Cheltenham Literature Festival

The Cheltenham Literature Festival is ten days of talks by writers in the middle of Cheltenham every October. The 2027 festival runs from Friday 8 to Sunday 17 October. The hub is the tented Festival Village in Montpellier Gardens, with more events in the Town Hall on Imperial Square and in venues such as the Everyman Theatre, the Queens Hotel and The Wilson.

What happens

Novelists, historians, politicians, cooks and children's authors talk about their books, take questions and sign copies afterwards. The 2026 festival had more than 1,000 authors and speakers across more than 500 events, with Mary Beard, Maggie O'Farrell and Robert Harris among them, and sold a record 103,394 tickets. More than 30% of the 2026 festival was free to attend, including the Children's Area in the Festival Village.

Tickets and who it suits

The Festival Village in Montpellier Gardens is free to enter, with a box office on site; each talk has its own ticket, bought from Cheltenham Festivals online or at that box office. Book the big names as soon as the programme is out. Families have a dedicated Children's Area in the Festival Village with its own daytime programme.

The organisers say their tented venues are fully accessible, with adapted toilets at all festival sites and assistance dogs welcome in all venues. Access bookings, made with a form once the programme is out or on 01242 850270, cover wheelchair users, visually impaired and deaf visitors, anyone who needs an aisle seat and neurodivergent visitors, and come with a free ticket for a personal assistant at each event (not at events that include a book or a meal).

Getting there and parking

Cheltenham Spa station is about 20 minutes' walk from the Festival Village, with a taxi rank outside; Stagecoach buses 94, 94X, 97 and 10 stop across the road from Montpellier Gardens. The nearest large car parks are Regent Arcade, which the organisers recommend for limited mobility, and Cheltenham Walk, with smaller ones at Rodney Road and St George's Road; there is Park and Ride from Arle Court, by junction 11 of the M5, and from the racecourse. There are bike racks around Montpellier Gardens. See getting to the Cotswolds for trains from London and Birmingham.

Staying on

October is the start of the racing season at Cheltenham Racecourse, and the Cotswold Edge rises above the town. With a morning free, climb Cleeve Common, or see when to visit the Cotswolds for the rest of the year's festivals.