Frequently Asked Questions

Cumbrian Wool Gathering is a two-day festival dedicated to wool, yarn, fibres, and related crafts. We're based at J36 Rural Auction Centre in Cumbria and run every year in June. Our about us page explains more.

Cumbrian Wool Gathering 2024 will be held on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd June. We'll be open from 10am until 4pm on both days. You'll be able to buy tickets on the door from 11am and last entry is at 3.30pm each day.

You can view our Exhibitors list. There we introduce each exhibitor and link to where you can find them online.

All exhibitors will accept cash payments and most accept card payments too. If you want to confirm with a particular exhibitor, you can get in touch with them using the contact details we have listed for them. There's no cash machine at the venue so we recommend bringing some cash with you.

You can advertise in our visitor brochure. We give this to all visitors and lists the exhibitors and their contact information. You are able to advertise in this brochure whether you are an exhibitor or not, at the following costs:

• Quarter page: £25.00
• Half page: £50.00
• Full page: £100.00

If you want to advertise in the brochure, please get in touch through our contact form.

You can find out full details on how to apply on our exhibitor information page. This includes relevant dates and our top tips.

Cumbrian Wool Gathering is organised by Wool Gatherings Ltd. We're registered in England and our company number is 14112793.

You can use our contact form here. We're also on Facebook and have a chat function embedded on our website. Look in the bottom right corner of the screen. You can message us on Instagram too. We try to respond to all queries within 48 hours.

We'll have a bag storage area at the entry which we'll charge a small fee for. We'll donate the fee to a charity - we haven't decided which charity yet but we'll make it clear on the day!

We also run Bakewell Wool Gathering and Buxton Wool Gathering.

We'd love your help! Please complete our Google Form with your contact details and we'll be in touch.

Tickets are on sale here on our website. We don't charge a booking fee.

You can read full step-by-step instructions.

We also sell tickets on the day but they aren't available until 11am. You can pay in cash or by card.

Tickets will only be available on the day if they haven't sold out in advance. If tickets sell out online you won't be able to buy them on the door. We'll update this website and our social media ahead of time to make this clear. We recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.

Tickets are £10.00 for an adult for a single day, or £15.00 for the weekend. We don't charge a booking fee.

Children under 16 do not need to pay, but do need to be accompanied by an adult. Carers also enter for free if they're with a ticket holder.

We'll provide you with a wristband which will allow you to come and go as you need without having to pay again.

When you book a ticket, we send email confirmation to you. On that email there'll be a barcode, and we scan that on the day when you enter. You can print that out or show it to us on your phone.

If you have any issues we can look you up by name.

You can read full step-by-step instructions here.

We don't send out tickets by post.

Tickets may be available on the day, but only if they haven't sold out in advance. They're limited to 2500 a day, and 500 for weekend tickets. We've done this to prevent overcrowding.

If tickets sell out online you won't be able to buy them on the door. We'll update this website and our social media ahead of time to make this clear. But we do recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment.

When you book a day ticket we'll ask you to pick which day you'll be attending on. This is because we limit tickets for each day toprevent overcrowding.

When we scan your entry ticket, we provide you with a colour-coded wristband which lets us know which day you've booked. You can only enter if your wristband is the correct colour for that day.

If you want to come on both days, you can buy a weekend ticket instead.

If you've bought a ticket for one day and want to change it use it on the other day, please get in touch and we'll see what we can do.

If you're accompanying a ticket holder as their carer, you don't need to pay for a ticket of your own. Just let us know when you enter.

The ticket price covers entry into Cumbrian Wool Gathering. We give you a wristband that lets you re-enter the event as often as you want.

We also give you an exhibitor guide which includes a venue map and details of all the exhibitors. You won't need to pay extra for parking, or for the shuttle bus service from the train station at Oxenholme.

If you've booked a ticket but can no longer attend, you can ask for a refund up to seven calendar days before the event. Let us know through our contact form and we'll cancel your ticket and issue a refund to the account you paid from. If there's less than a week to go, we're unable to provide a refund.

If we have to cancel Cumbrian Wool Gathering, we'll automatically issue a refund to all booked tickets. We did the same when we cancelled a previous event due to Covid-19.

We charge an entry free to cover our costs. For example, we have to pay for the hire of the venue, insurance, and staffing.

We try to keep the price down and believe we are good value for money compared to many other wool festivals.

Once you've purchased your ticket you can re-enter as much as you like on the day.

We've set up a separate process for that.

You can get to J36 Rural Auction Centre in a car or by public transport.

By car: Parking is at Westmorland County Showground with free shuttle buses to the venue. It's about a five minute trip.The centre is just off Junction 36 of the M6, in the south-east of Cumbria. Follow the signs when you're on the M6. 

Parking is at Westmorland County Showground with free shuttle buses to the venue. It's about a five minute trip.

Accessible parking is at the venue itself. If you or a member of your party would struggle to get on and off a coach, please use the accessible parking.

Follow the AA road signs which will direct you where to go. All parking is free.

Public transport: The closest train station is in Oxenholme, which is about a 15 minute drive away. There's no local bus connection but you can get a taxi. We definitely wouldn't recommend trying to walk as you'd need to cross a busy junction.

We’ll provide a shuttle bus service between the station and the venue for anyone arriving by train. It will run every fifteen minutes after 9.30am on Saturday and 11am on Sunday, and it'll be timed to make sure you won't have to wait long no matter what train you arrive on.

Sadly, we haven't been able to secure a wheelchair accessible shuttle bus. That means that if you're travelling by train, you might not be able to use the shuttle bus to get to the venue. If this is going to cause you problems getting to the event, please contact us and we'll try and help you find a solution.

You can get to Oxenholme on Northern Trains, Transpennine Express, or Avanti West Coast. That means there’s a direct service from Manchester, London, Glasgow, and more.

You can also catch the train to Kendal but that has less services and destinations. From there, a train or a bus to Oxenholme will link you with our shuttle bus.

Parking is at Westmorland County Showground with free shuttle buses to the venue. It's about a five minute trip. You can walk, but it'll take you around half an hour. If you want to do this, please use the canal towpath, not the roads.

Accessible parking is at the venue itself. If you or a member of your party would struggle to get on and off a coach, please use the accessible parking.

Follow the AA road signs which will direct you where to go. 

J36 Rural Auction Centre has a cafe on site and there'll also be a coffee stand outside to get snacks and drinks from.

The venue is fully wheelchair accessible, with disabled parking close to the entrance.

There's no cash machine on site so we recommend bringing some with you.

Assistance dogs are welcome in the venue and you can bring them into Cumbrian Wool Gathering.

Other dogs aren't allowed inside, but there's plenty of space to walk them on the surrounding land. Your entry wristband will allow you to come and go, if you need to go outside to attend to your dog.

We understand this is disappointing but we do need to enforce this policy - for the safety of dogs and humans alike.

Food and drink is available from the café on site. We're also providing seating for you to sit and eat any food you've brought with you.

The venue is completely wheelchair accessible. It's all on one level with no stairs. It has accessible parking bays and toilets.

There aren't any cash machines at the venue, so we recommend bringing some cash with you.

Most exhibitors will accept card payments, but if you want to check ahead of time you can get in touch with them.

There's seating available in the cafe, but you can't eat food purchased elsewhere there. We'll have seating in the main hall for you to sit and eat your own food, or just rest your feet.