Plans have been announced for a brand new summer outdoor festival for the UK, to be held in North Wales. The Snowdonia Outdoor Festival – or Gwyl Awyr Agored Eryri – will run from 11-13 August, with a base on the banks of Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid) in Gwynedd. The festival will include outdoor activities, live music, sporting events and camping, all aimed at a family audience, and is expected to attract 12,000 visitors over the weekend.
The Snowdonia Outdoor Festival (SOF) is the brainchild of the team behind the successful Keswick Mountain Festival and will adapt some of that event’s most popular elements for the Bala Lake location and audience. Situated on the eastern edge of Snowdonia National Park, Bala Lake is easy to reach along the A494 and SOF will offer camping from the Friday through to the Monday. At its heart will be the Festival Village, a base for retailers and exhibitors, the SOF Talks Tipi, food and drink, and taster activities for all ages. The village will also be the site for live music on the Saturday and Sunday nights, and a focal point for many of the festival’s other attractions.
Outdoor activities and sports events will be core elements of the Snowdonia Outdoor Festival. The programme will include guided walks, canoeing, mountain biking, open water swimming, bushcraft, stand-up paddle boarding, sailing and more. There will also be a full schedule of sports events, with three trail runs, two open water swims, two mountain biking events and a sportive.
Event director Nicola Meadley comments: “We’re really excited about the potential of the Snowdonia Outdoor Festival. Bala Lake provides a brilliant base for exploring the north and east of the magnificent Snowdonia National Park and it’s really accessible for visitors. We are building partnerships with local organisations in the area and putting together what I am sure will be a hugely welcome and successful addition to the summer programme of events. Scheduling the festival for the summer holidays gives parents a great new option for an outdoor family break in August.”
Tickets for the first Snowdonia Outdoor Festival will go on sale at the start of March from www.snowdonia-outdoorfestival.co.uk, where full details of the programme will be listed as they are confirmed.