Kendal Calling feedback 2014

[ramragon]

Anyone got any feedback to the organisers on how they found this year's festival then ? Good, bad or indifferent ! I'm sure they'd appreciate some honest and constructive views, more constructive than 'it was muddy' or 'the hotpots are crap'

I'm gonna mull over some stuff before I post it, overall I found it very good as usual, the stewards and campsite security was a lot tighter and I didn't hear of any thefts which is a good thing (although others may tell a different story).

[efcfanwirral]

I think having no food vans or anything in the shire campsite was a bit of a problem when you had to go along the swamp path to get to the village green for a coffee!!

[SloopJohnB]

Closing off entrances between the camp site and car park in emperor field was rediculous! I could see my car from my tent but had a 10 minute round trip as I had to walk the length of the site and back.....shite!

Edited August 4, 2014 by SloopJohnB

[Swanbow]

The whole alcohol policy on Thursday morning was a joke. Brought my essential supplies in, i.e. tent, chair, sleeping bag and clothes. Set up camp to go pick up some beers only to be told that we weren't allowed to bring any in. Had a bit of an argument with the head of security, not his fault really and I did apologise. He let us bring in one create each and then the policy changed at midday that you were allowed to bring in whatever you wanted . Wish they would be clear on the policy before hand.

Also I wouldn't mind camping being divided by age group. Don't really think it would be appropriate for us to move to family or quiet camping yet, but at the same time don't want to be surrounded by unsupervised 15, 16 year olds who don't shut up and run around causing an absolute ruckus. My gosh I'm feeling old hah

[MrBones]

It was pretty difficult to find anywhere to camp if you arrived a bit later on Friday afternoon and no one could tell us where to find space either.

Ended up with our group all over the place and even then, it was difficult to get space for one tent never mind 4.

Other than that, it was brilliant!

[thegirlwhowantedtobegod]

The only issue I have had this year is with the policy on taking drinks into the arena from the campsite. I got picked on every time by a female steward - I think she just didn't like the look of me and I was starting to feel got at in the end! I like to think that I'm good at the hide the drink game but I lost a can of cider that I had stashed and a bottle of Pepsi (with a dash of vodka in it) on the grounds that they were trying to curb excess drinking. Lucky for me, she never found my hip flask full of vodka so I just bought another soft drink and mixed myself up a new drink once inside.

We were asked how much booze we had when we arrived on Thursday and the steward then explained that it was to prevent excess drinking too. This all seems very responsible but I'm quite sceptical - my mate got hammered on Friday morning and the bars were still serving him drinks until about 5 mins before he fell asleep on the grass outside Calling Out. Not being able to take your own alcohol into the arena just means that you spend a small fortune at the bars or make multiple trips to your tent in order to binge drink in between sets. I can see the need to make some profit from the bars on site but surely some logical agreement can be made - e.g. a bottle of wine per person or a few cans? Either that or do some serious thinking about pricing - £4.80 for a bottle of Kopperberg is obscene and the other drinks prices didn't exactly look cheap either.

Edited August 4, 2014 by thegirlwhowantedtobegod

[efcfanwirral]

The only issue I have had this year is with the policy on taking drinks into the arena from the campsite. I got picked on every time by a female steward - I think she just didn't like the look of me and I was starting to feel got at in the end! I like to think that I'm good at the hide the drink game but I lost a can of cider that I had stashed and a bottle of Pepsi (with a dash of vodka in it) on the grounds that they were trying to curb excess drinking. Lucky for me, she never found my hip flask full of vodka so I just bought another soft drink and mixed myself up a new drink once inside.

We were asked how much booze we had when we arrived on Thursday and the steward then explained that it was to prevent excess drinking too. This all seems very responsible but I'm quite sceptical - my mate got hammered on Friday morning and the bars were still serving him drinks until about 5 mins before he fell asleep on the grass outside Calling Out. Not being able to take your own alcohol into the arena just means that you spend a small fortune at the bars or make multiple trips to your tent in order to binge drink in between sets. I can see the need to make some profit from the bars on site but surely some logical agreement can be made - e.g. a bottle of wine per person or a few cans? Either that or do some serious thinking about pricing - £4.80 for a bottle of Kopperberg is obscene and the other drinks prices didn't exactly look cheap either.

