the box office, a campsite car park, parking on pitch after unloading and disabled parking.
• Nearby cities: Nottingham is approximately 13 miles away, Newark 11 miles and Mansfield 10 miles.