Trowbridge Village Pump - White Horse Country Park

[Staberinde]

Has anyone been to the Village pump in it's new locatoion ?

( http://www.villagepumpfolkfestival.co.uk/location.htm )

It looks like a very small and souless venue. I think the main stage is in a club house with the other 'main' stage being in a marquee.

Can anyone give me an idea of what it's like please?

[grumpyhack]

Hi Gordon, and anyone else interested. The answer is that I gave up on The Trowbridge Pump after it 'imploded' a couple of years ago in a rather bitter committee batlle that, thankfully I wasn't part of.

I'd booked a week off to work at The Pump, along with several friends and we were left looking for an alternative festival that week. And we discovered Chagstock, just on the edge of Dartmoor, not far from the little town of Chagford.

To our delight Show of Hands, who had also planned to play at Trowbridge were also left gigless so they ended up playing Chagstock. I bumped into Steve Knightly and we had this "I should have been at Trowbridge" - "So should I" conversation.

Anyway the outcome for our group was that we thought Chagstock was a delightful little festival and we ended up putting that in our calender as a permanent fixture.

The following year the two, rival 'Sons of Trowbridge' were announced but we decided to stick with Chagstock, which is what we'll be doing again this year.

So I can't tell you anything about the new Trowbridges but I can say that Chagstock is a delightful little festival.

It's just outstide Chagford, which is quite an affluent little market town. Jennifer Saunders (AbFab) lives there. We decided that Chagstock was a holiday with a bit of music attached.

It's very easy to go off site and pop into Chagford if you wish - lovely restaurants, bistros and cafes, good bookshops and two of the best old fashioned ironmongers shops you'll ever find - right next door to each other!

The festival has a main open air stage and and enclosed marquee stage. Very good food and other craft stalls on site and breathtaking views over Dartmoor.

The only downside is the flip of the good views. The site is a rather exposed and can be a bit windy.

It has folky leanings, rather like Trowbridge. No massive names but a good solid line up and a nice vibe. More info at http://www.chagstock.info/

Edited January 28, 2013 by grumpyhack

[Staberinde]

The following year the two, rival 'Sons of Trowbridge' were announced but we decided to stick with Chagstock, which is what we'll be doing again this year.