Little Big Ideas by the Sea, 19th September 2026 A Scarborough 400 Event
Little Big Ideas By The Sea will take place on Saturday 19th September 2026. 2026 marks Scarborough 400, four hundred years since Thomasin Farrer's 1626 discovery of mineral springs beneath the cliffs turned Scarborough into Britain's first seaside resort. As part of the Scarborough 400 celebrations, Little Big Ideas By The Sea will explore the heritage of the town, starting with The Vicar's Tour of South Cliff, at 10am at St Martin on the Hill.
Little Big Ideas By The Sea is part of Big Ideas By The Sea, an environmental and creative arts festival that started in Scarborough in 2021. Big Ideas has become the North’s leading environmental and creative festival. This not-for-profit annual festival brings leading speakers, thinkers, and creative people from science, the arts, business, technology and the environment to debate the Big Ideas that concern all of us. As well as talks and debates, there will be concerts, exhibitions, workshops, walks and, of course, the Scarborough Big Dig - our innovative community archaeology project. Big Ideas By The Sea will return on 15th to 30th May 2027. Details of the programme will be available at www.bigideasbythesea.co.uk and on this site from February 2027.
Set between moor, wolds and sea, Scarborough offers festival participants a unique and inspiring setting for fun and debate.
Until the advent of the railway, ideas travelled with people on foot and by sea. Sea ports were the point of entry and exit, of exchange and cross-fertilisation, a place where ideas landed, took root and flourished. Scarborough is a coastal town, deeply rooted in its historic relationship with the sea. Come and spend time in Scarborough, and be entertained, informed and inspired at Big Ideas By The Sea.
Big Ideas By The Sea is generously supported by Community Lottery Fund, North Yorkshire Council, Scarborough Hospitaility Association, Scarborough Museums and Galleries, Scarborough Fair, The Grand/ Britannia Hotels and anonymous donations.
We work in partnership with St Mary's Church, St Martin-on-the-Hill, The Old Parcels Office Artspace, English Heritage, Heritage Adventures Ltd, National Literacy Trust, North Yorkshire Council, Groundwork Trust and Scarborough Market Hall.
Little Big Ideas By The Sea is part of Big Ideas By The Sea, an environmental and creative arts festival that started in Scarborough in 2021. Big Ideas has become the North’s leading environmental and creative festival. This not-for-profit annual festival brings leading speakers, thinkers, and creative people from science, the arts, business, technology and the environment to debate the Big Ideas that concern all of us. As well as talks and debates, there will be concerts, exhibitions, workshops, walks and, of course, the Scarborough Big Dig - our innovative community archaeology project. Big Ideas By The Sea will return on 15th to 30th May 2027. Details of the programme will be available at www.bigideasbythesea.co.uk and on this site from February 2027.
Set between moor, wolds and sea, Scarborough offers festival participants a unique and inspiring setting for fun and debate.
Until the advent of the railway, ideas travelled with people on foot and by sea. Sea ports were the point of entry and exit, of exchange and cross-fertilisation, a place where ideas landed, took root and flourished. Scarborough is a coastal town, deeply rooted in its historic relationship with the sea. Come and spend time in Scarborough, and be entertained, informed and inspired at Big Ideas By The Sea.
Big Ideas By The Sea is generously supported by Community Lottery Fund, North Yorkshire Council, Scarborough Hospitaility Association, Scarborough Museums and Galleries, Scarborough Fair, The Grand/ Britannia Hotels and anonymous donations.
We work in partnership with St Mary's Church, St Martin-on-the-Hill, The Old Parcels Office Artspace, English Heritage, Heritage Adventures Ltd, National Literacy Trust, North Yorkshire Council, Groundwork Trust and Scarborough Market Hall.
