The very next weekend after Bullstock saw another popular event take place in Wigan, the Wigan Digger's festival and it was special for one very good reason. Last week I said Bullstock was the final event on Believe Square. During the funeral service of Sir Billy Boston KBE, it was announced that Believe Square was to be renamed Sir Billy Boston Square in his honour. It was fitting that the first event on the newly named square was the Wigan Diggers Festival. I loaded Donkey, my Minolta Dynax 4 with my September roll of Kentmere 400 for the SLR part of the Frugal Film Project 2026 and headed into town.
The Wigan Diggers festival celebrates another of Wigan's favourite sons, Gerrard Winstanley. He was instrumental in the 17th century campaign to use common land to cultivate crops and graze livestock to feed the people who toiled the land working for the wealthy landowners who controlled the farming. I will put a link below where you can discover more about Gerald Winstanley and The Diggers (True Levellers) movement in the mid 17th century.
The Festival was already in full swing when I arrived and I caught the end of a fine performance from Captain Of The Lost Waves on the acoustic stage. I snapped a couple of photos before making my way around the event, trying to capture happy faces and cool T-Shirts. My favourite was the Barry Chuckle/Che Guevara mash up and the chap graciously posed for a photo.
Next band on the main stage up was Mora and The Fabulous Wonderfuls who played their own music to a very appreciative audience. There were several familiar faces in that audience, including Busi who was dancing away and really enjoying herself. How she manages to keep it up I have no idea. I was still feeling the effects of Bullstock the previous week and was beginning to think I might not make it to the end of the afternoon.
One chap put a smile on my face and gave me the impetus to carry on, my old mate Stu who was also at Bullstock the previous week. I haven't seen him for ages and then we bump into each other twice in the space of a few days. I also bumped into a fellow photographer who recognised me and follows me on social media. Yep, I've got a fan! We met a couple of winters back on a snowy day in Mesnes Park, Wigan. It was good to see him again.
An hour into the Wigan Digger's Festival my body started to raise the white flag and I knew it was time to head for home after finishing my roll of Kentmere 400. It's not too long ago that I could do two weekends on the run, but not anymore. Age and my illnesses and injuries are catching up with me, so I shot my final frame during the performance from the Wigan Samba Band and bid farewell to a marvellous event. It's a great day out, as are all the events that take place in Wigan town centre through the year and I would love to see them continue and grow more popular in the years ahead.
I developed my film after spending a few days recovering from an epic fortnight of photography in Wigan town centre. I used Bellini Euro HC, 1+31 dilution B, for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio.
I am happy with my photos of the Diggers Festival. I wasn't there long, but I captured the spirit of the event and happy folk enjoying their day. I am not a portrait photographer by any means, it was a challenge to get out of my comfort zone not once but twice and ask people for photo opportunities that came my way. I might even get the hang of it one day.
Here's a few favourites from my swift visit to the Wigan Diggers Festival in Wigan. If you fancy attending in 2027, there's a link to their website below. As always I have placed these photos and a few more in my Frugal Film Project 2026 - SLR album you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.
Frugal Film Project 2026 - SLR
Wigan Diggers Festival
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