The banners are furled, the companyes, retinues, consorts & battalions have dispersed and the Glastonbury Abbey Medieval Fayre has wrapped up for another year. But what a spectacular weekend it was! We promised our biggest and best Medieval Fayre yet, and it’s safe to say that 2025 delivered…
A warm but slightly cloudy start on Saturday gave way to glorious sunshine and highs of 21°C on Sunday, setting the perfect scene for glinting swords, raining arrows and fire-breathing antics.
In the Main Arena, King Arthur’s birthday joust was interrupted by the cruel Black Knight – but all turned out well in the end, despite the villain wielding an audience member’s shoe as a weapon. Armies were mustered in the afternoon spectacle of To Battle!, while the Best Dressed Competition crowned three human champions – plus one well-dressed dog.
Outside of the jousts and battles, re-enactment encampments offered visitors a taste of day-to-day life – and the occasional bubbling stew – across the medieval period. More than a dozen re-enactment groups participated in this year’s Fayre, from 9th-century Vikings to noble 15th-century households and plenty in between.
Elsewhere, Fayre-favourite What A Palaver returned for another round as the iconic fire-breathing jester, while the Abbot’s Kitchen came to life once more with the music of Embraissance, A Merrie Noyse, de Mowbray’s Musicke and the Avalon Recorder Consort. We also welcomed back 2024 newcomers Albert Harvey (the gold-toting Tudor Alchemist) and Merry Matilda (a master Storyteller). Brand new for 2025, The Executioner entertained audiences with an up-close and personal depiction of medieval punishments.
This year’s Fayre also hosted more medieval market traders than ever, boasting a 40-strong contingent of jewellers, artisans, tailors and gift mongers.
And that was far from the only record broken. Days before gates even opened, Saturday tickets sold out in advance for the first time in Fayre history. Tickets for Sunday quickly followed suit, resulting in our first ever 100% sold-out weekend by 11am on Saturday! 2025 also marked the first year of our Kids Go Free offer, meaning we were joined by more families than ever.
All told we welcomed a whopping 10,278 visitors into the Fayre this year, soundly defeating last year’s record of 8,500.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to all the performers, re-enactors, traders, staff, volunteers and of course our visitors who made this event such a roaring success.
Now let’s do it all again next year! Mark your diaries – we’ll see you on the 25th & 26th April 2026.
Events at Glastonbury Abbey
The 2025 Medieval Fayre may be over, but there’s plenty more to look forward to at Glastonbury Abbey. See our What’s On page for details of all our events, from re-enactment weekends to live music and outdoor theatre:
