Clare Festival 10-12 July 2026
John
John Clare Festival
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What John Clare called ‘the month of Summer’s prime’ draws closer: July, his birth month, also brings the annual festival which is open to all. The theme this year is the ‘Family’. His great-great-granddaughter, Dorothy Rose, will be 100 in September.
A common thread running through what will be a weekend of events is ‘walking’. John Clare was an inveterate walker. He had to be. It runs through his poetry and prose, invariably revealing joy and acute observation. Yet his most extensive account as a walker was what Ronald Blythe called his ‘wretched road journey in July 1841’, from the High Beech asylum back home, his ‘Journey Out of Essex’. But it was the shorter, more local walks Clare made almost daily for work or pleasure that are most precious. He was, says Blythe, ‘the genius of the footpath’ though many of his most loved would soon be denied to him.
The Clare weekend starts on Friday 10 July with the traditional short walk by the children of Helpston Primary to
St. Botolph’s Church to lay ‘midsummer cushions’ around Clare’s grave. In the afternoon, there will be a circular fivemile walk starting at the John Clare Cottage – ‘A walk to see Betsey’ - taking in the history of Helpston, Ashton and Bainton.
On the main festival day, Saturday 11 July, there will be the popular Helpston village walk; and in the evening the concert by the Peterborough Choral Society through words and song will invite us to ‘A walk with John Clare’. Then on Sunday morning, 12 July, everyone will be invited to “The Flitting”, a walk from Clare’s Cottage in Helpston to Northborough in the footsteps of John Clare and his family as a prelude to an afternoon of talks in Northborough Church. Interweaving the walks will be a rich mix of events, talks, readings and entertainment as well as local hospitality for all to enjoy.
Dr Mike Mecham, Chair, John Clare Society
The John Clare Festival 2026 from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th July has something for everyone…
Whether you’re a Clare connoisseur, a nature-lover, or simply live in and around Helpston, we have talks, poetry, a concert, artists’ exhibitions, tasty lunches, Morris Dancers, folk music and family activities.
And this year we are celebrating the 45th anniversary of the John Clare Society! Dedicated to increasing knowledge of this wonderful, and increasingly rediscovered, poet.
John Clare Cottage will be open for
extended hours – check their website, clarecottage.org.
The Timetable Friday 10th 10.30 – 12.15 “Midsummer Cushions” at St Botolph’s Church
2 pm “A walk to see Betsey” – c 5 miles, taking in the history of Helpston, Ashton and Bainton. Starting and ending at the Cottage.
6 pm “Poems, Praise and Prayer with John Clare” at St Botolph’s Church
7 pm Folk night at John Clare Cottage
Saturday 11th
Helpston Local History Group
Exhibition “Family” at the Scout Hut Book sales at the Scout Hut
Children’s “John Clare Challenge”, Local Artists’ Exhibitions
9.30 am Meet the John Clare Cottage Team over coffee
10.30 am John Clare Society AGM at St Botolph’s
11.30 am President’s Address: introducing “Springtime” by Mike Hobson
12 noon the Beauvale Recorders at the Cottage, Lunches at the Village Hall, Peterborough Morris and Crosskey Clog Morris at the Bluebell Inn
12 noon lunches at the Village Hall
2 pm “Westings Meadow” – family art and natural history fun with Art PopUp at the Cottage
2 pm Keynote Speech by Dr David
Stewart of Northumbria University“A Stroll through the Annuals”
3 pm Teas at the Village Hall
4 pm Poetry Reading at St Botolph’s 7 pm Peterborough Choral Society in concert at St Botolph’s: “A Walk with John Clare” £17 – peterboroughchoral. com
Sunday 12th
10.30 am “The Flitting” – a walk in the footsteps of John Clare and his family, from Helpston’s John Clare Cottage to Northborough
10.45 am “Café Church” at St Botolph’s Church, Helpston 2.30 to 4.30 pm at Northborough Church: ”Martha’s Northborough” with Claire Richardson, James Keech on “The Overseers of the Poor Book”. £5 for the two talks.
The details
Parking – please park on the Parking Field (see map). Please keep parking outside the church free for those with disabilities.
