Kendal Calling 2012

[Mr_Grump]

Taxi driver who took us to the station reckons that they might not be able to use the land next year...something about a Lord's son wanting to build a big house there?? Wasn't really paying attention to be honest...knackered

[stuwilky]

There was the same rumour after last years festival....but only time will tell (cos I don't think the organisers will tell!!).

But do remember, there are spies out there.......

[LOCHLAND5]

Yeah...might give a few days! Think 4 days is the longest I can manage...as much as I loved it I was ready to come home today.

Taxi driver who took us to the station reckons that they might not be able to use the land next year...something about a Lord's son wanting to build a big house there?? Wasn't really paying attention to be honest...knackered

[mammamia27]

My thoughts as first time visitor!

Really nice vibe, I didn't feel threatened and I didn't see any aggressive behaviour.

The map was a bit naff, as was lack of signage. I was in the campervan field parked at the back fence (up the hill a bit), arrived on the Thursday but signage was a bit lax as we couldn't find the 'Village Green' or the way to the arena, we got sent around the houses by security who didn't seem to know where we were allowed to go. (To be fair this was fairly early on Thursday so chances are everything was still quite new to everyone at that point!)

For some reason half the toilets disappeared from the field halfway through the weekend but reappeared by yesterday. (We made a run for it after James last night so were back home by 2am).

Security seemed pretty lax, compared to Wickerman where they were a bit OTT but then there is a middle ground, noone checked our emporers wristbands when we walked back from arena via normal camping so in theory anyone can get into the campervan field. On entering arena from emporers noone even checked bags so good if you're into smuggling drinks in (I couldn't be arsed personally as I'm not a big drinker just bought a couple of Kopparbergs and an icecream being the wild thing I am!)

Music was fantastic, caught a number of bands, Utah Saints amazing, Really enjoyed Lancashire HotPots and obviously my favourites, James which was a fantastic set. Most of all I enjoyed it as a weekend to chill, relax with a bit of music and that is what I got.

Kopparberg being sold could have been a bit colder though, was a bit of a cheek to pay £3.80 for something lukewarm!

All in all really enjoyed it. I bought tickets for this year without knowing the lineup, but chances are I will wait for next years lineup before making decision to go next year.

I did Wickerman last year and for me personally, I preferred Kendal.

Edited July 30, 2012 by mammamia27

[Flaminglippy]

The foundations for the big house are there been there a few years.................... Permission was granted for the house back when things were good with economy ! It will be there next year that's for sure!

[LOCHLAND5]

Fingers crossed...its a lovely place to have it.

Hope it doesn't take too long for everything to get back to normal for you and your neighbours. Must say all the locals we spoke to were very friendly

[ramragon]

It will be there next year that's for sure!

[LOCHLAND5]

Im sending you some Copper nails in the post tomorrow jonnie lad !

[Jacko450]

Morning all, apologies for my lack of attendance to the meet's, I was being dragged from all angles from my group of friends.

First I'll just say what a fantastic festival, really really enjoyed it and the weather was spot on!!

Met some fantastic people, Met a couple called Danny and Hayley who we camped next to, had an agreement to look out for each others camps after a few thefts on thurs night.

POSITIVES

Friendly atmosphere

Walk from the car and arena, was miniscule compared to Leeds Fest, just made it so so easy.

Great place to have a festival, lovely surrounds.

Even in 'Party' Camp I got plenty of sleep as everyone seemed to shut down about 1am.

Little Comets could quite easily be my new favourite band, brilliant set Friday.

Being able to stand at the main stage comfortably and go back and forth for food and beer.

Great view of the main stage from all sorts of angles and distances.

Plenty more positives but cant think right now!

NEGATIVES

Toilet situation did seem very amateur and unorganised but I suppose that comes with a smaller festival?

Searching every bag on the way in does eradicate too many underage drinkers and drug takers, but is it feasible to search everyone and just have 4 little entrances to get in?

Even though I felt hugely safe, did seem to be a complete lack of security/staff presence around the camps.

