RIP Camping

[metalman]

Ok so first year in RIP and heres what i thought. I got my ticket in November when they went on sale and because of the trouble in 06/07 which is the last time i went we thought we'd try RIP for the peace of mind and the sleep at night.

This is quite a long review but well worth it if you have ever considered paying the extra.

Arrived about 12 on Wednesday and we was signed in and parked in our pitch in about 20 minuets which was awesome as I've qued for hours in the past to get into standard. Having your car next to your tent is a godsend to be fair and some would consider this worthy of the extra in its self. I'm quite a social person and enjoy just chatting randomly to people but the crowd in RIP seemed to be of a more mature age, most people seemed to be in there mid 30's to 40's and those that where younger seemed to have there own clicks that they stayed in for the whole weekend which made it hard to get chatting to like minded people. Rip does feel a lot safer that standard in the sense that i had no problem going to the arena and leaving our cooking stuff and chairs outside the door of the tent and be confident that they would still be there when i got back in fact i even left my car unlocked one day with a load of stuff on the seats and nothing went walkies.

There are flushing toilets but be aware that there's only about 10 of these and with 1400 people on the RIP site there where long ques at times. There was also a few temporary toilets which i felt where just longdrops with walls and by Saturday smelt like it to which was a bit disappointing as i though that I'd left that behind in standard. There was also 3/4 maybe a few more permanent shower units which we never got to use because of the ques at the times you would want a shower and also quite a few of the temporary ones, again these where separate cubical s in a portable cabin form but the Mrs said these where cold.

Before we went we know that there was a quiet time between 1am and 7am but we still expected there to be plenty of people sat outside talking but this wasn't the case the campsite seems to be deserted after about 12:30 because everyone had gone to bed, for me that isn't the festival spirit.

we had a walk around on the thursday and wandered into family/orange campsite for a nosey and was really impressed with what we saw. This was the one on the hill and people seemed to have more room than i am used to in standard and the standard of the sites seems to have improved massivly since we last went in 07. This was the campsite on th hill over looking the casle/manor house im not sure if it is open every year of just because of the increased capacity, it would be interesting to find out, Anyone?

The walk from RIP to the village took about 15 mins and is probably about 3/4 of a mile each way, we spent quite a bit of time in the village this year because of the atmosphere it had that RIP didn't and as the Mrs put it we felt we where back with our own kind, That's nothing against RIP but when you here people in there referring to people in standard just as them people and poor people it starts to grate after a few days.

Most important part for most people next, the cash bar in the village. This was a good addition for me but not worth paying extra for personally although i can see why some do. It was £3.50 for a bottle 500ml gaymers which is about the same as the arena which i think was £3.75 a pint (more in a pint than a bottle so you should pay more) and you was always served quite quickly. We did get 2 vodka and cokes on Sunday and i nearly shit my pants when he said £13 quid, feck me did that hurt on the Sunday when the funds where getting limited. They also do food in there but you was looking at £7 for a burger although they where cooking them in front of you so you knew they where fresh. There where a number of loos in there too and you never had to wait long. The number of people in there at certain points was ridiculous though and it was far to over crowded, we went to go in after the rage set and the Que to just get in was past the kerrang tent so we left it. There where quite a few band members knocking about but for me they could have been anyone I'm a fan of the music and not the videos or press shoots so apart from a select view i didn't have a clue who anyone was and this was clear when Ville Valo was stood next to us on more than one occasion and i didn't have a clue who it was till i read a mag article from him later in the day.

To summearise for £700/750 compared to £350/400 in standard it isn't worth it and i for one wouldn't pay the extra again to go in there so for me its back with those porpers next time, see you there!

I think that's about it so sorry for going on but if this is helpful to one person its been worth it.

[t8yman]

you raise some valid points, but I disagree completely. Me and my mates are booking RIP again as soon as we can. We had a blast. The guest bar in the arena was worth the price alone. Being able to go into a cool area and get a drink with ice for less than the arena prices was brilliant. Cans of cold cold guinness for £4 was a right touch on sunday morning in that blistering sun, we met a few bands, met some great blokes and generally had a blast. The camping was great - the people queuing 8 deep for the toilets needed to get a grip IMHO, along with the people who queued for the showers - there were 16 showers in the field near the shop, and I never saw more than 8 people queueing. The first one I got into was freezing, but the second one I got into was too hot to stand under, and they were free too.

The campsite was brilliant, the last thing I wanted was a load of nobheads shouting "buttscratcher" at midnight, we partied hard, and slept like babies. We go as a group, and whilst we were happy to have a bit of banter with our neighbours - we didnt want to mix.

There is obviously a big difference between our ages - the oldest in our group was 46, and the youngest was 30. I am 39. It was damn near perfect. especially when you consider people were paying £100 for access to the guest bar alone. If for some reason we cant go RIP next year, we will go standard and buy guest bar passes anyway.

