FAQ for Heart of the Rose Festival 2026

Dates

Heart of the Rose will take place from the 3rd-7th September on Eridge Park, Tunbridge Wells, TN3 9JT. 

Opening and Closing times

Thursday - Early Entry Camping available - entry between 5.30-9pm (you will need to buy a specific £22 ticket for this) 

Friday - Main Doors Open at 9am and last entry is 9pm

Saturday - Doors Open at 8.30am and last entry is 9pm 

Sunday - Doors Open at 8.30am and last entry is Midday

Monday - Everyone must be offsite by 11am 

Monday Afternoon/Eve - There is an additional afternoon/eve we are currently planning on the same site, that will involve the Brother’s of the Rose and a separate ticket option - and another event in itself. All of this is still in motion and being seeded but we are very excited to share more details in April! It will be something very new and exciting for this year. We can’t share more at this point but if you feel intuitively you may want to stay and be involved - then do keep the rest of Monday and Tuesday morning free. This will be the seeding of a ‘next step’ for one of the very long term visions of Heart of the Rose, where women meet on one side and men the other and then we all come together after the weekend - for those that choose…more details to come soon…

Thursday Early Entry

Just like last year - we will now be offering an ‘early entry’ camping ticket’s for those that want to settle-in and ground on the park, before the festival get’s going on Friday! This ticket needs to be bought in addition to a ‘Weekend Ticket’. The opening times for the entry will be 5.30-9pm on Thursday. This ticket will just provide entry to the campsite (and not the main area - which will only be open from Friday morning). Although you won’t be able to go into the main arena on Thursday night - our lovely sister’s at Enchanted Glade Sauna are opening their sauna up for the evening and offering a special discount price for ‘early bird campers’. They will also have a nice fire going for all to sit around. You can book the sauna when on site. 

Tickets

We will have volunteer’s at the gate scanning your QR code, you would have received from Ticket Tailor for your ticket - if you have lost this - don’t panic! We will also have your name on the gate :) 

If you have sold your ticket on or have been sold a ticket - please know you just need the original OR code and name of the person who bought the ticket.

We will also hope to have a few ticket’s on the door as well, in case any of your friend’s want to come last minute. 

Can I get a refund if I can’t come? 

As mentioned throughout the website and in our T&C’s we are unfortunately unable to offer any refunds. You are very welcome to transfer your ticket to a sister though! This is your responsibility and unfortunately we are unable to advertise on anyone’s behalf. 

Travel 

Please see our main travel page for specific info! 

If Bringing Your Car

If you are bringing your car - please know you will need to buy a separate car pass. We know some people will be staying off site at air b n b’s over the weekend so please just let the parking stewards know when you arrive and you can leave easier at night. 

Ride Shares

If you are looking for a ride or able to offer one - please post on our Heart of the Rose Facebook Group...https://www.facebook.com/groups/413790187260113 

Children

This year we are very excited to start to welcome ‘young maidens’ this year - those 11 years old and up! We will share more details around this soon but please know we plan to have a specifically curated area for young maidens. Please note anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an older guardian or parent.

Similar to previous years - ‘babes in arms’ are welcome (‘pre-crawlers’ and ‘pre-movers’).

For those mammas with toddlers this year - we also wanted to mention that we do also have a local campsite on the Park, on the other side of the Estate - run by an outside company https://www.deerparkcampsite.co.uk. We mention this as we aware some women would not like to leave their little ones so long and this is another accommodation option if your partner and little ones would like to stay near the site, so you can then visit them throughout the festival (it is a 5 minute car ride from the festival site). This is completely separate from the festival and will need to be booked and organised separately by the individuals. 

*(PLEASE NOTE - a little message from Sophie re, children…please know my whole intention for Heart of the Rose (from the beginning) was to have all ages and all children welcome at the festival. When I got shown the original vision - it was very clear that youngest to oldest were spiralling out of the center of the fire and that children would be at the center + a core part of the vision. So much so - that I am planning to build an actual Mystery School for children on the Estate in the future! Yet in order to honour this Guidance deeply - I have needed to ‘listen’ very carefully, as to when this is meant to be, and make sure everything and everyone is in place before we welcome them at the festival. That the same level of care, thoughtfullness and curation I have put everywhere else, can be put into the children’s area too, and that there are the right people to hold and vision it. It has therefore not felt time yet, but please know it will be. I believe Heart of the Rose will be growing and expanding for many years to come. This is a very long-term vision! And please know all ages will be welcome soon and why we’re very excited to start to welcome young maidens this year, as it feels like the next step :))*

Site size

The site is very small and in one field and will be the same layout as last year - everything is within a 4-5 minute walking distance and on a relatively flat surface - apart from the parking lot which is on a very slight hill. The final site map will be published on the website the month before the festival.