I spoke to the ''Campsite Manager'' and politely asked where I could get water for cooking and she literally had no idea, I found it myself in the end, but come on?

That is all the petty negatives I can think of currently, absolutely loved every minute of Kendal, will be returning.

Great festival, thanks to Ramrage, Mick and others who helped with my annoying questions in the lead up!

[hplanty]

This was our first Kendal Calling and really enjoyed it although there were some good and bad points.

Positives

Friendly Crowd

Being able to watch main stage from the Hill

Great Bands -Particularly the Hotpots (but then I am a Lancashire Lass at heart who grew up on the Folk being spoofed)

Arriving Thursday about 6 pm - drove straight in no queues, parked close to entrance and through security easily. (they barely searched our big orange crate although we didn't have any booze with us it had food, cooking stuff, groundsheet etc in it.

Leaving Sunday evening and driving straight out no waiting at all.

Short walk to the camp site from car park.

We headed for the quiet camping and ended up on the edge of family camping with some lovely neighbors.

The bands

Nice food (Particularly Johnny Baghdads and the ginger Ice cream place)

Enjoyed the atmosphere with the small areas and wooded bits lots to explore.

The comedy/spoken word stuff in the tent near the entrance.

Late night Happy Slap disco

The weather

Chai Wallahs tent nice and chilled out of the sun.

The mud not being too slippy or wet or sticky it was weird we decided it was like walking on Plasticine

Downsides

TOILETS- Not enough, not emptied often enough, Urinals overflowing, up to 60+ people queuing in the family/quiet camping in the morning for the toilets. (spoke to a few of the families who were quite concerned about how visible the urinals were surely a bit of screening or putting them at the far end of the toilet blocks??)

Being able to get tap water to drink on the first day near the main stage and fill up a bottle then it disappearing the next day.

Having gone out on Friday morning returning to find our tent so surrounded we could barely get the door open let alone cook outside or fit 2 chairs out to sit on.

Lack of general signage and maps that were inaccurate.

Not being able to get a programme on the way in.

Price of drinks/ food

Lack of bins/recycling other than the deposits on glasses and bottles.

Lack of visible security/ stewards around campsites

Having to wait over an hour to go in to the arena on Friday not sure why the big delay?

The comedy tent being overpowered by the base from other tents could have done with being somewhere a little bit quieter. The lineup also completely changed from programme.

Being old and not feeling up to partying into the night ended up in bed before 1 each night

Lack of real Cider in the real ale tent (not Kopperburg)

Ideas for improvements-

More toilets!!! (the signs inside the loo's said they were designed for 7 people max working a 40 hour week each!!)

More camping space I have never been to a festival that had such overcrowded camping areas. They were downright dangerous.

There seemed to be real inconsistency on the gates. We needed to leave on Sunday after James due to a family emergency so packed up on the Sunday morning and just walked out to the car with our kit when we came back in they were searching everyone who was trying to go to the car-park and there was a massive queue with people moaning and yet we just walked out in the evening.

If they charged everyone 10 quid extra could we not all have Pootopia type loo's ??? I would rather pay a one off slightly higher ticket fee and know i had decent loos for the weekend.

Better signage and map for the site.

Overall I would like to do it again. Hope everyone got back safe and sound.

Edited July 31, 2012 by hplanty

[Superscally]

Met some great peeps there of all ages, 17 to 70, but felt that I've not been to festival with so many w*nker kids since I stopped going to Reading. One deliberately chucked my phone on the deck while taking a photo of Maximo (who were ace) and another group did their best to start on our group during another set. I also came back to my tent to find a load of my stuff strewn in front of my tent (lucky I never leave any valuables in there). Toilets situation poor, not enough water taps. Too many people for certain facilities, which is a shame as the good aspects of the festival were overshadowed. Still had a great time, but that was in spite of the festival and more a result of having top mates and top bands....

[efcfanwirral]

First time at KC and really enjoyed it - a very different atmosphere to what we're used to but still really good. we were in Emperor's and it was very spacious, dark and quiet (except for the children shouting from 7am, but we had earplugs so it was fine!).

