Kendal Mountain Festival's first sister event comes to Shalford Park, Guildford on 11 to 13 June 2027, targeting 25,000 visitors over three days.

Guildford is getting a major new outdoor festival. The North Downs Mountain Festival will run at Shalford Park from 11 to 13 June 2027, and its organisers are aiming for more than 25,000 visitors over the three days. The event is the official sister festival of the Kendal Mountain Festival, the long-running Lake District festival of adventure film, books and outdoor culture.

The details come from the festival’s own site, which gives the venue as Shalford Park, Shalford Road, Guildford, GU4 8BL. It is being staged by Kendal Mountain Events together with Raccoon Media Group, and the organisers describe it as bringing “the world-class Kendal Mountain Festival experience beyond Cumbria for the first time”. They are billing it as the South East’s largest outdoor cultural event; that is their claim, and at a 25,000 target it would be a big one to fall short of.

What is planned

The festival site will be split into nine themed zones. The festival’s site lists:

  • The Story House: adventure films, books, speakers and debate, the core of the Kendal formula
  • Vertical Worlds: climbing and bouldering, with competitions
  • Wild Water: kayaking, paddleboarding and wild swimming
  • The Big Blue: surf, kite, sail and freediving
  • Backcountry: hiking, navigation and wild camping skills
  • The Trails: road, gravel and trail cycling plus trail running
  • Nature Connection: wildlife, conservation and outdoor skills
  • a Basecamp Village of gear brands and food, and a Skills and Creativity Hub for workshops, art and photography

Confirmed partner brands so far include Adidas, Fjällräven, Deuter, Blundstone and Nikwax.

Tickets are not on sale yet

There is no ticket price or on-sale date published so far. The festival site currently offers an early-bird mailing list sign-up, which is where pricing will land first.

What it means for you

For Guildford, this is a statement booking. Kendal Mountain Festival’s organisers say this is the first time the event has expanded beyond Cumbria, and they have chosen Shalford Park to do it. The site is just south of Guildford town centre on Shalford Road, so a weekend event of this kind lands on our doorstep rather than a motorway away.

Practicalities worth knowing now:

  • the dates are Friday 11 to Sunday 13 June 2027, so expect Shalford Road (the A281) and the park to be busy that weekend
  • 25,000 visitors over three days is of a different order to anything the park currently hosts
  • if you want tickets at the cheapest price, the early-bird list on the festival’s site is the only route open today

We will report the ticket details and any road or park closures when they are published. For what is on in the meantime, see our things to do in Guildford page, and if you are coming from further out, our trains and travel page covers getting to Guildford by rail.