Welcome to the 2023 Scottish Smallholder Festival!

Join us as we move into a new era – our first Festival at the home of Agriculture in Scotland – The Royal Highland Centre.

The 12th Festival will be held on the 14th October at the Highland Hall. Doors will open at 9AM, and you are invited to join us for our annual celebration of the Smallholder.

The festival has a lot to do:

• You will be able to see a Livestock competition for sheep, goats, and pigs. This year we will be featuring the RBST Scottish Championships.
• There will be a Show and parade of native breed equines, alpacas, and other equines and camelids of interest to smallholders.
• You will have the opportunity to talk to breed societies and work out which breed is right for you, including some cattle breeds.
• You can join our seminar and demonstration programme, which will be taking place over five different venues across the site. Upstairs you can find seminar rooms 1, 2 and 3. Seminar room 1 will host a smaller producer showcase with businesses recounting their stories. Seminar room 2 will host a series of talks on the theme of “starting out”, whilst Seminar room 3 will be focused on diversification and adding value.
• The Cookery Theatre will host a range of cooking demonstrations and a unique taste test.
• The SRUC Theatre will give you lots of practical relevant information, including Goat and Sheep “MOT’s” and talks on grassland management and fencing.
• Trade and small business exhibitions, with stands targeting products specifically at smallholders, such as small electric tractors, smallholder feeds and other equipment
• You will be able to view our Garden, Craft and Food competition and visit many stands featuring produce made on the smallholding.
• And you will be able to learn new skills at our Rural skills exhibition.

Tickets for the Festival are available to buy online in advance for £10 per person.

Under 14s do not need a ticket providing they are accompanied by a ticket holder. No entry for unaccompanied U14s.

Advance Tickets only available until 23:59 on the 13th October.

Price of tickets at the gate on Saturday 14th October – £15

Please note the Festival will close at 4pm – last entrance through the gate will be 3pm. By purchasing a ticket you are agreeing to abide by the “entrance terms and conditions” available on this website.

If you arrive by car, please note there will be a charge of £5 per car which will be charged by the Royal Highland Centre and is outwith the control of the Scottish Smallholder Festival. You cannot buy tickets for the Car Park through this website.