Party at the Palace returns to the grounds of Linlithgow Palace on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 August 2026 — two days of singalong anthems in front of one of the most striking backdrops any UK festival can offer. With the weekend now days away, here is everything worth knowing before you set off.
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Party at the Palace 2026 dates and location
The festival runs across Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 August 2026 in the grounds of Linlithgow Palace, Linlithgow, West Lothian (EH49 7AL). It is a day-festival format rather than a camping weekender, so most people travel in and out each day — Linlithgow sits on the main Edinburgh to Glasgow line, which makes it one of the easier Scottish festivals to reach without a car.
Tickets: what is left
Weekend and single-day tickets have been on sale since the winter, along with family tickets and a buy-now-pay-later option. Availability this close to the gates changes by the hour, so check the official page rather than trusting a cached listing.
Check Party at the Palace 2026 ticket availability
If the day you want has gone, resale through official channels is the only safe route. Anything offered privately on social media at short notice is, more often than not, a scam.
Who is playing?
The 2026 bill leans into the festival's core strength: bands that people actually want to sing back at. Confirmed names include the Bay City Rollers, Cast, The Blow Monkeys, Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5 and Charly Miller, spread across the main stage and the Des McLean Comedy Stage.
Cast are the pick for anyone whose weekend is built around British guitar music. John Power's band have spent the last few years proving that the Britpop-adjacent catalogue holds up far better live than the reissue campaigns suggest — the same argument we made about The Verve's Urban Hymns.
Stage times
Stage times are typically published on the official site and the festival's social channels in the final few days before gates, and they do shift. Gates have historically opened around midday on both days with headline sets closing out the evening. Check the official schedule on the morning of your day rather than planning around last year's timings.
Getting there and parking
Linlithgow station is a short walk from the Palace grounds and is served frequently from both Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street, so the train is the obvious choice. Trains back after the final act fill quickly — know your last service before you go in.
If you are driving, the town's own car parks are small and fill early. Follow the official travel and parking guidance rather than improvising on residential streets; local restrictions are enforced over the festival weekend.
Where to stay
There is no on-site camping. Linlithgow's own accommodation is limited and books out early, so most weekend attendees stay in Falkirk, Livingston or Edinburgh and commute in by train.
What to bring
Photo ID if you look under 25 — challenge policies are strict.
A packable waterproof. August in central Scotland does what it likes.
Sun cream anyway; the site is open ground with limited shade.
A refillable water bottle, empty on entry.
Cash is largely unnecessary, but a card that works offline is not.
Weather
Expect anything between 14 and 22 degrees, with rain a genuine possibility on either day. Layers beat a single heavy coat, and footwear you do not mind writing off is sensible if the ground has had rain in the preceding week.
Is it worth it?
For a two-day event, Party at the Palace punches well above its size. The setting does a lot of the work — a ruined royal palace above a loch is not a backdrop many festivals can match — and the booking policy knows exactly who it is for. If you want a weekend of songs you already know in a place worth photographing, it delivers.
Planning the rest of your summer? Our guides to Rewind Festival South and Victorious Festival cover the two biggest weekends still to come.
Ellis Douglas
Editor, BritRock Heaven
