Tunbridge Wells Drone Show: 26 Sept, and a Parking Ban

A drone light show is coming to Dunorlan Park on Saturday 26 September, and Kent County Council has now made the traffic arrangements public. Waiting and parking will be banned on three roads around the park from noon on Friday 25 September until 23:59 on Saturday.

The event is Space Safari, which the organiser bills as a cinematic drone show narrated by the television presenter Michaela Strachan. The story follows Cleo, a chameleon, through the cosmos. The main show runs for 25 to 30 minutes. (Space Safari, Tunbridge Wells event page)

Times, and when the drones actually fly

Gates are at 4pm and the event runs to 9pm. The drone show itself is expected to start between 19:30 and 19:45, subject to change. That is a five hour event with a half hour finale, so plan the evening around the flight window rather than the gate time.

Before it, the organiser lists live tribute acts, fairground rides, face painting, food stalls and dog-friendly competitions. Dogs are welcome. There is a bring your own picnic and chair option, sold as a separate ticket type.

Tickets: the first two releases have gone

Two price releases have already sold out. This is where the prices stand on the official ticket page:

Under threes go free and need no ticket. A free carer ticket is available alongside a paid one. There is also a weather cancellation add-on at £3.50 plus a 29p fee. (Fatsoma, the event’s ticket page)

Read the weather terms before you buy. The organiser states that if weather stops the show going ahead it will be rescheduled, with contingency dates of 27, 28, 29 and 30 September, and that tickets are non-refundable in the case of rescheduling due to weather. A midweek replacement date is a different proposition from a Saturday if you are bringing children.

The parking ban, road by road

Kent County Council says it intends to make an order imposing no waiting and no parking between 12:00 on Friday 25 September and 23:59 on Saturday 26 September on:

• A264 Pembury Road, from Calverley Park Gardens to the Sandhurst Road junction
• Bayhall Road, from Rookley Close to the pedestrian park entrance opposite Beech Manor, on both sides of the carriageway
• Halls Hole Road, from Bayhall Road to Dunorlan Farm

(Kent County Council notice dated 4 September 2026)

An intention is not yet a decision, so the order could change, but the notice is the earliest public warning residents get. Note that the A264 Pembury Road stretch in the ban is also part of the diversion for the Sandhurst Road gas main closure, which started on 7 September and can run for up to 92 days.

What it means for you

• The show is on the Saturday; the parking ban starts at noon on the Friday. If you park on Pembury Road, Bayhall Road or Halls Hole Road, that is a full day and a half.
• The drones fly at about 19:30 to 19:45, not at the 4pm gate time.
• Tickets are into their third release. Adults are now £20.99 plus fees, £4 more than the early bird price that has gone.
• If it is rained off you do not get your money back, you get one of four contingency dates from Sunday 27 to Wednesday 30 September.
• Give yourself extra time getting there. The Sandhurst Road closure is already pushing traffic around this side of town, and our roadworks and travel page has the current list.

More of what is on locally is on our things to do in Tunbridge Wells page.

Sources: Space Safari, Space Safari Drone Light Show - Tunbridge Wells, read 8 September 2026, for the date, times, narration, under-3s policy, contingency dates and weather terms; Fatsoma, the event’s official ticket page, read 8 September 2026, for the prices, booking fees, release status, carer ticket and weather add-on; Kent County Council temporary traffic regulation notice dated 4 September 2026, published on the Public Notice Portal, for the parking restrictions and their dates.