Your Weekly Local Newsletter on everything going on in Horsham District
Thursday, 28th May 2026
Hello everyone,
Half term draws to a close this weekend, and what a week it's been. The sunshine has held on, it's been a proper taste of summer, and this final stretch is still looking warm and bright, with temperatures in the high 20s right through to Sunday.
The Steyning Festival reaches its last days this weekend. If you haven't made it yet, Sunday's free closing concert at the Big Top is one of those events that never disappoints, a joyful tradition and the perfect way to end the half term. The Big Bands also continue at the Carfax Bandstand and Park Podium right through the weekend, there's a free outdoor session at Bennetts Field this morning for families, and the pubs and taprooms have another strong week of live music across the District.
Looking ahead, June is already shaping up to be one of the busiest months of the year. The Friday Lates programme launches next Friday at the Carfax Bandstand with country Americana band The Gamblers, St Catherine's Midnight Walk is just over a week away, and the Horsham Borough Band kicks off the June Park Podium season on Sunday 7th. Summer is very much here.
Enjoy the last days of half-term, and enjoy the sunshine. 🌞
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📰Digest
📋 Reorganisation Consultation - Closes 15th June - The second technical consultation on local government reorganisation in Sussex is now open. It covers two potential modifications, including a proposal to place Chichester District into a unitary authority alongside Crawley Borough, Horsham District and Mid Sussex District. Read me
🎉 Half Term in Horsham District - A packed schedule of free and low-cost activities for families all week. Highlights include medieval tile-making at Horsham Museum, a free transport children's trail, a free outdoor session at Bennetts Field on Thursday, 28th May, and free children's shows at the Park Podium. Read me.
🚛 Name That Food Truck! - Primary School Competition Opens Horsham District Council is inviting primary school classes to come up with a fun name for one of its new food waste collection trucks, which are now travelling across the District. The winning entry wins £50 for their school, and a special visit from the truck bearing their name before the end of term. The Council has partnered with Wastebusters, who provide a free school pack with everything needed to get pupils learning about food waste and recycling. A fun one for the kids this half term. Read more
🏡Local Business Spotlight
We recently had Perry's out to carry out an electrical audit and a boiler service, friendly, approachable, and exactly the kind of tradespeople you want in your home. No fuss, no hard sell, just the job done properly.
Based in Henfield and serving the whole of the District, Horsham, Steyning, Haywards Heath and across Sussex, they cover the full range of home trades under one roof: plumbing and heating, electrical work, boiler installation and servicing, bathrooms, kitchens, handyman services, mobility adaptations, and renewables. No call-out fees, qualified and insured across every trade, and with a Checkatrade record that speaks for itself.
📍 Based in Henfield, serving Horsham District and across Sussex 📞 01403 336146 🔗 Read more
🗓️ What’s Happening
Events are subject to change. Please confirm details with the host.
🌿 Pop Up in the Park — Bennetts Field 📅 Thu 28 May | ⏰ 10am–12pm | 📍 Bennetts Field, Horsham | 💷 Free A free outdoor session for families to round off half term, with nature trails, arts and crafts and garden games. Just turn up — no booking needed. Note: will not go ahead in rain. 🔗 Read more
