Newbies at EOTR

[jenj]

First time at EOTR - any tips/things not to miss for a newb?

Already thinking it'll become a yearly ritual. And of course, counting down the days til Sufjan!

[paulwa]

Here's a start...

1. Vegging out on the lawn in front of the Garden Stage on a sunny afternoon, listening to wafty folk music
2. Watching a headline act on the Garden Stage
3. Real ale selections
4. Watching a psych-rock act in the Big Top tent (usually the last live gig of each evening)
5. Indie disco in the forest
6. Warm cider from the Somerset Cider Bus
7. Catching a talk or two from some music scene luminary in the mornings
8. Late night bonfires in front of the Tipi Tent
9. Sheep's milk ice cream - actually really good!

Yep, that's it.

[zahidf]

Wandering around the forest at night.

Finding the piano bar

[Blannyboy]

Secret sets in the Tipi Tent after the day's events

disco in the woods

finding the Comedy stage

the Garden Stage on a lovely sunny afternoon listening to good music in the company of the peacocks

trying to spot a macaw

trying as much as the good food and drink as possilbe

[stevieweevil]

my missus and i are giving this festival serious consideration having decided against glastonbury this year. any tips on what is the best time to arrive? can you bring your own booze? any tips on camping - good spots / places to avoid?

[paulwa]

One of the nice things about EOTR is that they treat everyone like sensible adults, so security is of the "low key, friendly" variety, and you are allowed to take in your own booze provided it's not in a glass container (although the ale served up within the festival is certainly worth sampling... regularly). Thankfully, almost everyone takes this responsibility seriously - there are very few eedjits around.

You can camp from Thursday afternoon, which is getting very popular (and a handful of bands play on the Tipi Stage that night), but there are still a lot of people arriving on Friday. Most areas are good for camping, but I've always avoided being too close to the main Woods Stage.

Edited April 14, 2015 by paulwa

[stevieweevil]

thanks paulwa... sounds great! as a bit of a glastonbury veteran i'm only used to the mania of getting there early, queuing for hours to get a good spot, this certainly sounds more chilled and probably more suited to a couple approaching their 40s! i think i'll go ahead and book

[DaveT]

One big difference you'll notice is the proximity of everything, none of the stages are more than a 5 minute walk from each other. Bound to be the odd clash (though they stagger the Woods and Garden Stage timings) but you can pretty much see most of what you want to while doing so at a leisurely pace.

The old timers will tell you that the early days were better and more intimate, I'm sure I would if I were one, but having been for the past 3 years and again this year, I think it's a lovely festival.

[riverlodge]

definitely all the above, and you won't regret choosing to go. my favourite festival since first going in 2009. another plus is that many of the bands stay around and camp and join in like normal punters, so artists are very, very accessible.

one piece of advice. its in early September and on top of the Cranborne downs so it gets cold, sometimes really cold at night compared with Summer festivals. take extra blankets n stuff just in case.

[paulwa]

I've been going there since the third one and while it has grown (from about 5,000 to 14,000 people), it has managed to retain a lot of the charm. I think there's some sadness that the focus for the headliners is no longer the Garden stage, but then we wouldn't be getting headline acts of the calibre we're now seeing without the Woods stage and the increase in ticket sales.

Regarding queues, I seem to remember there was a bit of a jam for a while when the front gates opened at 3pm last year, but a couple of hours later it looked a lot better. Nothing bad when compared to larger events though.

[lamstonite]

So what are the stages like?

The woods is the bigger "main" type stage, is that open air or is it in a marquee?

What are the other ones like?

[riverlodge]

woods is a classic big field open stage - probably 10k could watch. nicely inclined towards the stage with a wood behind (duh!) and gorgeous views south east towards to new forest. real ale bar at the back corner. good sound.

garden stage is my favourite musical place in the world (narrowly beating Latitude's Sunrise stage in the forest). its a lawned garden surrounded by laurel hedges. but get this: the stage itself and small buildings to the back and side are wonderful victorian follies (listed?). beautiful high trees surrounding. shady trees at the back. no band sounds bad there. bar at the back. slight incline towards the stage. better sound last couple of years.

big top: standard two dome festival tent. maybe 5k capacity at a push. for the last two or three years they have fully enclosed the sides and created tunnel entrances, gets sweaty and hot but can be a good sound (depending on the desk man). real ale bar fairly close outside. incline towards stage.

tipi tent. like a big rectangular wedding tent (bigger than it used to be), maybe cram 800 folks in (bad estimate?). you aren't there for sonics, you are can stand at the back by the two bars, or bring in your cider bus cider and lean on the stage touching the shoelaces of the artists. no barriers. flat.

there are also comedy, film tent, and the woods disco and (never been there) silent disco tent.

there is a wonderful hint of country fete about the whole thing, but at the same time it is really professional. they could have middling buskers on every stage and you'd still be happy being there.

