First Time

[The Nal]

3 hours ago, snipe said:

Last year up by the Ferris wheel there was a place with a big variety

And an even bigger price.

[Guest]

16 hours ago, Guy Incognito said:

There are showers but queues are long. Camping is very chilled out, lovely vibe.

Go mid - late afternoon and you’ll probably be ok. I went back to the tent last year for something, a toilet stop and noticed the showers were empty. Went back and grabbed my towel, 10 minutes later and a quick shower I was back feeling like a new man. Almost. 

[The Nal]

Theres no queues for the showers after about 1pm. 

Sometimes you can get lucky earlier and queue for maybe 10 or 15 minutes. EOTR takes a while to get going in the morning anyway so you'll have lots of time to nab a coffee and breakfast and a shower. 

[goldengirl]

my trick is to wake up at 5/6am for a shower, dry my hair then go back to sleep.

I camp in the boutique area though, the shower situation there has varied year-on-year.

[Stillill42]

8 hours ago, snipe said:

We come from Dublin via Bristol and the flight is often delayed so I hope Southampton is more punctual for you. I know you've eaten a flight change already but the best option we've found is fly into Bristol Wednesday, stay the night in the Premier Inn across from the bus station and get the 8.55am National Express to the festival. You can get cans in the Bristol Tesco then. 

There's a 6.30am flight Thursday morning that should also get you on that bus but again you're at the mercy of the flights being on time and the traffic from the Airport to Bristol (which I heard is currently awful). 

We've also gotten trains from Bristol to Salisbury and then a coach from there but not since the pandemic so dunno what the situation is now. It was odd in 21 when we looked last is all I remember.

FWIW I've definitely got closed cans from the bars in the festival in the past (at bar prices though). Last year up by the Ferris wheel there was a place with a big variety and the bar by the main stage has sold me whatever that years brewery was in a can too.

Thanks snipe. Appreciate the info. I'm tied in to the Thursday evening flight as I battle to make the festival while simultaneously keeping my job and saving my marriage. A Wednesday kick off would put both in mortal peril. The alcohol situation sounds manageable on site. I'm going on as if I'll be downing beers by the dozen when we all know that 5 or 6 pints will have me speaking in tongues. Good to know there arel a few Irish heads knocking around. 

Edited June 30, 2023 by Stillill42

[The Nal]

3 hours ago, goldengirl said:

I camp in the boutique area though, the shower situation there has varied year-on-year.

Sure they probably need the water for the bed of ice under your beluga caviar 

[jplewes]

1 hour ago, The Nal said:

Sure they probably need the water for the bed of ice under your beluga caviar 

Last year I would have been happy if the showers had had a light in boutique camping, or if 90% had more pressure than a dripping tap (!) 

They were alright the year before though.

Edited June 30, 2023 by jplewes

[Stillill42]

So the anticipation is building nicely now, getting to know acts, just having a look at the site map here as I listen to the new Geese album, great stuff altogether. It looks like a lovely, compact site. How long will it take me to get from one end to the other, say from the Woods to the Garden stage? It looks like it'll be clash city for me over the course of the weekend. Is hopping from stage to stage a realistic possibility?

What's the bar situation? Is there a brand running the show like we have for most Irish festivals or is there a variety of breweries on site? Do the bars have an official cut off time? What sort of price will a pint set me back?

I know there are cash machines on site, I presume card and cash are both OK? Should I be bringing a wad of sterling with me?

Sorry for the barrage of questions folks, any help appreciated. 

[shoebox]

Woods->Garden is probably the greatest distance and you're looking at a brisk 5-minute walk between the two (maybe longer if you're on the barrier or at the end of a set with everyone else leaving at the same time). There are also a couple of stages in the woods (Talking Heads and Boat), which may take a little longer due to the windy nature of the terrain, but never too long

Lots of bars scattered around the place. The main brewery tie-in for the past few years has been Two Tribes, serving their Metroland IPA at all bars, plus having some alternatives at their dedicated bar. The other bars all have a range of ales, there is a rum bar, cider bus and a gin garden. You're probably looking at around 6 quid a pint these days. The bars all stay open late, until 2/3am I think

Everywhere takes cashless payments, but network issues have caused problems in the past, so it is worth having cash for those times. Try to avoid using the cash machines on site because they charge you. Last resort only.

Edited July 3, 2023 by shoebox

[Stillill42]

27 minutes ago, shoebox said:

Woods->Garden is probably the greatest distance and you're looking at a brisk 5-minute walk between the two (maybe longer if you're on the barrier or at the end of a set with everyone else leaving at the same time). There are also a couple of stages in the woods (Talking Heads and Boat), which may take a little longer due to the windy nature of the terrain, but never too long

Lots of bars scattered around the place. The main brewery tie-in for the past few years has been Two Tribes, serving their Metroland IPA at all bars, plus having some alternatives at their dedicated bar. The other bars all have a range of ales, there is a rum bar, cider bus and a gin garden. You're probably looking at around 6 quid a pint these days. The bars all stay open late, until 2/3am I think

Everywhere takes cashless payments, but network issues have caused problems in the past, so it is worth having cash for those times. Try to avoid using the cash machines on site because they charge you. Last resort only.

