The Wee Gaitherin is back for 2026

Stonehaven will again be a-buzz with poetry when poets from across Scotland, Ireland and England perform at our fifth Wee Gaitherin festival on 4th and 5th September, 2026. Details to follow!

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​In keeping with the organisers’ ethos of making poetry accessible to all, all events will be free to attend, and a warm welcome is extended to everyone to ‘Turn up and tune in’ according to the festival motto. The organisers are especially keen to encourage more of the Stonehaven townsfolk to drop by to see what’s on offer.

 

Whether you’re new to poetry or a devotee, we invite you to join us. It’s free to attend, and our ethos of including as wide a range of poets as possible, and making poetry accessible to all – regardless of income – means there will be a great entertaining mix, from quiet to louder poets, sonneteers to outright performers.

 

We’re immensely grateful to all our funders, National Lottery-Awards for All, Aberdeenshire Council, Hugh Fraser Foundation, William Syson Foundation, and local business sponsors (Whittaker Engineering, Macphie Bakery and Firstdrive Cars) who have generously supported us to cover essential costs of staging the festival, pre-festival activities and subsidised the poets’ expenses.