Kendal Calling 2025 festival guide – everything you need to know ahead of a milestone year

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Kendal Calling guide 2025 important info

The fields are beckoning us back once more as Kendal Calling returns for its 20th anniversary, and we’re to deliver all the important information to you yet again, from the stellar lineup, stage splits, site map and more.

It’s hard to believe the Lake District‘s leading live music event has been going for two whole decades now and, as cliché as it may sound, it really has gotten bigger and better each and every time.

Having been three years in a row ourselves, we can certainly vouch for the recent form.

In fact, their big birthday edition saw the beloved Northern favourite festival sell out – as it has done every 12 months since it began – in record time and now we can’t think of anything else other than singing our hearts out in Lowther Deer Park. Hence why we wrote this guide.

Kendal Calling guide 2025 – all the key info

Without further ado, here are all the important details you need to know ahead of Kendal Calling’s milestone anniversary festival. Let’s start with the bread and butter, shall we?

Kendal Calling 2025 lineup and stage splits

We announced the Kendal Calling’s 2025 lineup late last year, which is set to be headlined by Greater Manchester’s very own Courteeners and The Prodigy, with other big names packing out the main festival stage and beyond.

Other regional acts were looking forward to seeing include Leigh’s The Lottery Winners, Sheffield’s famous sons and daughters, Reverend and the Makers; Leeds legends, Kaiser Chiefs, as well as The Wombats and The K’s, just to name a few.

You can see the full stage splits via Clashfinder HERE.

What are the Kendal Calling stages this year?

Tim Peaks Diner
The Stagger Inn pub
Shit Indie Disco at Calling Out stage
Once you’ve made it into Kendal Calling 2025, feel free to consult this mini-guide/overview of the stages. (Credit: George Harrison/Jess Huxham/Supplied)

Kendal Calling 2025 map

Now, while Kendal Calling is just generally considered a Lake District festival, it’s technically located in the sloping valley that dips down into Lowther Deer Park.

The large, woodland-lined expanse is situated within the Cumbria town of Penrith; the park itself is roughly 3,000 acres but forms part of the much larger 75,000-acre Lowther Estate.

For context, the increasingly popular event now welcomes around 40,000 festival goers every year, with Kendal Calling having grown from a 900-capacity seed to a giant, forest-spanning attraction.

Not much has moved around since last time, so you can always check out our video tour from 2024, but you can find an up-to-date site map down below.

Here’s a quick guide on how to get into the Kendal Calling festival site and a map of stages, facilities, etc. (Credit: Supplied)

Travel info – how to get there, parking and more

If you’re wondering how to get to Kendal Calling, once again: the festival takes place at Lowther Deer Park in Hackthorpe near Penrith, Cumbria (no, it’s not quite Kendal)

For the sake of ease when it comes to popping the location into the SatNav, the postcode is CA10 2HT.

By car

Located roughly 25 minutes north of its namesake Kendal, you can drive up there via the M6 and south down the A6 from Penrith. You can easily download full directions on Google Maps.

Parking

The general car park is adjacent to the general campsites, but BE AWARE, the further away you park, the longer the walk up that hill – and it is a big one, we’re afraid.

Also, pre-warning, you must bring any alcohol purchased from outside the festival site up on the first trip up to your pitch. We found out the hard way…

Hoping to encourage people to carpool and ride share where possible, with Kendal remaining a dedicated and environmentally-conscious event (see their ‘Leave Nothing But Memories’ mission statement, for example), there is a charge for parking separate from festival admission.

Passes can be purchased online in advance for £24.50, or you can pay on the day for £40, but just like downloading/printing out your tickets prior to entry, we’d obviously advise you plan ahead and get them ready beforehand.

Emperors Field, Great Plains, Deer Lodge and Tangerine Fields all have their own respective car parks, which require specific parking passes as part of campsite upgrade packages. You can see all the options and secure your parking HERE.

By train, then taxi/shuttle

The nearest train station to the festival site is Penrith (also known as Penrith North Lakes), which is just a 15-minute taxi journey from the site.

Alternatively, you can hop on the special shuttle bus service that runs from the station to the festival at various points over the weekend. Various services are available from Scotland, Birmingham, London, here in Manchester and across the North West – for example:

Shuttles will run to and from Penrith (North Lakes) Station to Kendal Calling from 10am-18:45pm on Thursday and 8:30am-19:15pm on Friday. They won’t resume again until early Monday, with the final service lasting from 8:30am-13:15pm.

The festival has a dedicated pick-up and drop-off point (PUDO) outside at Green Gate. Follow the road signage as you get closer to the site for directions to the PUDO, which is also where you’ll find the taxi rank alongside our coach drop-off spot – just a short 5-10 minute walk to the wristband exchange too.

By coach/mini-bus

Speaking of coaches, you can find ticket prices for official services from destinations like Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, and many more places across the UK HERE.

For all other info on other options for getting to Kendal Calling 2025, consult the travel section on the festival website.

What else is on besides the music?

Now, it’s not all airborne pints and tunage, though there is plenty of that; one of the things that makes Kendal one of our favourite festivals not only in the North but the entire country is the wide range of entertainment, activities and spaces it offers beyond just bands and artists.

For instance, this special anniversary year also marks the debut of Bongo’s Bingo at Kendal Calling, which we simply cannot wait for.

As well as child-friendly facilities like laid-back Picturehouse social cinema, the annual parade, a dedicated ‘Kids Calling’ zone for said little ones, and the chilled-out Green Room outdoor area, there’s live alternative theatre, silent disco and tonnes more.

For instance, Mancunian comedy veterans Jason Manford and Justin Moorhouse will both be performing their own stand-up sets, which should provide a nice sense of home even while you’re away in the fields. And that really is just the tip of the iceberg.

We here at The Manc will be there in person as part of our Audio North team as somewhat of a boots-on-the-ground representation of our Kendal Calling 2025 guide, so feel free to say hello if you happen to spot the logo bouncing around.

Not if we’re in the middle of the pit or dancing though – that’s private time and you daren’t interrupt one of us mid-groove.

And if any of you are first-timers facing some newbie jitters or simply wondering how good a time you’re about to have this weekend, we think our most recent review sums it up pretty well.

See you in the fields!

It’s no wonder Kendal Calling sells out every year – it’s one of the most well-rounded festivals in the North
The one thing a Kendal Calling 2025 guide can’t tell is how much of a ball this festival is.

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Featured Images — Audio North/The Manc Group/Press shots (supplied)