No commercial festival can survive without bar (and food) profits - without that policy it'd be smaller acts and a smaller festival. The only reason glastonbury can get away with it is because it doesn't pay huge fees for bands as they see it as a privilege to play there / the coverage is valuable.

I don't think it's ever going to change at 95% of festivals unfortunately

[stinkywhimp]

No commercial festival can survive without bar (and food) profits - without that policy it'd be smaller acts and a smaller festival. The only reason glastonbury can get away with it is because it doesn't pay huge fees for bands as they see it as a privilege to play there / the coverage is valuable.

I don't think it's ever going to change at 95% of festivals unfortunately

Beatherder let you take beer in with you and make there bar prices quit cheap

2 large cans for a fiver Smirnoff ice the same, so you don't mind getting a few cold ones from the bar.

I now it's not child friendly tho, we have teens and wouldn't take them there.

It's hardcore

Edit : it's not a commercial festival :-)

Edit again. The new picture is me dancing to The Happy Mondays

Edited August 4, 2014 by stinkywhimp

[bottonrob]

Had another good one, plus points being Example (those who doubted should hang their heads in shame, not really my cup of tea but my word what a performance that was), OCS, Suede, Team Me (Norwegian group I caught by accident), Razorlight and the security staff who were ace, one came over within 30 minutes of us setting up to check we were ok and introduce himself and the chaps on the gate were really friendly and chatty too. negatives being the weather but hey nothing KC can do about that, a noticeable price hike across the board for food and drink and a really piss poor planning around the toilets, we had our path re-woodchipped and within 5 minutes one of the big clean wagons ploughed though it and ruined it again! Lastly as a positive (and this may be the weather) we did see a reduction in the amount of kids climbing in the bins this time which I find pretty disgusting!

Managed to make the meet up but only met Thurslow and paid my bet off, not sure if we just missed everyone else?

[reecey boy]

What could i say about KC the setting was stunning loved the whole feel of the place.Weather was awful but nothing could be done about this.While i totally agree with that festivals need to make a profit from bar sales there has to be a modicum of sense in the prices £4-20 for a can of larger.That is just taking the p+++ out of us £6-50 for a bloody pie.jeasus there was just not let up to the robbery.ive been to a few festivals this is by far the most expensive to eat and drink at.we didnt get there untill midafternoon friday 1hr just to get into the place you need a better entrance system.We never waited that long to get into T in the park.camping in the emperors field was a joke over crowded it was like an episode of the cube trying to get back to you tent at night with all the trip wires everywhere.bands we saw were good Membranes were very good a q&a with jon robb was good liked the grounds/setting just not the way i felt somebody's hand was in my pocket every time i wanted a beer

[neato]

Feedback from me mostly relates to the accessibility stuff.

First the team in the access camp site were great and couldn't have been more helpful.

I think the location of the camp site was good too. Not too far away from village green and the arena but far enough away to not be deafening.

Only real issue I had was with the accessible toilets, the ones on the campsite were great, the ones in the arena (with the exception of the viewing platform ones), weren't manned, so were being used by everyone and had queues and it was a shame when the viewing platforms ones were shut (although I understand this was due to the bad weather), it was a bit of a treck in the mud to get to the next closest.

Other things:

Range and quality of food was excellent & prices were reasonable.

The bars seemed a bit unorganised but they did get better over the weekend. I also got charged £4.10 for a San Miguel sometimes and £4.20 others. I guess some staff weren't sure if the 'glass charge' applied to cans.

The jolly guy who owns the shop is a legend. He makes being in mud up to your ankles and craving a lucozade at 8am much better!

I would have really liked a comedy tent to fill some time when there were no acts I wanted to see on.

[Lowther Calling]

Very well organised this time! The provision for kids was outstanding with entertainment starting from about 7 in Chai Wallahs with a movie, then two live entertainers! Just meant we could go there, get a decent brekkie, and not have to go shhhh every 5 seconds to the kids!

The toilets were regularly cleaned, and were as good as they could be given the conditions, this is a huge improvement from previous years.

The food choices were brilliant, something there for everyone! I reckon if you don't want to spend £6-£7 on a pie from pie minister, don't, and go somewhere else!

The drink prices were fine and in proportion to the event. £3.90 a pint in the real ale tent was decent, go further in to the Lake District on a normal day and you may pay more than that in a tourist trap!

