Ouseburn Festival 2026 Celebrates Four Milestone Anniversaries

For anyone in Heaton, the Ouseburn valley is barely a stroll away — down through the allotments and over the burn to the reborn cultural quarter that sits between us and the river. On the first weekend of July, that quarter held its flagship celebration, and this year the Ouseburn Festival had four very good reasons to raise a glass.

Four charities, one big birthday

The 2026 festival, held across Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 July, was built around a milestone shared by four of the valley's best-loved institutions. Ouseburn Farm turned 50, the Ouseburn Trust reached 30, Stepney Bank Stables marked 25 years, and Seven Stories, the national centre for children's books, celebrated its 21st.

That is a combined 126 years of city farm visits, riding lessons, conservation work and children's storytelling — much of it enjoyed by Heaton families who treat the valley as an extension of their own neighbourhood. Between them these four charities have done as much as anyone to turn the Ouseburn from a semi-derelict industrial gap into one of Newcastle's most distinctive places.

A theme chosen by the community

Fittingly for a party about community, the festival's theme was picked by the public. A competition to name the 2026 event was won by local artist Bianca Perry, whose suggestion — "YOUseburn" — leaned into the idea that it is the people of the valley, and the wider east end around it, who make the place what it is.

Best for: The Ouseburn valley is walkable from most of Heaton — head down towards the river via Warwick Street or the Ouseburn parks.

What was on

The free weekend spread across the valley's warehouses, wharves and green banks. There was live music on multiple stages, from daytime acoustic sets to evening bands, alongside a market of independent makers, food and drink stalls under the arches, family art workshops, boat trips on the Tyne, and the farm and stables opening their gates to visitors.

If you missed it this year, the festival is an annual fixture — and the four charities behind it are open all year round. Ouseburn Farm remains free to enter, Seven Stories runs family exhibitions and events, and Stepney Bank Stables offers riding for children and adults. All three are a short walk from Heaton and well worth the trip down the valley.

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