Kendal Mountain Festival

About Kendal Mountain Festival

At Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, Kendal Mountain Festival 2026 runs as a cultural festival for adventure and outdoor culture.

The 2026 edition runs 19–22 November 2026. Its first edition took place in 1980 as the two-day Kendal Mountaineering Film Festival, founded by Alan Evans, Jess Stock, Ian Wall, John Porter, Jim Curran and Brian Hall.

The event now draws 25,000+ visitors over four days. Independent research by the Tourism Resources Company estimated the 2024 festival brought £3.76 million into the local economy and supported 66 full-time equivalent jobs.

Lineup and Programme

The 2026 bill runs through 200+ live sessions, 300+ speakers, 170+ films and 50+ activities.

Basecamp is free to enter. Its three speaker stages are The Bothy Stage, Adventure Stage and Gallery Stage, with more than 70 free talks across the weekend.

• Film screenings and premieres
• Speaker sessions and Q&As
• Book events and children's authors
• Live music and parties
• Trail and ultra runs
• Yoga, wellness, hikes, runs and bike rides
• Family film sessions and talks

Who Is It For?

The audience runs from climbers and runners to filmmakers, writers, artists and families. The festival describes its crowd as a global community drawn to nature, the environment, adventure and exploration.

No blanket age restriction is stated. Under-18s passes cover ages 13–17, film and speaker content is not age-restricted, and licensed parties are 18+.

The Venue and Site

Brewery Arts Centre is the main festival venue, using the Theatre, Malt Room, Cinema and Warehouse spaces. The festival also spreads across other Kendal venues, with Basecamp in Abbot Hall Park.

Basecamp includes the Food & Drink Village and the three speaker stages. Brewery Arts has an on-site box office during the festival, accessible toilets, wheelchair access, bike racks and a 50-space car park with 4 accessible spaces.

Accommodation sits outside the festival ticket. DoJo at Kendal Judo Club lists 40+ campervan spaces, 10+ tent pitches and hostel accommodation with showers and breakfast.

Kendal sits in Cumbria, with rail access via Kendal station and Oxenholme Lake District.

• Kendal railway station: within easy walking distance of Brewery Arts Centre.
• Oxenholme Lake District: nearby West Coast Main Line station, roughly a 5-minute taxi or bus ride to Kendal town centre.
• Road access: Junction 36 of the M6, plus the A6 and A591.
• Parking: Brewery Arts Centre has a 50-space on-site car park with 4 accessible spaces. Charges start from £3.50 per hour, and town-centre parking is limited over the festival weekend.
• Distances by road: Lancaster is about 22 miles away, Leeds about 70 miles, Liverpool about 72.7 miles and Manchester about 74 miles.