Solstice Festival

Event Date: 21/06/2025 10:00 - 16:00

This is a two-day event: June 21st to June 22nd.

CELEBRATE THE SUMMER SOLSTICE AT SAMPHIRE HOE

Saturday 21st June 2025 is the Summer Solstice: the longest day of the year. 

The Bee Friendly Trust joins with White Cliffs Countryside Partnership at Samphire Hoe to celebrate the solstice with a cornucopia of creativity across this unique environment. All the work will be inspired by the sun and the extraordinary variety of pollinators and pollinated to be found at the Hoe – from bees and butterflies to rare orchids.

From 10 am to 5 pm there will be performances to be discovered, artworks to find, stories to be told, music to be heard, artists to encounter at work, and creations to participate in.

The events below need pre booking by following the 'Book this event' button below :

10.00am Bee on the Beach - Collaborate with Artist Steve Walker to create a giant bee on the beach from found pebbles and stones.

1.00pm: Wax and Honey – Join beekeepers Luke Dixon and Lesley Hipple to taste honeys from around the world and then make a natural bees wax candle to take home.

2.30pm: Writing Workshop – Join Writers and poets Justine Rogers, Beth Bayliss and Carina Graham to learn about or reinvent folklore legends and faeire tales to inspire writing and story telling.

4.00pm: Stick painting – Join legendary outsider artist stevexoh to create your own unique artwork by painting on a stick. Bring your own favourite stick or use one provided.

The festival will conclude on Sunday 22^nd June at 10.30 am with a Pollinating Pilgrimage around the Hoe, honouring the creatures that live in, on, under, above and below it led by New York performance artist Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo Ovalles Morel

Event Location - Samphire Hoe

Please note the tea kiosk is temporarily closed until further notice. 

Samphire Hoe Country Park was created at the foot of Shakespeare Cliff between Folkestone and Dover using chalk marl dug to create the Channel Tunnel. Opened in 1997 as a nature reserve and country park it is now a haven for wildlife and a centre for outdoor learning and events.

Habitats on site include chalk grassland, sea buckthorn scrub, ponds, rockpools and a pebble beach. Paths and a cycle route allow you to explore the site and a tea kiosk and indoor exhibition room with seating can be found near the car park.

The North Downs Way runs along the cliff top and links the site to Folkestone Warren Local Nature Reserve to the west.

We manage Samphire Hoe on behalf of Eurotunnel. For more information visit the Samphire Hoe website.