Nature,
Creativity
& Place
Produced by The Stove Network and held in Dumfries and surrounding areas, Wild Goose Festival unites key partners from the region in an exploration of nature, creativity, and place. The festival is inspired by the migratory route of barnacle geese between Svalbard and the Solway estuary and focuses on our region’s connection to these fascinating birds and the incredible journey they make to reach us.
Every autumn Dumfries & Galloway welcomes tens of thousands of wild geese, including barnacle, greylag geese, brent geese and Greenland white-fronted geese, after their long migration, some travelling over 2,700km to reach us!
This yearly mass gathering makes our region one of the best places in the UK to see such a variety of geese.
The festival celebrates both the inspirational journey undertaken by the geese and our deep connection with the natural world. The family-friendly programme of events aims to engage our communities through creativity, education, and play, building meaningful relationships and encouraging people across generations to reconnect with the environment they live in.
“The Wild Goose Festival 2022 has a fantastic programme that will encourage many people to get out to explore our wonderful natural environment and the astonishing force of nature that is the Autumn migration of geese. The many activities in the packed programme are accessible and affordable, in line with the Council’s desire that our grant-funded events do everything they can to attract local people.”
– Councillor Archie Dryburgh, the Chair of the Council’s Communities Committee