Winter Droving To Move From Penrith To Carlisle After 14 Years

Penrith’s popular Winter Droving festival will move to Carlisle this autumn after 14 years, bringing its distinctive programme to a new city.

The event will become part of Carlisle Carnivale and is scheduled to take place on Saturday October 24. The programme will include live music, street performances and a twilight procession, while retaining several of the features that have become associated with the Winter Droving.

The move follows a partnership between Eden Arts, which organises the festival, and the Great Border City Business Improvement District. The collaboration has also received support through an Arts Council of England grant, allowing the event to continue in a different location this year.

Organisers said the Carlisle event would retain traditional elements of the Winter Droving programme. These will include the Drovers Cup, the popular dog fancy dress competition and work from theatre-maker Adrian Schvarzstein.

The Winter Droving has been held in Penrith for 14 editions and became a major feature of the town’s cultural calendar. Its combination of performances, markets, costumes and street entertainment attracted large crowds and gave the town an event with a distinctive identity.

Eden Arts director Adrian Lochhead said the decision reflected changing circumstances and new opportunities for the organisation. He explained that the scale of the festival meant a significant level of financial security was required to stage it safely and sustainably.

Lochhead said Penrith would always remain an important part of the Winter Droving story because it was where the event began. However, he said the financial arrangements required to deliver the festival there had not been achievable this year.

The move also provides an opportunity to introduce the festival to Carlisle while maintaining its established artistic programme. Organisers said there was a strong appetite for major cultural events in the city and that they wanted the Carlisle version to retain the character and unusual atmosphere associated with the Winter Droving.

The decision follows a difficult period for the event. Last year’s Winter Droving in Penrith was cancelled shortly before it was due to take place because of unsafe weather conditions, leaving the organising charity with a financial loss of around £20,000.

Eden Arts said the financial consequences of that cancellation were significant for a small charity. Although there continued to be support for holding the festival in Penrith, the level of funding and sponsorship needed to stage an event of its scale was not secure this year.

The organisation said it could not responsibly take on the same level of financial risk again. At the same time, an opportunity developed in Carlisle that provided a way to keep the wider artistic programme together and stage a major event rather than cancelling it or substantially reducing its size.

The move has prompted disappointment in Penrith, where the festival has developed strong links with local businesses, organisations and residents. The event has also provided an important annual attraction for the town, bringing visitors into the centre and supporting independent shops, hospitality businesses and other local traders.

Penrith organisations have expressed concern about the sudden announcement and the loss of an established event from the town’s calendar. They have also highlighted the contribution made by volunteers, sponsors and community groups over the festival’s 14 year history.

However, Eden Arts has stressed that the move to Carlisle is not necessarily a permanent decision. The organisation has said it hopes the Winter Droving can return to Penrith in the future if a sustainable funding partnership can be rebuilt.

For 2026, attention will now turn to Carlisle and the development of the festival as part of the city’s wider Carnivale programme. The partnership is expected to bring a large cultural event into the city centre and provide an opportunity for local businesses to benefit from increased visitor numbers.

Great Border City BID director and West Walls Brewing Co co-founder Joe Harrison welcomed the partnership and said an event of this scale could bring thousands of additional visitors into Carlisle city centre.

The October event will therefore mark a significant change for one of Cumbria’s best known autumn festivals. While Penrith remains central to the Winter Droving’s history, Carlisle will provide the setting for the event’s next chapter.

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