Overall, 2014 was a marked improvement over other years in general organisation and site infrastructure.

[goonerming]

Why no Apple cider on sale anywhere? Every flavour under the sun except CIDER flavour, F***ing joke of a bar system.Not the first time this has happened at KC,bring back the aspells cider house or bring in the Gaymers/Tuborg bars that are at other festivals that actually know what they are doing and you can actually get a cold pint then the £ 4-20 price wouldn'tseem so bad.

[LOCHLAND5]

Why no Apple cider on sale anywhere? Every flavour under the sun except CIDER flavour, F***ing joke of a bar system.Not the first time this has happened at KC,bring back the aspells cider house or bring in the Gaymers/Tuborg bars that are at other festivals that actually know what they are doing and you can actually get a cold pint then the £ 4-20 price wouldn'tseem so bad.

Mmmmmm well I might get accused of stirring the pot here but not being one to miss an opertunity lol.....

The bar rights are sold to The wharehouse project , who are also shareholders in Kendal calling .

Tuborg and kopperberg were both on the poster so they probs selling cheap stock for promo or paying a fee to be on site . The bar has always been shite San Miguel is ok but as a tinned premium lager wife beater Artois would be more palletable or just poured draught pints !

So if kopperberg are paying their way at kc probs tells you why you got no normal cider .

I can't comment the festival as I was only their 3 hours max didn't seem much different . Just muddy this year .

[thegirlwhowantedtobegod]

I took quite a bit of food with me so only ate a few meals from the stalls but all were excellent and good value for money - Tibetan Kitchen was superb as was the burrito from the Mexican veggie stall. I think with food you just have to scope out how much you get for your money.

I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling the pinch from the bar prices! I don't drink beer or lager so was stuck with the option of Kopperberg rather than proper cider (they should get Thistly Cross involved) or equally ridiculously priced spirits and wine. I bought a pint of coke at one of the bars and was charged £4, even the barman was a bit sheepish about that... I've been to other festivals but Kendal does seem to be at the pricey end of the beverage scale. Little wonder I smuggle soft drinks and booze into the arena.

Edited August 5, 2014 by thegirlwhowantedtobegod

[reecey boy]

Very well organised this time! The provision for kids was outstanding with entertainment starting from about 7 in Chai Wallahs with a movie, then two live entertainers! Just meant we could go there, get a decent brekkie, and not have to go shhhh every 5 seconds to the kids!

The toilets were regularly cleaned, and were as good as they could be given the conditions, this is a huge improvement from previous years.

The food choices were brilliant, something there for everyone! I reckon if you don't want to spend £6-£7 on a pie from pie minister, don't, and go somewhere else!

The drink prices were fine and in proportion to the event. £3.90 a pint in the real ale tent was decent, go further in to the Lake District on a normal day and you may pay more than that in a tourist trap!

Overall, 2014 was a marked improvement over other years in general organisation and site infrastructure.

the point im trying to make is this seems very expensive.me personally im not into eating Japanese noodles or bramble soup.so the choice although very nice for somebody else wasn't for me.I take your point about going further into the lakes and buying a pint in a tourist trap for about the same price.,but for £4-20 id expect a pint not a can of crap larger.if you go into the lakes and find a wetherspoons it will cost you less than a tourist trap.The biggest let down for me though was the lack of space in the emp field the toilets were fine and kept clean as they could the stewards on the gate were very friendly and polite.

[Lowther Calling]

if you go into the lakes and find a wetherspoons it will cost you less than a tourist trap.

There are no Wetherspoons pubs in the Lake District

Edited August 6, 2014 by Lowther Calling

[ramragon]

the point im trying to make is this seems very expensive.me personally im not into eating Japanese noodles or bramble soup.so the choice although very nice for somebody else wasn't for me.I take your point about going further into the lakes and buying a pint in a tourist trap for about the same price.,but for £4-20 id expect a pint not a can of crap larger.if you go into the lakes and find a wetherspoons it will cost you less than a tourist trap.The biggest let down for me though was the lack of space in the emp field the toilets were fine and kept clean as they could the stewards on the gate were very friendly and polite.

Trouble I found in emperors the last few years I was camped in there was the amount of people going in groups who put their tents in a circle, tape em up and have a big seating an chilling area in the middle. Got no problem people camping with each other but arriving as soon as the doors open and claiming as much space as you can is taking the lash.