[Fareham Grecian]

I've been 7 years in a row. riverlodge is absolutely spot on. That is all.

[paulwa]

Yes the sound quality is generally excellent except for the Big Top, which I've found variable and usually disappointing unless stood centrally, either with my back against the mixing desk or on a direct line from there to the stage! If you're off to the sides it can be horribly muddy-sounding.

[magick melvin]

thanks paulwa... sounds great! as a bit of a glastonbury veteran i'm only used to the mania of getting there early, queuing for hours to get a good spot, this certainly sounds more chilled and probably more suited to a couple approaching their 40s! i think i'll go ahead and book

It's chilled as fuck. You'll love it, I guarantee it. If not, give me a call and I'll refund your tickets.

Dickhead count is very low for a festival. It's very much a music lovers' festival. Chatty twats in the crowd are annoying but hey ho.

The best festival experience going in my view. Only missed one since we first went.

Green Man is good too. Not dissimilar music ethos. But bigger and rainier and noisier at night.

there is a wonderful hint of country fete about the whole thing

Spot on comment. Obviously it's grown over the years and people moaned about that (me included) but it's grown gracefully and absolutely still retains that 'country fete' feel.

Just writing this, I'm getting waves of excitement. Still four months to go

Edited April 23, 2015 by magick melvin

[monominxer]

 

It's chilled as fuck. You'll love it, I guarantee it. If not, give me a call and I'll refund your tickets.

 

Dickhead count is very low for a festival. It's very much a music lovers' festival. Chatty twats in the crowd are annoying but hey ho.

 

The best festival experience going in my view. Only missed one since we first went.

 

Green Man is good too. Not dissimilar music ethos. But bigger and rainier and noisier at night.

 

 

Spot on comment. Obviously it's grown over the years and people moaned about that (me included) but it's grown gracefully and absolutely still retains that 'country fete' feel.

 

Just writing this, I'm getting waves of excitement. Still four months to go

well I had a ticket anyway because we fancied a change of festival but 'low dickhead count' has totally sealed the deal for me!   

[stevieweevil]

can anyone advise how long the walk from the car-park to the campsite is? 

[5co77ie]

11. Have a warm shower at 3am - bliss

[airwaves]

can anyone advise how long the walk from the car-park to the campsite is? 

10 - 15 mins tops, though there is a steepish hill to go up. Once at the entrance to the site which is the entrance to the camping area then 5 mins to find a place if you want to be near the stages or another 10 mins or so if you want to walk further away from them

[Leggins]

Hi. Can anyone tell me how cramped the campsite is please? Is there plenty of room between tents or is everyone fighting for space?

[RedRockRick]

Fairly full but not uncomfortably so near to main arena, plenty of room further away, particularly near Shaftesbury.

[cortezuk]

It is wonderfully spaced out - nothing too crowded but if you want more space just walk to the Folly and camp there

[Leggins]

Does anyone have a map of last years site they could upload for me at all? I can't seem to find one on line, strangely. Just fancied a little look to familiarise myself before my first EOTR this year. Thanks. 

[LowerMead]

No map available but very simple, based on 2014 site layout:

 

On arrival at main 'wristband exchange' (basically a big gazebo) you are immediately in the Family camping field 

For general camping you walk down and then up a hill, about 150 metres in total to the main campground entrance, a gap between two fields 

At this point you can either turn left otwards the main (Woods) stage and camp there, or go right/forward away from the stage to one of the quieter areas.

Wherever you camp though is always close to the action - no epic treks a la Glastonbury etc.

 

It's a wonderful setting full of nice people, enjoy.

 

PS the path from car park to camping used to be fairly treacherous, they used a temporary hardcore that was too coarse a grade - probably great as the sub-structure of a motorway, absolutely terrible to walk on and not at all sympathetic to trolleys. This was MUCH improved for 2014, so hopefully same this year.

 

Car park is a really short walk to camp site, so many people make a couple of trips rather than trying to struggle on site with everything in one hit.

Edited July 30, 2015 by LowerMead

[Leggins]

No map available but very simple, based on 2014 site layout:

On arrival at main 'wristband exchange' (basically a big gazebo) you are immediately in the Family camping field

For general camping you walk down and then up a hill, about 150 metres in total to the main campground entrance, a gap between two fields

At this point you can either turn left otwards the main (Woods) stage and camp there, or go right/forward away from the stage to one of the quieter areas.

Wherever you camp though is always close to the action - no epic treks a la Glastonbury etc.

It's a wonderful setting full of nice people, enjoy.

PS the path from car park to camping used to be fairly treacherous, they used a temporary hardcore that was too coarse a grade - probably great as the sub-structure of a motorway, absolutely terrible to walk on and not at all sympathetic to trolleys. This was MUCH improved for 2014, so hopefully same this year.

Car park is a really short walk to camp site, so many people make a couple of trips rather than trying to struggle on site with everything in one hit.

That's really helpful. Thanks for the reply.