I spent about £15 on arena food all weekend, because we took burgers, sausages, steaks, and had a good feed every morning, and a feed when we got back to the tents, we also took loads of premixed gin and orange, and vodka powerades and just just smuggled a few in every day. food and beer for the weekend apart from what we spent at the bar came to £30 each. This was possible because we could take the cars in, full of coolboxes - we even had bags of ice left on saturday night. And a rump steak sandwich is about the best you can get on a saturday night at a festy!

So with respect - if you had given it some real planning - you might of appreciated it a bit more.

I agree that if you want to PARTAYYY with the other campers - RIP isnt the place to be.

[bekimo]

I actually love that you have written this review fairly unbiasedly (is that a word, I don't know! I'm still recovering!)

Seen so many people just go on and on about RIP being better than cattle camps but not really offering any objectiveness (again, i may be making up words!)

After all of the walking we did this year we have considered RIP for next year but to be honest, after reading this review, I think we'll stay in cattle camp with the rest of the wreck heads!!!

Leave RIP for the more restrained of Downloaders!!! For me, I would be paying the extra just to have my car parked next to my tent and that is just expensive laziness!!!!

[dan666]

The first one I got into was freezing, but the second one I got into was too hot to stand under, and they were free too.

[t8yman]

the showers in RIP that everyone was queueing for were £1. the ones where no one was queueing were free!

[metalman]

There is obviously a big difference between our ages - the oldest in our group was 46, and the youngest was 30. I am 39. It was damn near perfect. especially when you consider people were paying £100 for access to the guest bar alone. If for some reason we cant go RIP next year, we will go standard and buy guest bar passes anyway.

[the_hedge]

How much were the RIP tickets this year?

[metalman]

How much were the RIP tickets this year?

[t8yman]

It's always good to get another opinion and i think where we differ with most points will be put down to age, I'm 24 and enjoy the knob head in the next tent who wont stop taking to you at 2 in the morning for me this is still part of the festival experience going to bed at 12 if you go back to the campsite isn't although I will say if you enjoy your sleep then RIP will suit you. One night i was sat in the car at 1 Oclock with a beer listening to the radio because everyone round our tent had disappeared inside to sleep and the carefew had started.

Really don't understand this slightly aggressive and uneducated part of your post, I mentioned the price of a burger inside the cash bar for others knowledge i personally like yourself took a shed load of food and meat in cool boxes and ate very little in the arena/village and the stuff i did eat was out of choice not because i "Hadn't planned" and had nothing back at the tent I could have cooked.

[Lofty]

Only ever had the chance to camp in the 'posh' part of a festival once and blew it off, looked very quiet and I like the atmosphere in the main campsite at festivals. In the end at Leeds I just blocked one of the posh toilets and never returned

I have heard there is a poor attitude amongst some people in the RIP camping, and the OP seems to have confirmed that, which is a shame. I'm not a poor person, I'd just rather spend the difference on a good time thanks!

[WildChildRockChick]

Thanks for the review. I remember you promised it pre-fest

Im a bit older than you so maybe it wouldn't be so bad for me but I like the randomness of standard too (in fact I met some really truly lovely people in standard again this year), maybe RIP isn't as much up my street as I thought it might be then.

Becki could be right - 'expensive laziness' sounds as if it could be quite accurate in my case..

metalman - would you say that a quieter standard field would be more suitable for you? So you can do the party thing in the village/other camps (eg blue/white) and then go back to a quieter camp for some sleep..

[loscfestivals]

Personally could never justify spending another £160 on the extra facilities available, it is almost another ticket. Parking next to the car etc seems cool but unlike some of the other fests we only ever get a small group going so RIP not being that sociable isn't really great for us. The drinks aren't really any cheaper so I would still have spent a fortune on booze and evening food etc. We do tend to cook in the morning or go to Tesco for a breakfast to set us up for the day but there is no way I'm missing bands to cook during the day/evening so would still have been an expensive do. With the extra for RIP I could easily see me spending £500+ which is just madness for 5 days away really!

[metalman]

metalman - would you say that a quieter standard field would be more suitable for you? So you can do the party thing in the village/other camps (eg blue/white) and then go back to a quieter camp for some sleep..

[WildChildRockChick]

Personally could never justify spending another £160 on the extra facilities available, it is almost another ticket. Parking next to the car etc seems cool but unlike some of the other fests we only ever get a small group going so RIP not being that sociable isn't really great for us. The drinks aren't really any cheaper so I would still have spent a fortune on booze and evening food etc. We do tend to cook in the morning or go to Tesco for a breakfast to set us up for the day but there is no way I'm missing bands to cook during the day/evening so would still have been an expensive do. With the extra for RIP I could easily see me spending £500+ which is just madness for 5 days away really!

Edited June 19, 2010 by WildChildRockChick