John Clare Cottage – will be open extended hours on all three days selling refreshments and light lunches.
You can meet the John Clare Cottage team over coffee at 9.30 am on Saturday 11th. And don’t miss the Beauvale Recorders, at 12 noon.
Midsummer Cushions – Year 6 of John Clare School will be getting an early start on the weekend, laying their cushions outside St Botolph’s Church on Tuesday 7th at 10.45 am.
The other children will be coming down to the Church to lay their cushions and hear the winning poems from their poetry competition on Friday 10th from 10.30 am.
This is a beautiful, longstanding tradition.
“A Walk to See Betsey” - Elizabeth “Betsey” Newbon was one of John Clare’s earlier love interests.
After she set him an ultimatum, he walked out and subsequently met and married Martha. Betsey is buried in St Mary’s Church Bainton churchyard, and we will take a round trip from the Cottage taking in some of the Helpston buildings and local villages that John Clare knew. About 5 miles, circa 2 hours - meet at the Cottage at 2pm.
“Poems, Praise, and Prayer with John Clare” -an evening service including many of Clare’s Poems and Psalms, either set to music or read. Featuring: Sabbath Bells, The Peasant Poet, Nature’s Hymn to the Deity, The Instinct of Hope, Psalms 102 and 148, Thoughts from a Churchyard, The True Spiritual Worship, May, All Nature has a Feeling, and The Stranger.
“Folk Night at John Clare Cottage” Friday at 7– Come along to listen or to join in!
President’s Address: Saturday at 11.30 after the AGM - John Clare Society president, John Goodridge, Emeritus Professor of English at Nottingham Trent University, will be showcasing a short film by Mike Hobson, “Springtime”
“Westings Meadow” Family Drop-In Workshop, John Clare Cottage, Saturday 2–4pm Make bunting celebrating our local countryside with Art Pop-Up! Inspired by Westings Meadow’s heritage—from dinosaurs to John Clare—children can stitch, stick and colour flags. Sewing suitable for 7+ years. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
In the Village Hall on Saturday – Tasty Lunches and then refreshing teas John Clare Challenge - This year, children are invited to take part in the exciting John Clare Challenge! Pick up your stamping card from the welcome tent to begin.
The card will guide you to a range of locations around Helpston. At each stop, you’ll discover interesting historical facts and you can collect a stamp on your card.
Once you’ve visited all the locations and gathered every stamp, return to the welcome tent to receive a special bookmark and a sticker!’
The Bluebell Inn boasting all the charm you’d expect from a village inn with oodles of quirky character thrown in and an old-fashioned belief that a pub should have a social heart, and be flowing with drinks and great food served by people who care. The Bluebell will be hosting the Morris Dancers: This year we have two sides of Morris Dancers outside the Bluebell Inn. Crosskey Clog and the Peterborough Morris will be performing from noon to 2 pm.
At the Scout Hut – The Helpston Local History Group will be holding an exhibition on the subject “Family” – so important in a village with many longstanding family associations. And the chance to buy first and second hand books related to John Clare.
Keynote Speech: Dr David Stewart, Associate Professor of Romantic Literature at Northumbria University, will be leading us on “A Stroll through the Annals”.
Poetry Reading: Bring your own favourite, or listen to others. Chaired by Mike Mecham, Chair of the John Clare Society.
Evening Concert: The Peterborough Choral Society will be performing “A Walk with John Clare” – An evening of beautiful music inspired by nature. £17, tickets available from peterboroughchoral.com or on the door.
Northborough: While St Botolph’s Church has a “Café Church” on the Sunday morning at 10.45, there will also be a “Flitting” in the steps of the Clare family to Northborough – meet at the Cottage to start the walk at 10.30.
Lunches will be purchasable at the Pack Horse in Northborough. Then from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm will be a talk on “Martha’s Northborough” by local historian Claire Richardson, and then James Keech will present the “Overseers of the Poor Book”.
The two talks will cost £5 for the afternoon, pay on the door. Special parking arrangements in place at Northborough.
Dogs welcome. Lifts can be obtained in Northborough to return you to Helpston.
