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Greenbelt Festival bids farewell to Boughton House

Martin HeathBoughton House
Martin Heath/BBC A group of performers stand on an outdoor festival stage behind microphone and music stands. Several people are gathered across the stage, with one person at the right raising an arm. Large stage speakers and lighting equipment are visible in the foreground. A large blue triangular structure stands to the left, and a backdrop behind the performers displays part of the word "GREENBELT". A red podium at the right bears the Greenbelt logo and branding.Martin Heath/BBC
Martin Heath/BBC A large crowd sits and stands outdoors at a festival event in bright sunshine. The foreground shows several audience members seated closely together, while the background is densely packed with people stretching across the frame. Colourful flags and banners rise above the crowd, and festival structures are visible behind them. The scene conveys the scale of the gathering, with attendees watching activities taking place off-camera. A bubble drifts near the centre of the picture.Martin Heath/BBC
Thousands of people attended the Greenbelt Festival, which this year had the theme of "Let It All Go"
Bubbles were released as the festival said goodbye to Boughton House

An arts and faith festival which has been held in the grounds of a stately home since 2014 will be looking for a new venue from 2028.

The Greenbelt Festival will be having a year off in 2027 while it finds a new location to replace Boughton House near Kettering in Northamptonshire.

Television presenter Rev Kate Bottley, who has been a trustee, said: "Boughton House is such a beautiful site, the trees, the house itself, the water features, it's just glorious.

"The downside is that it's just not got the infrastructure - we have to bring all our water, all our generators, and it makes the festival more expensive than its should be."

Martin Heath/BBC The Rev Kate Bottley wearing a bright orange dress with puffed sleeves sits outdoors at a festival. She is wearing pink-tinted glasses and a large floral headpiece made up of oversized flowers in shades of pink, cream and orange. A small microphone is clipped to the front of the dress. Behind the person is a large white marquee tent, a row of recycling and waste bins, and portable toilets in the distance. Trees line the edge of the festival site, and string lights are visible along the tent against a partly cloudy sky.Martin Heath/BBC
Rev Kate Bottley said it was getting too expensive to stage the festival at Boughton House

The Greenbelt Festival has been staged in several locations since it was launched at a farm in Suffolk in 1974.

It came to Boughton House, owned by the Duke of Buccleuch, in 2014, but the festival's trustees decided that the 2026 edition would be the last to be held there.

Among the big names taking part this year were The Proclaimers, Charlotte Church and Michael Sheen.

Martin Heath/BBC Richard Venn sits in a folding chair on a dry grassy field, holding a large insulated mug. The person is wearing a bright pink sweatshirt with a small “50 Greenbelt Angel” logo on the chest, a green cap, and a cross pendant on a lanyard. Other attendees are seated and standing nearby, with camping chairs, bags and wellington boots visible around the outdoor festival site.Martin Heath/BBC
Richard Venn says he won't miss having to trek for miles at Boughton House

The main music stage hosted The Proclaimers - amongst others - this year, but also held talks and discussions about faith and activism.

The Sunday morning "outdoor communion" attracted thousands of people over the years, and a tree, named Dave, that was presented on stage was later planted in the grounds of Boughton House as a memento of the festival.

Richard Venn, who travelled up from Wiltshire for this year's event, said: "I think what I'll miss is the beauty, the surroundings, the creation care you see everywhere.

"What I won't miss is having to trek miles because it's a big site."

Martin Heath/BBC Lucy Smith wearing sunglasses and a backpack holds a small cup of bubble solution in one hand and a bubble wand in the other while blowing a soap bubble. Several iridescent bubbles float through the air around the scene. In the background, people sit and gather at picnic tables in an outdoor festival area, with white marquees, bunting and coloured string lights visible overhead. Trees surround the site, and the late-afternoon light illuminates the crowd and tents.Martin Heath/BBC
Lucy Smith enjoyed blowing bubbles during the communion

Festival-goer Lucy Smith said it was "always lovely to see so many trees" at Boughton House but "travelling here was not the easiest - so somewhere that is slightly more easily accessible would be good."

Amelie Timmis also said she hoped the next venue would be "somewhere that can produce the same amount of mud" as Boughton House, "because the mud is a nice little Greenbelt moment."

She also wanted a location that "accepts Greenbelt as it is, which Boughton House has definitely done."

Martin Heath/BBC A close-up portrait shows Amelie Timmis standing outdoors at a festival, with sunglasses resting on top of their head and a thin necklace around their neck. Behind them, people sit at picnic benches and gather near a large white marquee. Festoon lights and triangular bunting are strung overhead, while a bamboo-style fence runs along the left side of the image. Trees form a green backdrop beyond the festival site, and the scene is lit by warm afternoon sunlight.Martin Heath/BBC
Amelie Timmis says Boughton House has accepted Greenbelt as it is
Martin Heath/BBC Close-up of Andrew Graystone wearing round glasses and a checked shirt, seated inside a transparent festival tent. He faces the camera in the foreground, while the background shows an outdoor festival scene with colourful bunting, marquees, and groups of people gathered on a grassy field. A dark, cloudy sky can be seen beyond the trees, and a sign reading “East Gate” is visible in the distance.Martin Heath/BBC
Andrew Graystone has offered his back garden as a new venue

Asked about finding a new venue, Andrew Graystone, an author who has put together many of the Greenbelt communions, said: "My back garden's nice at this time of year.

"I think we're going to struggle to find a place that's as green and beautiful and welcoming as this, but Greenbelt has been going for 52 years, we've been on seven different sites, so there will be a future.

"I just don't know quite where."

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