Cheers @shoebox. Much obliged. 

[snipe]

If you've Revolut you can set your phone up so the contactless on it uses that card.  I usually buy a lump of Sterling on Revolut whenever the rates are good.  It is .86 at the moment to the Euro which isn't bad but I am holding out for .90. Don't get too obsessed about it as it only really makes a noticeable difference if you do a big lump.  That would be an extra 20 quid out of 500 euro for example.  The rates usually seem better closer to the festival but no guarantees.

Revolut charge a higher fee for weekend conversions so doing the conversion in advance saves you a tiny bit and you've a locked in rate but you can do it on the fly too as long as you've a Euro balance to convert.  If you get a Revolut card you can also use any ATM in the UK to get cash out at their rates (it will use your Sterling balance first before converting Euro to Sterling if required).   Irish banks will give you a worse exchange rate if you use your normal card either as contactless or to get money from an ATM.  Again we're talking maybe an extra 20 quid lost or so maybe but sure if you can avoid it why not?

[Tolis]

3 hours ago, Stillill42 said:

So the anticipation is building nicely now, getting to know acts, just having a look at the site map here as I listen to the new Geese album, great stuff altogether. It looks like a lovely, compact site. How long will it take me to get from one end to the other, say from the Woods to the Garden stage? It looks like it'll be clash city for me over the course of the weekend. Is hopping from stage to stage a realistic possibility?

 

Hi, 

The four big stages are not too far, you can definitely hop from stage to stage, I believe that you could even go to all four of them if you stay only for a couple of songs on each, but keep in mind that for popular acts they get busy and you might need to queue for Tipi and Big Top as they have an one out - one in policy when they are full. Also the Garden can get a bit busy for popular acts. Having said that, I would try not to worry about clashes too much, neither try to watch everything, EOTR can surprise you in a good way if you ditch your schedule.

[airwaves]

6 hours ago, Stillill42 said:

So the anticipation is building nicely now, getting to know acts, just having a look at the site map here as I listen to the new Geese album, great stuff altogether. It looks like a lovely, compact site. How long will it take me to get from one end to the other, say from the Woods to the Garden stage? It looks like it'll be clash city for me over the course of the weekend. Is hopping from stage to stage a realistic possibility?

What's the bar situation? Is there a brand running the show like we have for most Irish festivals or is there a variety of breweries on site? Do the bars have an official cut off time? What sort of price will a pint set me back?

I know there are cash machines on site, I presume card and cash are both OK? Should I be bringing a wad of sterling with me?

Sorry for the barrage of questions folks, any help appreciated. 

Friday / Saturday (but less so on Sunday as they sell out) you can almost treat one of the beer tents as a mini real ale festival, hand served direct from barrels racked behind the bar

🍻🍻🍻🍺🍺🍺

[p.pete]

The setup sounds amazing - I'm looking forward to my stepcount not being the main achievement of the weekend.  With such small distances is there any sound-bleed between stages / nearby bars pumping out their own tunes during the quiet bits?

[shoebox]

15 minutes ago, p.pete said:

The setup sounds amazing - I'm looking forward to my stepcount not being the main achievement of the weekend.  With such small distances is there any sound-bleed between stages / nearby bars pumping out their own tunes during the quiet bits?

It's not too bad with regards to sound-bleed. The closest stages are probably the Big Top and Woods, but with the way that acts tended to be staggered, it's rare that the pair of them have anyone on at the same time. More chance of sound-bleed for the secret sets in the woods at the Piano stage. 

The only bar with any real sound-system in the main arena is the cider bus and that only really cranks it up after the main acts have finished. But even that only really affects the Folly Stage (formally the Tipi Tent), unless you're Joanna Newsom

[robith]

19 minutes ago, p.pete said:

The setup sounds amazing - I'm looking forward to my stepcount not being the main achievement of the weekend.  With such small distances is there any sound-bleed between stages / nearby bars pumping out their own tunes during the quiet bits?

No, Woods and Garden are a decent distance away, and Garden is enclosed. Folly and Big Top are tents. The bars don't really play music, and other music stuff is in the woods so well covered

[p.pete]

Lovely stuff - and that answers another question that I hadn't asked - I see tipi stage on the map but not the lineup.  Cultural misappropriation I assume, Folly's are far more local 😄 

[RedRockRick]

48 minutes ago, p.pete said:

Lovely stuff - and that answers another question that I hadn't asked - I see tipi stage on the map but not the lineup.  Cultural misappropriation I assume, Folly's are far more local 😄 

They're going to struggle for decades to get the name change to stick: it'll always been the Tipi, and the Folly doesn't sound right yet. 

