Stanhope Weekender plants roots with peatland pledge
Raising bog standard is aim of rural music festival. Tony Henderson reports
There will be plenty of plugs for a County Durham music festival this summer.
Organisers of the two-day Stanhope Weekender in Weardale have donated funds to the North Pennines National Landscape team’s peatland programme.
This has financed 2,000 sphagnum plug plants to restore degraded peatland.
Festival co-founders Sean Stembridge and Lewis Maddison say their support fort in the peatland restoration work is part of their commitment to reduce the environmental impact of the family festival, which takes place on July 4-5.
Lewis said: “It’s important to us that the Stanhope Weekender stands for more than just great music and good times. Supporting local restoration work shows what’s possible when events and nature work together for a better future.”
Peatlands are a globally significant habitat which store vast quantities of carbon but when damaged, carbon emissions are released into the atmosphere.
Planting sphagnum is a key part of the restoration process as the plant thrives in wet areas and can hold a large amount of water. Reintroducing the sphagnum on to the peatland enhances the biodiversity of the area, slows down the erosion of the peatland and reduces the risk of flooding downstream.
The market town of Stanhope is at the heart of the Durham Dales and Sean said: “Our event is deeply rooted in this landscape. The North Pennines National Landscape has almost 30% of England’s blanket bog peatland and we’re proud to play a small part in protecting it.
“This isn’t just about offsetting our footprint—it’s about leaving a positive legacy in the area we call home.”
Paul Leadbitter, peatland programme manager of the North Pennines National Landscape said: “We are really pleased to have Stanhope locals Lewis and Sean involved in our peatland restoration work.
“Gaining support from the private sector through green finance helps our team’s peatland programme to carry out the restoration work at a landscape-scale. We look forward to working with the festival organisers again in the future.”
The festival venue is Stanhope Showfield in Unthank Park and will feature live music, a food village, licensed bar and two camping sites.
Orgnaisers say the event “ serves to both entertain festival-goers and spotlight the beauty of Stanhope to a broader audience.”
The festival’s People Before Profit pledge means all ticket profits are re-invested to enhance the event each year.
Meanwhile, artists have been recruited to unearth the stories of lead and silver mining in the North Pennines .
North Pennines National Landscape has appointed Jenny Brook as artist-in-residence for 2025 and awarded three community arts bursaries, as part of the Land of Lead and Silver project.
The project has been awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England and will run to December 2027, working with volunteers and local communities.
Bursaries go to Amanda Drago, The Knotted Project, and Robin Webb, who will offer workshops across the North Pennines National Landscape to take a new look at the lead and silver mining heritage of the area and involve people with the area’s industrial heritage in creative and accessible ways.
Jenny Brook is a textile artist and art educator based in the Eden Valley in Cumbria, who creates unique pieces using vintage and worn fabrics.
Her work observes the everyday and translates it, along with scraps of vintage fabric with its own history, into stitch. She also combines textiles and puppetry to create storytelling.
Amanda Drago graduated from Northern School of Contemporary Dance, and has had a varied career performing, teaching, choreographing and producing dance in the North East.
She will deliver sessions of folk song and seated dance workshops with Alston Ladies Social Group, supported by choir leader Lindsay Hannon and musician Kit Haigh.
Using traditional songs from the lead mining communities, the sessions will explore the mining heritage through song and dance.
The Knotted Project uses theatre to inspire young people and their communities. They will use their bursary to start an ntergenerational project, working with people of mixed ages across the North Pennines to remember stories of the past and celebrate the mining history of the region.
Robin Webb is an animation artist based in the North East who has been creating animated films with communities, schools and institutes for almost 25 years.
He co-creates films by people of all abilities and all ages using animation as a tool for learning, entertainment and self-expression.