🌹Rhododendron Celebration - Leonardslee Gardens 📅 Thu 28 May – Tue 3 Jun | ⏰ From 9am | 📍 Leonardslee Gardens, Lower Beeding | 💷 Ticketed The rhododendrons are still putting on a show all week. One of the great seasonal spectacles in West Sussex, and with weather like this weekend's forecast, the timing couldn't be better. 🔗 Read more
🎪 Steyning Festival - Final Weekend 📅 Thu 28–Sun 31 May📍 Big Top, Fletchers Croft & venues across Steyning | 💷 Various (Sunday finale is free) The final days of the 2026 Steyning Festival. Saturday evening brings the Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra to Steyning Parish Church (ticketed). Sunday's free closing concert at the Big Top runs 2pm–8pm with the Razz regulars and guest acts, the traditional and much-loved festival finale. 🔗 Read more
🥾 Wellbeing Walk - Washington South Downs 📅 Sat 30 May | ⏰ Morning | 📍 Washington South Downs Car Park | 💷 Free Free, sociable, volunteer-led walking in the South Downs. No need to book. All ages and abilities welcome. 🔗 Read more
🏃 Race for Life 5K - Horsham Park 📅 Sun 31 May | ⏰ 10am | 📍 Horsham Park | 💷 From £15.99 Cancer Research UK's Race for Life returns to Horsham Park. Walk, jog or run, there's no pressure on time, just a chance to raise money for life-saving cancer research. A brilliant community morning. 🔗 Read more
🎭 The Tempest - Barns Green 📅 Wed 27 – Sat 30 May | ⏰ Check with venue | 📍 Barns Green | 💷 Ticketed An outdoor production of Shakespeare's The Tempest running across four evenings in Barns Green — a proper West Sussex summer evening out. 🔗 Read more
🚢 Canal Trip - The Wey and Arun Canal Trust 📅 Sat 30 May | ⏰ Check with venue | 📍 Wey & Arun Canal | 💷 Ticketed A leisurely trip along one of West Sussex's most beautiful waterways. The Wey and Arun Canal Trust's trips are always popular — book ahead. 🔗 Read more
🎡 Piries Place Vegan Market — Vegan Fest Horsham 📅 Sat 30 May | ⏰ Check with venue | 📍 Piries Place, Horsham | 💷 Free entry A full vegan market in the heart of Horsham town centre, with food, produce, and traders. A great Saturday browse. 🔗 Read more
🐶 Charity Dog Show - Haywards Restaurant at The Bat & Ball 📅 Sun 31 May | ⏰ Check with venue | 📍 The Bat & Ball, Horsham | 💷 Check with venue A community charity dog show — always one of the more joyful events on the local calendar. Take the dog, stay for lunch. 🔗 Read more
🎭 Wide is the Water - Christ's Hospital Theatre 📅 Tue 2 Jun | ⏰ Check with venue | 📍 Christ's Hospital Theatre, Horsham | 💷 Ticketed A theatrical production at one of the District's finest venues. Worth booking ahead — Christ's Hospital Theatre consistently punches above its weight. 🔗 Read more
Always check with venues directly before heading out, as details can change. Know of an event we've missed? Get in touch to have it included next week! Share it with us.
🎵 Live Music & Entertainment
Events are subject to change. Please confirm details with the host.
🎭 The Tempest - Barns Green 📅 Wed 27 May | ⏰ Check with venue | 📍 Barns Green | 💷 Ticketed An outdoor production of Shakespeare's The Tempest running across four evenings in Barns Green. A proper West Sussex summer evening out. 🔗 Read more
🎸 Bring Your Own Vinyl - Firebird Brewing Co 📅 Thu 28 May | ⏰ 6pm | 📍 Firebird Brewing Co, Horsham | 💷 Check with venue Bring a record, play it to the room. One of the best Thursday night concepts in the District, at one of its best taprooms. 🔗 Read more
🎧 DJ Night - Mungos Bar 📅 Fri 29 May | ⏰ Evening | 📍 Mungos Bar, Horsham | 💷 Check with venue A Friday night DJ set to kick off the Bank Holiday weekend properly. 🔗 Read more
🎵 Sussex Sounds - Carfax Bandstand & West Street 📅 Sat 30 & Sun 31 May | ⏰ From 12pm | 📍 West Street & Carfax Bandstand, Horsham | 💷 Free
Free live music in the heart of Horsham town centre across the weekend, showcasing some of the District's best local talent. Read more.
