Free days out: brilliant village events that cost nothing
The best of the British summer is often free. Here are village events where the only spend is the cake stall.
1. Flamborough Flowerpot Festival
Throughout June, Flamborough villagers fill their gardens and doorsteps with elaborate flowerpot models of Elvis, Spiderman and beloved characters, turning this headland village into a free family trail that has been featured on BBC News.
See it on Villagly →2. Surrey Artists Open Studios
For 16 June days, 152 artists across Surrey open their studios, gardens, barns and homes as galleries, with self-guided village art trails including the Hindhead Art Trail guiding visitors through the county's creative heartland.
See it on Villagly →3. Teignmouth Folk Festival
A small volunteer-run seaside festival spills Morris sides, ceilidhs and folk music across the back beach and seafront of a Devon estuary town.
See it on Villagly →4. Emsworth Summer Festival
A harbour town that comes properly alive in midsummer, stalls on the quayside, live music, and the smell of the sea all day.
See it on Villagly →5. Peebles Beltane Festival
A week of riding the marches, crowning of the Beltane Queen and pageantry in this Tweed valley town.
See it on Villagly →6. Litton Well Dressing
A stone-built village centred on a triangular green uses the midsummer custom of well dressing to turn its quiet lane into a gallery of flower petals and river-gathered seeds pressed into soft Derbyshire clay.
See it on Villagly →7. Wickham Market Summer Market on the Hill
The medieval hilltop village comes alive with 40 stalls, live music and the flavours of East Suffolk in a community market that refreshes four times a year.
See it on Villagly →8. Folk on the Lawn
A no-budget, volunteer-run festival of innovative folk on three stages at Abbey Mill on the banks of the Wye, billed as the antithesis of and remedy for the X Factor.
See it on Villagly →