Booking for the Weekend

The Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival isn’t run like a commercial festival and relies upon lots of volunteers and the generosity of unions and our allies. It doesn’t make a profit and the TUC covers the deficit. As the Festival has grown to include a large variety of activities, we have introduced affordable tickets to sustain us. We remain committed to ensuring this Festival is accessible to working class families and trade unionists.

As a result, the cost to attend the Festival can vary and depends on when you will arrive, whether you will camp, stay in local accommodation or just come for a short day visit. We offer discount rates for children, with free weekend entry for children under five. We also run the Radical History School for trade union history buffs.

If you are coming for the Friday and/or Saturday entertainment, you must have a valid weekend entry wristband. And if you are camping, camping and/or parking passes need to be purchased in addition to this.

With the large rally and march on Sunday, we are committed to keeping this vibrant part of the Festival free to attend but you will be charged a small £15 fee for parking if you are coming with your own vehicle. Sunday Shuttle Buses are also available for Sunday day-guests to book. Please respect the Festival and safety of the local community by using the car parks. We work closely with villagers and our security team to prevent people from parking on the narrow lane verges.

All orders can be made via our Festival shop here. 

Each transaction will incur a Booking Fee: £4.00 . Please therefore make sure you have included all your tickets in your basket before payment. For more details about tickets and prices, keep scrolling.

After booking, you will receive an email confirmation of your order. This will be followed by a separate email with individual QR codes and corresponding PDF for each ticket and pass purchased. PLEASE KEEP THIS EMAIL AND DO NOT DELETE. You will need to show this email or the PDFs (printed out or on your phone) to a crew member at the CHECK-IN DESK who will exchange them for entry wristbands and passes. 

If you are booking on behalf of a group of friends, you can send individual tickets or passes to them directly. Please make sure to input their email address in the ticket box during your purchase. As the bill payer, you will still receive the full confirmation email of the order. 

Please note, we will only refund cancellations made no later than 30 June – an admin charge of £5 applies to all refunds.

Ready to go? Buy your tickets here

Festival entrance wristbands

Tickets will go on sale in the online shop on 1 April 2024.

• Adult Weekend Festival pass: £60 per adult
• Children (age) 5-15: £6
• Children under five: Free

Camping at the Festival

Please visit the ticket sales portal to buy your tent or campervan tags alongside your entry tickets. Advance booking is required.

• Tent Tag: £35
• Campervan Tag: £75

Spaces for tents and camper vans are limited and can sell out.

Parking for the whole weekend (or if you’re coming on Sunday only) are £15 per vehicle.

Parking at the Festival

Advance online prices are below. Please visit the ticket sales portal on the website to buy your vehicle pass. 

• Parking per vehicle: £15

This goes to fund the festival. There is no other entrance fee on the Sunday. It is shared with volunteers from the village who support the church and village hall.

Tolpuddle Radical History School

Thursday 18 July to Saturday 20 July

Open to all, the history school is a great chance to learn more about radical and trade union history. Running ahead and alongside the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival, it offers a chance to learn lessons from the past in beautiful, rural Dorset. The school aims to encourage discussion and thought and will have a wide range of professional historians, as well as enthusiastic amateurs, delivering talks on people and events that have challenged the status quo and advanced the interest of working people.

This year’s theme is Under Attack!

Cost: £115 per person – book here. And includes Festival weekend entry as well as the BBQ meal. 

If you are camping, or bringing your vehicle, you will also need to purchase camping passes and parking passes as the same time as your History tickets through our online shop.

For other accommodation options in the area, try www.visit-dorset.com.

Useful Information

We cannot take late arrivals after 11pm, when the gates will be closed.

Vehicles are NOT allowed in the camping area.

We do not accept caravans.

If you are coming in a campervan, you can also have EITHER space for an awning that must be attached to your camper van, OR space for a small 2-person tent next to your campervan. You cannot have both.

Trailer tents are allowed but these will be situated in the campervan area (You must purchase a tent tag and vehicle pass together).

Space is very tight. Camping pitches are allocated on a first come, first serve basis on arrival. If you wish to camp together as a group, please arrive together. Spaces cannot be saved and will be filled.

The Festival site offers hot showers and toilets.

For more information, download your Guide to camping at the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival.

The Fire Brigades Union have also produced a helpful safety guide for Tolpuddle campers. Download it here.

Disabled parking

Organisers of the Festival retain limited spaces for disabled drivers to park their vehicles in the festival camping field. Please follow the signs and guidance from our stewards.

Sunday road closures

The main road through Tolpuddle will be closed to all traffic from 1pm to 6pm on the Sunday of the festival weekend.

Please arrive in time to use the car parks before 1pm.

Access through the village after 1pm is prohibited due to the procession and march.

Please use the car parks and do not park on the main road or verges. If your vehicle is blocking access or escape, emergency services and/or other large vehicles and coaches may cause damage to your car. Should this happen, neither the Festival organisers nor the TUC can be held liable or responsible.

Respecting the village and festival stewards

We value the support and co-operation of all residents of Tolpuddle and the neighbouring villages. We work hard to ensure they face as little disruption as possible especially through inconsiderate parking and littering. Please use all bins provided across the site.

‘No Waiting’ cones and signs must be respected and parking fines will apply and be in force during the Festival.

Getting to the Festival

Directions on how to get to the Festival can be found here.

Prefer not to drive?

See information on local bus routes, train stations and Tolpuddle shuttle buses here.