Who is this festival for? 

This festival is for all those who are ‘womb bearers’ and who live as a ‘woman’. 

Drugs + Alcohol + Animals

The festival is an alcohol and drug free event and unfortunately no dogs allowed. 

Food

This year we are doing something different with food - and may have an opportunity for ticket holders to buy food tickets before - to make sure we know how many to cater for and also to save on food wastage, which as many know, can be such an awful problem at festivals. We may also have extra vendors too, for those who wants to buy on site. We hope to have this all confirmed by April and will let everyone know. We have predominantly been a vegan festival in the past but due to popular demand we may also try to serve some sustainable locally sourced meat options too.

Water

We will have taps on site to refill your water bottle and the food vendors will also be serving various drinks and teas throughout the festival as well. 

Going to Workshops

Please note that all workshops will be on a ‘first come, first served basis’ so you will not be able to pre-book. We recommend arriving at each workshop at least 10 minutes before to make sure you get a place and give time to settle in.

Money 

The card machines always work on site, but feel free to bring cash in case - as we will not have a cash machine on site and the card machines may be quite busy. 

Raffle + Giving Back 

For the last few years we have very intentionally given a certain percentage of profit to charity. Unfortunately because it is still such a small festival this has ended up being quite difficult as there is such a small profit (if any) at the end. So this year we will be running a separate raffle for charity on site and will share more details here in the next few months.

Stalls, Art Gallery, Sauna + Healing Area

As well as the 6 main stages - this year we will also have 12 stalls selling their beautiful offerings - clothes, oils, books and so much more! An art gallery of various artist’s selling their work, a beautiful healing area with 10 wonderful healers (you can sign up and book to have a healing when on site!), a red tent space, and Enchanted Glade will be bringing their epic sauna again too (which you can also sign up to enjoy when on site). So please do bring extra card/cash if you would like to enjoy all that Heart of the Rose has to offer this year! 

Accessibility
We try to make the whole festival as accessible as possible to all women. The car park is a very short less than 3 minute walk to the festival site. If you have special needs, please email us and we would love to try to accommodate…for example we have accessible parking (you will need to book a separate ticket for this), an accessible camping area and people are welcome to park their car right near their tent and/or drop their luggage off nearer it, before parking. Please let a parking steward know if you need this. 

What to bring?

• If you are camping - please obviously bring all your own camping gear.

• There will also be lighting in all communal areas at night, but is also advisable to bring a hand torch for the evening. 

• As always, we never know what the weather will be like in England, - it looks like it will be sunny in the day (thank the Goddess) but it get’s very cold at night so please bring lots of warm layers. 

• We will have some cushions around the festival but we HIGHLY recommend bringing your own extra blankets, picnic blankets, cushions, sheepskin rugs, yoga mats to sit and lie on.

• Please bring your own water bottle to refill from water point throughout the festival.

• There will be showers on site and we ask all participants to PLEASE only bring/use organic and natural shower gel/soap and shampoo/conditioner to site - as the land is very protected and all waste water needs to be as clean as possible.

• If you feel drawn we also invite you to bring a song, poem, musical instrument, prayer, story to share and play by the fire.

Health + Safety

There will be a First Aid responder on site at all times, if you are feeling unwell, please reach out to the nearest volunteer or team member, and we will assist you as best as we can. Please also be mindful that the festival is in nature with an open landscape - so please walk with care. This site is also a Deer Park so please be weary of tic’s and we recommend everyone check themselves throughout the festival and after going home - the first aider on site will be able to help safely remove any tics, if found, although this is very rare for the park. There will also be lighting in all communal areas at night, but is also advisable to bring a hand torch for the evening. 

Emotional Support 

Similar to last year - we will have a dedicated welfare space close to the main box office. This will be overseen by our dear Sister - Reverend Laura from Sacred Sister’s Festival. This welfare space will be even bigger this year, with even more support, for any that may need throughout the festival. You are welcome to drop-in throughout the day and there will always be someone there who can help you. We will also have dedicated welfare people walking throughout the festival if need too! 

Photography and Videography 

As mentioned in our T+C’s we will have a professional photographer and videographer capturing the event throughout. They will be very respectful and sensitive throughout and you are welcome to let them know if you would prefer not to have your photo taken. Please know that by attending the festival you are consenting to being photographed and recorded for promotional purposes, unless you state otherwise.