[p.pete]

2 hours ago, RedRockRick said:

They're going to struggle for decades to get the name change to stick: it'll always been the Tipi, and the Folly doesn't sound right yet. 

Change the map would be a good start?  Exeter Chiefs decided that 'chief' was an old Devonian term of reference / title and rebranded to some Norman-looking headgear - but then they keep the bloody wigwam bar.  It's the little details.

[robith]

3 hours ago, p.pete said:

Change the map would be a good start?  Exeter Chiefs decided that 'chief' was an old Devonian term of reference / title and rebranded to some Norman-looking headgear - but then they keep the bloody wigwam bar.  It's the little details.

it's still last year's map atm

[cel469]

On 5/23/2023 at 12:10 AM, Stillill42 said:

Evening all. Also a first timer. Just bought my ticket, booked my flight from Dublin, absolutely buzzing. Loads on that lineup for me, can't wait.

A couple of quick questions. Myself and the brothers were due to fly in Friday morning till we noticed Wilco were on on the Thursday. Cue a quick change to a Thursday evening flight that gets us in to Southampton at 7.15. We're under serious pressure obviously. Is a taxi from Southampton Airport to the site a runner? 

Also, there'll be no time for faffing around with shopping expeditions. We'll arrive completely canless, a sorry state of affairs. Is there any way to rectify this on Friday morning? Is there anywhere to purchase cans onsite? Or just offsite?

Ta in advance lads. I've a million more questions but I'll leave ye with those as a warm up, we'll get into it properly over the next few weeks.

 

Cheap car hire from Southampton Airport?

Not ideal, but with costs of taxis etc, and split between a few of you, could be an option?

You could then drive to Shaftsbury on Friday morning or stop on the way to pick up some tinnies 🤷‍♂️

[Stillill42]

10 minutes ago, cel469 said:

 

Cheap car hire from Southampton Airport?

Not ideal, but with costs of taxis etc, and split between a few of you, could be an option?

You could then drive to Shaftsbury on Friday morning or stop on the way to pick up some tinnies 🤷‍♂️

Ah thanks for the suggestion but I reckon I'll stick with the taxi. 90 yoyos is what I've been quoted for that, I reckon a car for the few days would cost us 300 and we really don't need it beyond that trip, flight back not till late enough Monday, bus and train will do us for that. The drink set up sounds great on site, we'll survive like the troopers we are on pints of crafty pale ale, supplemented by the cider bus and gin garden. It's a tough life but hey, we'll just have to roll our sleeves up and make do. 😉

[robith]

Well, it appears we're now doing campervan for the first time. What's the field like? How big are the pitches? there's four of us and it will be tight in the van so we're gonna need to throw up a tent outside for the latest back to sleep in

[paulwa]

57 minutes ago, robith said:

Well, it appears we're now doing campervan for the first time. What's the field like? How big are the pitches? there's four of us and it will be tight in the van so we're gonna need to throw up a tent outside for the latest back to sleep in

This is what the EOTR website says about pitch sizes:

A ‘Regular Campervan Pitch’ allows for a pitch that is 6m x 8m with space for 1 x live in vehicle OR 1 x caravan, PLUS 1 x small awning (max 2 person). 

A ‘Large Campervan Pitch’ allows for a pitch that is 9m x 8m with space for 1 x live in vehicle OR 1 x caravan, PLUS 1 x awning / tent (max 4 person). 

We've been taking a transit sized van onto a large campervan pitch for the last few years. One guy sleeps in that. Next to it, we put up a mid-sized family tent (a 4 person tent that really only takes 3 comfortably). Two of us sleep in that. We also put up a 10ft x 10ft event shelter. Plenty of room. The field itself is much quieter than general camping during the wee small hours when the last bands are playing. There are probably a few more of us at the "mature" end of the scale.

[robith]

4 minutes ago, paulwa said:

This is what the EOTR website says about pitch sizes:

A ‘Regular Campervan Pitch’ allows for a pitch that is 6m x 8m with space for 1 x live in vehicle OR 1 x caravan, PLUS 1 x small awning (max 2 person). 

A ‘Large Campervan Pitch’ allows for a pitch that is 9m x 8m with space for 1 x live in vehicle OR 1 x caravan, PLUS 1 x awning / tent (max 4 person). 

We've been taking a transit sized van onto a large campervan pitch for the last few years. One guy sleeps in that. Next to it, we put up a mid-sized family tent (a 4 person tent that really only takes 3 comfortably). Two of us sleep in that. We also put up a 10ft x 10ft event shelter. Plenty of room. The field itself is much quieter than general camping during the wee small hours when the last bands are playing. There are probably a few more of us at the "mature" end of the scale.

That's incredibly helpful mate, cheers.

Tbh whilst I can party with the best of them, I prefer to do it where there's actual entertainment. Once I'm back, I'm going to sleep, so I don't mind sedate tbh!