Music was great - James were epic and Feeder, Inspirals, Sound of Guns and Shed Seven all brilliant.

The only real gripe was the alcohol - Kopparberg is difficult to drink for me after the 3rd, same for real ale, and canned lager is difficult to drink just one of! Maybe thats the point though, to prevent people getting too leathered...

Either way, great weekend though I wish I'd read up on it better before going (only knew we were going about 10 days beforehand) and actually known about fancy dress Saturday before seeing an army of Superteds...

[Jonjo]

Had a great time - bit nervous about coming down myself but needn't have worried. Big thank you to Steve for making me so welcome and especially for the full english on Sunday (think my cholesterol is now back to normal).

Highlights for me were - Dreadzone, Shed Seven, Hotpots, Kyle from the View in Tim Peaks, Maximo Park and King Charles. Great setup and yes there are some things that could have been organised better but they are minor in my mind.

Definitely coming back next year and will try and do the Wickerman/KC double.

Nice to meet you all and see you again next year.

[kaytee...]

I hate to echo the negative comments but the organisation was a total let down for the festival this year and for me it changed the atmosphere compared to last year.

I seen some brilliant acts but I think for an increase of around 5000 and no increase in space was a bad idea. This could be seen during the headline acts when rows of families in chairs dominated the hill with no space to walk between. The toilets weren't great last year, the bigger festivals always have cleaner ones. This years were just abysmal really. Also there was a serious lack of water taps around and virtually none in the arena this year which left me thinking they were only trying to profit furthermore by charging 2 quid for a bottle without a lid. I was stood next to a guy from the production team at the bar who said we shouldnt even be paying for it and ended up getting it to me for free.

Stages were crammed in far too close, there was a ridiculous overspill of noise between kopparberg kube and houseparty. The security was lacking too, my wristband to emperors was rarely checked. I also heard security on the radio on friday night saying there was a gap in the fence of general camp and they were just walking up the road into emperors and pissing about.

It was just generally disappointing and with acts pulling out with no indication was annoying as I was particularly looking forward to King Charles in riot jazz Sunday night as were many others. I feel that the size of the festival in previous years is what made it special really. I even overheard the site manager apologising to a guy in a wheelchair for the lack of any disabled toilets and putting this down to rushed setup and too big of an audience.

A few positives though...James. Wow they were incredible. I only know 5 or so songs as my dad is a big fan but they blew me away. Dizzee surprised me, excellent show. To Kill A King, Admiral Fallow and Little Comets were highlights of Calling Out. Riot Jazz brass band brilliant once again.

I do think that the only possibility of me returning is if we could be reassured that all these problems are sorted. That's a lot of issues to sort though and I don't have faith that they can be sorted if they continue to increase capacity

[Guest manc_al]

Must admit at times i did move my daughter out of the way when mayhem looked like kicking off, not sure if I thought any different at wickerman though. We both said the atmosphere at wickerman seemed to change around 5pm when people were more tanked up. Its maybes more noticable at kendal because the wickerman impression was that the site was much bigger in comparison. Not sure what the sales figures for wickerman was like but I never had the impression it was overly full.

[LOCHLAND5]

Well first off I'd just like to say it was really good meeting some of you guys off here with your friends and families good people = good times and I had a ball!

I thought Friday night was flat, maximo park to dull to kick KC off!

Went home at midnight ( I don't camp)!

Saturday started bad I had a huge blister on my heal ! But st johns did there stuff and got me rocking!

Shed 7 were a highlight but DizzeeRascal blew me away.

Had some nice food over the weekend 6 quid for a good portion of rice and curry not bad and you wouldn't get that much more at a takeaway !

Sunday started bad my blister on my heal was hurting and I had a bit of hangover !

But 6 pints of elbow ale sorted me out!

James and feeder were the highlight of the day for me and when James did come home I was well happy!

Errrr now for some bad things!

The toilets what can you say ! I gave up with in the end and started having wild ones!

