DPA joins Dartmoor Tors Festival as lead partner

A popular Devon cultural festival will return next spring with a new lead partner, as organisers confirm a collaboration aimed at deepening public engagement with Dartmoor’s landscape, heritage and access rights.
The Dartmoor Tors Festival, which debuted in May 2025 with a programme of walks, talks and performances across the moor, has announced that the Dartmoor Preservation Association (DPA) will take a central role in delivering the 2026 event.
Festival co-founder Sophie Pierce said the partnership marks an important step forward for the young festival. “We are so excited that the DPA are coming on board. They have an incredible history of fighting for Dartmoor for over 100 years, and their current work aligns beautifully with the ethos of the festival, which is about cherishing Dartmoor and fostering people’s relationship with this extraordinary environment.”
Founded in 1883, the DPA emerged in response to industrial mining, military expansion and threats to commoners’ rights of access. Today the charity continues to campaign on National Park policy, funding and public access, while also running conservation projects and initiatives focused on improving young people’s engagement with Dartmoor.
Chief Executive Tom Usher stressed the importance of collaboration in tackling the pressures facing the moor. “Dartmoor faces many challenges and we work to bring people together in partnership for the good of this very special place. The Dartmoor Tors Festival builds on a rich tradition of Dartmoor’s cultural life, creating a forum where this can happen: ideas discussed, stories are told and Dartmoor is celebrated through words, music, workshop, walks and performances.”
The inaugural 2025 festival featured an eclectic line-up, including musician Seth Lakeman, artist Garry Fabian Miller, writer and environmentalist Guy Shrubsole, storytellers Sara Hurley and Lisa Schneidau, Dartmoor archaeologist Lee Bray, rights-of-way campaigner Kate Ashbrook and guide Paul Rendell.
Next year’s festival will take place over the early May bank holiday weekend, 1–4 May 2026. As before, it will be run in collaboration with Ashburton Arts Centre and the Field System Gallery, with support from Dartmoor National Park.
Programme plans include talks and conversations at Ashburton Arts Centre across the Saturday and Sunday, workshops, performances and a series of guided walks at locations including Dartmeet, Two Bridges, New Bridge, Wistman’s Wood and Brisworthy near Sheepstor. The DPA will lead two of the walks, both free to attend.
A full line-up will be released in early 2026. For further information, organisers can be contacted via the Dartmoor Tors Festival or the Dartmoor Preservation Association.