🎵 Silent Disco - Leonardslee Gardens 📅 Sat 30 May | ⏰ Check with venue | 📍 Leonardslee Gardens, Lower Beeding | 💷 Ticketed A silent disco in the grounds of Leonardslee — one of the most beautiful settings in West Sussex. An unusual and brilliant combination. 🔗 Read more
🎹 Stradivarius Piano Trio - Warnham 📅 Sat 30 May | ⏰ Check with venue | 📍 Warnham | 💷 Ticketed A classical concert from the Stradivarius Piano Trio in the intimate village setting of Warnham. One for those who like their Saturday evenings a little more refined. 🔗 Read more
🎵 Will Jones - Firebird Brewing Co 📅 Sat 30 May | ⏰ Evening | 📍 Firebird Brewing Co, Horsham | 💷 Check with venue Live music at Horsham's much-loved craft brewery to round off the Saturday. 🔗 Read more
🎸 The Untaken - The Malt Shovel 📅 Sat 30 May | ⏰ Evening | 📍 15 Springfield Road, Horsham | 💷 Check with venue Live music at one of Horsham's best-loved pubs to close out the weekend. 🔗 Read more
🎵 Blues Jam - The Malt Shovel 📅 Sun 31 May | ⏰ Afternoon | 📍 15 Springfield Road, Horsham | 💷 Check with venue Open to musicians and listeners alike — a long-running Sunday tradition at the Malt Shovel. 🔗 Read more
🎵 Lester Vacancies — Brolly Brewing 📅 Sun 31 May | ⏰ Afternoon | 📍 Brolly Brewing, Horsham | 💷 Check with venue Sunday afternoon live music at Horsham's favourite brewing taproom. 🔗 Read more
🎷 Jazz Club - Horsham Sports Club 📅 Wed 3 Jun | ⏰ Check with venue | 📍 Horsham Sports Club | 💷 Check with venue The Horsham Sports Club Jazz Club is a properly good regular night — warm room, good music, great crowd. Worth adding to your June diary. 🔗 Read more
🎸 Bring Your Own Vinyl - Firebird Brewing Co 📅 Thu 28 May | ⏰ 6pm | 📍 Firebird Brewing Co, Horsham | 💷 Check with venue Bring a record, play it to the room. One of the best Thursday night concepts in the District, at one of its best taprooms. 🔗 Read more
Got an event going down? Share it with us.
🏡House of the Week
Warninglid is one of those West Sussex villages that doesn't shout about itself. A handful of lanes, rolling High Weald countryside in every direction, no through traffic, and if you know it, you know why people don't leave. Boundary Place sits right at the heart of what makes this corner of the District so special.
The house has been taken apart and put back together again by the current owners, reimagined, significantly improved and extended throughout, and the result is a contemporary family home of real confidence. Five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a layout designed from the ground up around one thing: the views. The southerly outlook across the Sussex countryside is spectacular, and the house has been planned to make the most of it at every turn, the kind of considered architecture where the landscape and the interior feel like they're working together rather than competing.
Inside, the standout is the 52ft open-plan kitchen, dining and family room — the engine room of the house and the sort of space that makes you rethink how a family home should function. It opens out to the gardens, which extend to around 1.1 acres of private, south-facing grounds.
Marketed by Jackson-Stops 🔗 View on Rightmove
🍽️ Restaurant Recommendation
Knepp Wilding Kitchen, Dial Post
The Wilding Kitchen holds a Michelin Green Star for its commitment to sustainability, and the food is as good as the setting deserves, seasonal, local, and driven by the estate's own produce. The daytime café and restaurant are open daily, and if you're heading out to walk the estate this weekend, it's the perfect stop before or after.
📍 Knepp Estate, Dial Post, West Sussex, RH13 8LJ 🔗 Book here
🌤️ Weather
This Week's Weather: Horsham District
The warmth of earlier in the week eases off as we head through the weekend, but it's still a fine end to half term with plenty of dry, bright weather before a more unsettled start to June arrives. Make the most of the weekend outdoors, the change is coming.
Day | High | Rain chance | |
|---|---|---|---|
Thursday 28 May | 27°C | 10% | ☀️ |
Friday 29 May | 26°C | 10% | ☀️ |
Saturday 30 May | 26°C | 15% | 🌤️ |
Sunday 31 May | 22°C | 20% | 🌤️ |
Monday 1 June | 20°C | 60% | 🌧️ |
Tuesday 2 June | 19°C | 80% | 🌧️ |
Thursday and Friday are looking lovely, warm, dry and sunny, perfect for all the outdoor events this weekend. Saturday stays pleasant with a few clouds drifting in but largely dry. Sunday sees a fresh breeze pick up and the mercury drop a little, still comfortable for the Race for Life and the Steyning Festival finale. Monday and Tuesday see Atlantic weather systems push in, bringing rain and a noticeable drop in temperature, a good reminder to enjoy every bit of this weekend.
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Have a great week exploring Horsham District!
