Great British Fibre Festival Returns to Coldharbour Mill with Celebration of British Wool and Heritage Crafts

A celebration of British wool, heritage fibres and traditional textile crafts will take place in Mid Devon this year as the Great British Fibre Festival returns to Coldharbour Mill, Uffculme, near Cullompton, on bank Holiday Weekend of 30th/31st May 2026.

Set within one of the UK’s oldest surviving working woollen mills, the one-day festival will bring together farmers, fibre producers, artisans and independent businesses from across the South-West and beyond. The event highlights the importance of British wool, particularly from native and heritage sheep breeds, and the role it plays in sustainable textile production and rural livelihoods.

Visitors can browse a curated marketplace featuring specialist exhibitors offering British breed yarns, raw fleece, spinning fibre, hand-dyed yarns, textile art and equipment for knitting, crochet, spinning and weaving. Many traders are small UK-based businesses and producers working directly with locally sourced fibres.

Alongside the marketplace, the festival will host demonstrations of traditional skills through talks, workshops, and ‘skills sessions’ such as hand spinning, weaving, dyeing and fleece preparation, providing opportunities for attendees to learn more about how wool is transformed from fleece to finished textile. The event is suitable for both experienced makers and beginners, as well as anyone interested in heritage crafts, sustainability and rural traditions.

Organisers say the festival aims to reconnect people with the origins of their clothing and household textiles, while supporting British farmers and preserving traditional skills that are increasingly under threat.

Coldharbour Mill, founded in 1797 and now a working museum, offers a unique historic setting that reflects Devon’s long association with the wool industry. Conveniently located just off Junction 27 of the M5, the venue is easily accessible for visitors from Exeter, Tiverton, Taunton and across the wider region.

For more information visit www.thegreatbritishfibrefestival.co.uk