They did have an emperors overflow field last year which helped, i'm assuming that wasn't there this yr

[efcfanwirral]

Mmmmmm well I might get accused of stirring the pot here but not being one to miss an opertunity lol.....

The bar rights are sold to The wharehouse project , who are also shareholders in Kendal calling .

Tuborg and kopperberg were both on the poster so they probs selling cheap stock for promo or paying a fee to be on site . The bar has always been shite San Miguel is ok but as a tinned premium lager wife beater Artois would be more palletable or just poured draught pints !

So if kopperberg are paying their way at kc probs tells you why you got no normal cider .

I can't comment the festival as I was only their 3 hours max didn't seem much different . Just muddy this year .

I'm sure they had apple Kopperberg in 2012, which while not perfect is a better option than the fruit or pear stuff which is ridiculously sweet. I saw a tray of it on the back of one of the golf buggys going into the VIP bit so assuming they sold it in there.

But yeah, normal cider much needed and even if they had the plastic bottles of beer (like Carling do at V) it'd be better than cans which is really pushing it at £4.20 because its not even a pint.

Edited August 6, 2014 by efcfanwirral

[ramragon]

I'm not sure what the official attendance was including vip and stewards but it's hard to think of an area where they could increase the camping spots in to to fit extra in for next year. 2013 had a half empty field where quiet and family were situated but that problem seemed to be rectified this year with better signposted camping areas.

The only bit I didn't really see on the stroll from the campervan field was quiet but im assuming that felt as packed as everywhere else. If they do push for the 20,000 ticket sale mark they're gonna have to have a serious campsite rethink or open up a few new fields to camp in.

[Flange Basket]

You kind of need to go prepared for food and drink prices to be expensive and a rip off, that's how they make their money. That said, the real ale prices were very reasonable for a festival. Stuck to the Blonde most of the weekend and was pretty happy. Cider over prolonged periods just ensures I spend more time on toilets I was doing my best to avoid until absolutely necessary, so the lack of an apple variety passed me by.

Despite the prices, some of the food was great in the arena. Had a couple of cold bacon butties for breakfast that left a lot to be desired.

I was pretty uninspired by the line up but that just meant I wandered..... returning to the real ale tent regularly to top up. No idea who we saw that we liked because my phone died on Friday and I didn't bother paying to get it charged. Some of it was good and my cup of tea, some of it wasn't but if that's the case you just move on until you find something you do like. I'd maybe have paid more attention if there were more acts I wanted to see.

One suggestion I'd make is to try and put some toilet facilities at the back of the Shire. Given the conditions, getting to them was a 10 minute walk and then a 10 minute wait then 10 minutes back to the tent. Even at a festival, a 30 minute round trip from the tent in the camping fields is a bit much and might explain why there were so many people going up against the fences.

Security in the Shire were very friendly and chatty and always visible.

I'd maybe put a few more information people at key points around the festival on the Thursday and Friday to help people get to the best, or at least remaining, camping spots. It couldn't be too hard to liaise with the people patrolling the imaginary 'fire line' to get info back up to people who can relay it to the punters. We used the 'if in doubt head to the furthest point' technique and got lucky. An hour later and we'd have struggled.

[Lowther Calling]

They did have an emperors overflow field last year which helped, i'm assuming that wasn't there this yr

There was an Emperors 2 which ran in to the Deer Lodge/ Artists camping area, so I don't know what the fuss is about, there was tons of space in there!

[ramragon]

Yeah that was the same overflow as last year, it was the same then with plenty of space in it, you just had a little further to get into the arena but nothing to worry about.

What amused me was the amount of tents in the campervan field, people had obviously though, i'm just gonna pay £69 extra rather than pay £30 each for emperors tickets and you can park right next to your tent, originally I thought a lot must have been camped next to their mates vans but it was just people on their own. If you had a party of 5 in the car it was the much cheaper option I suppose, where like I said, your car was next to your tent all weekend for putting up and packing down

[Lowther Calling]

Was impressed with Emperors. Nice short walk to the arena, decent showers (was up early) and nice food bit that was covered over!

Camping in Emperors also meant little to no stop and search for alcohol too!

[LOCHLAND5]

From a purely business point of view emperor should cost £60 .

The amount of money campers save by being able to take booze into the arena it's still good value at £60 .