Not so the kids could see and once it got dark I always peed on the tree behind the sound tower, hopefully I have killed it and the arena would have a far better view!

Am I anti social or is this wrong , wife and her friend set out large rugg , there was 3 of them on it at one point , one of their friends went for a walk , the this pissed up couple just came up lied down hugging each other drinking a bottle of brandy they lay next to my wife on her matt for 45 mins !!!!! I was close and watching out for her all the time, she kept texting me saying help, but my type of help wouldn't of been nice so I just watched from a far and made sure it didn't get nasty!

I didn't camp but we had to walk through general camping how big are peoples tents these days ? Some were bloody huge ! No wonder it's tight in there!

I thought the can deposit scheme was a good idea ........... Not so sure if it was promoted by the kids ladybird area ! Is that true?

Any how I will go back next year but I have luxury of doing a large dump in morning and not needing one whilst on site .............. Sort the bogs KC the fans deserve better !

[amfy]

KC have held their hands up on FB re the toilets and say its a priority to get this right next year.

[ramragon]

Had a great time - bit nervous about coming down myself but needn't have worried. Big thank you to Steve for making me so welcome and especially for the full english on Sunday (think my cholesterol is now back to normal).

Definitely coming back next year and will try and do the Wickerman/KC double.

Nice to meet you all and see you again next year.

[ramragon]

using my mobile so loads of random double posts cos the signals shat in the holiday cottage !

What id give for some wifi

Edited July 31, 2012 by ramragon

[ramragon]

KC have held their hands up on FB re the toilets and say its a priority to get this right next year.

[sam12betsy]

A baby back carrier with a folding metal frame so you can stand it up when you take baby off your back is a must have I reckon. I took my son everywhere in one. It means you can put the baby down even if you can't sit down yourself and they're still off the floor.

[Comfy Bean]

First time at Kendal and would defo go back, had an absolute ball. We got lucky when arriving with the weans Saturday lunchtime. Was starting to get a bit panicky with the number of tents crammed into the " quiet " camping when some helpful soul pointed to the nearly empty field behind the family camping and told us they had just opened it - cheers mate. Even by the Sunday the field was more than half empty so clearly this should have been opened sooner. Was the festival not sold out months in advance ???

As has been said the toilets were a shambles. Ended up having to walk round to the woodlands area everytime one of the weans had to go - their wellies wouldn`t have coped with the main stage urinals. I would agree that the urinals ain`t family friendly ! At Wickerman they have a urinal tent type thing so there are alternatives. Musical highlight has to be James. What a great set /performance. King Charles was my highlight from Calling Out and Bombscare and Craig Charles in the tent.. Best surprise was the curry we had in Ghandi`s Flip Flop tent while some young bloke did James / Sone Roses covers and also the fresh Mojitos from Sailor Jerrys - top tunes from the DJ. Thought Kendal was excellent but not sure the access and site itself could cope with much more than the 14,000. One side of the hill at the main stage was getting well dodgy with the mud by Sunday so where would they put more people ?

Thanks to all who helped out with answers and tips on here beforehand - Cheers.

[Paul ™]

What was the official capacity of the event?

[MickeyMo]

We were thinking of taking her dads caravan next year for some warmth and protection instead of camping

[Flaminglippy]

Well first off I'd just like to say it was really good meeting some of you guys off here with your friends and families good people = good times and I had a ballI thought Friday night was flat, maximo park to dull to kick KC off!

DizzeeRascal blew me away.

James and feeder were the highlight of the day for me and when James did come home I was well happy!

Am I anti social or is this wrong , wife and her friend set out large rugg , there was 3 of them on it at one point , one of their friends went for a walk , the this pissed up couple just came up lied down hugging each other drinking a bottle of brandy they lay next to my wife on her matt for 45 mins !!!!! I was close and watching out for her all the time, she kept texting me saying help, but my type of help wouldn't of been nice so I just watched from a far and made sure it didn't get nasty!

Edited August 1, 2012 by Flaminglippy