Wilderness Festival 2018

[Havors]

So who is going? Lookin for an alternative to Glasto for 2018 and secret garden party is dead so this looks like an option....

Is it really that middle class? And do they really stop you taking spirits and more than 12 cans into the campsite??? Or is just a deterrent to stop people taking the piss?

Tickets are on sale already btw. 

[Nobody Interesting]

27 minutes ago, Havors said:

So who is going? Lookin for an alternative to Glasto for 2018 and secret garden party is dead so this looks like an option....

Is it really that middle class? And do they really stop you taking spirits and more than 12 cans into the campsite??? Or is just a deterrent to stop people taking the piss?

Tickets are on sale already btw. 

I know 2 people who have been going for years and love it. Another friend went this year for the first time and loved it.

Are they middle class? Well sort of I suppose but they like fun lots.

I don't like so muich the look of all the payable extras but overall it does look good and the lineups previosuly have been varied and good too.

So we are going next year for the first time.

I have no idea how strict they are on the alcohol in the camp site bit but I have never at any festival had any problem taking in more than they said and have often taken in spirits when they say not to. All depends how and when you hide them.

[eFestivals]

56 minutes ago, Havors said:

Is it really that middle class?

Not at all. You won't see this bloke there, nor Clarkson or anyone like that. Would never happen.

[Havors]

18 hours ago, eFestivals said:

Not at all. You won't see this bloke there, nor Clarkson or anyone like that. Would never happen.

Haha I seen this yesterday.... it has actually put me off going. If that c**t is the type that goes there I'm not haha 

[Matt - Ed Banger Records]

A group of my friends have been the last couple of years and absolutely love it, it is however, massively middle-class - it's what has always put me off, anywhere that has £100+ dining experiences each night is a bit odd in my books. 

[eFestivals]

12 hours ago, Matt - Ed Banger Records said:

anywhere that has £100+ dining experiences

I've done dining at a fest (glasto) and enjoyed it, but what I learnt was...

1. You're paying extra to not enjoy the festival you've paid to enjoy.

2. You're paying a top-price for a meal that is very unlikely to be as good as you'd get in the same chef's restaurant because it's being cooked in a field.

3. the menu choice is likely to be trimmed compared to the same chef's restaurant because it's being cooked in a field.

If you want to want that chef's cooking, chances are you'll get a significantly better experience - and probably better prices - if you go to eat from that chef at their restaurant.... and you don't miss out on the festival you've paid for while you're doing it either.

[Matt - Ed Banger Records]

My feelings exactly, looking at the Wilderness programme it looked like so many of the ‘experience’ need to be paid for, and most of them are at a pretty big expense, which makes me question the ticket price in relation to what you get for your money. It certainly brings into sharp focus what great value Glastonbury is anyway. 

[marc4242]

We used to like Wilderness, we've been 3 times but not this year as the camper tickets have become far too much (£200).  

It's definitely worth trying, there's much more to it than just music (the music is a fairly minor part actually) and it's unique amongst British fests.

 

 

[Chewie]

Line up announed this morning

 

[Matt - Ed Banger Records]

A big group of friends that loved last year have decided to not go this year because the line up is just so shite - how on earth they can charge £180+ for a ticket is beyond me, and then they charge £200 for a campervan pass.....its madness. 

[dentalplan]

Justice added. You probably know where I found this info by now.

[wonker]

8 hours ago, dentalplan said:

Justice added. You probably know where I found this info by now.

Oh really!? Well that suddenly makes things a little more exciting!

[gibble]

Anyone know when the car parks usually open for this? Giving it a try with my family this year... website says the campsites open at 2 on the Thursday but nothing about car parks. Not sure whether it’s worth an overnight stay nearby or not... cheers 

[swelsbyuk]

Just had an email for the 2019 payment plan - spread over 10 months. While it sounds like if you need to use a payment plan spread over 10 months then this might not be the right festival, we are nevertheless giving some thought to going.

Did any of the previous posters on here go this year? If so, what were your thoughts?

[incident]

1 hour ago, swelsbyuk said:

Just had an email for the 2019 payment plan - spread over 10 months. While it sounds like if you need to use a payment plan spread over 10 months then this might not be the right festival, we are nevertheless giving some thought to going.

Did any of the previous posters on here go this year? If so, what were your thoughts?

I went this year for the first time, and I'm definitely not posh or rich. In many respects I thought it was the best festival I went to all year (out of 5, including Bearded and Boomtown which are very highly rated on here).

In terms of the set up - it's an arena based festival, but the "security checks" going in to the arena are comparatively minimal compared to most of that type and certainly a long way from the bullshit you get at Festival Republic events. The whole event including the campsites seems a bit more spacious than you'd normally expect, the capacity is 15,000 but could easily hold more.

Yes, generally speaking the crowd is posher than you see elsewhere. However for the most part I didn't feel that it manifested itself in an exclusionary way as long as you're not interested in the various paid for additions - there's more of those than usual including the spa, some of the outdoor activities like horse riding, formal banquets, yoga classes etc. It does show on the site which thing cost extra so it shouldn't be a huge shock. There's plenty enough else going on that for me that the paid stuff was a non issue - far more than you'd expect from a festival that size. There was a couple times when I thought that either the crowd or the festival or both would've benefited from a bit more self awareness but arguably that's just me being a cynical bastard as people were enjoying themselves.

Food and drink was definitely better than average - however the food prices were also the most expensive I saw all year, the average meal was probably a couple quid higher than elsewhere. Beer was the same £5 a pint that just about everywhere (except Bearded) seemed to be charging this year, but had the advantage of mostly being trendy craft breweries like Meantime rather than the shit you usually get at a festival.

Basically I'd say it's the festival Latitude tries and fails to be and would definitely recommend it.

[swelsbyuk]

Thanks for that feedback incident. Our only experience of festivals is Latitude - we've been going for the past six years and will be there again in 2019. However, we thought we might do another festival next year in lieu of a holiday. We have a couple of young kids and are, by own admission, well past our partying peak.

We tend to only focus on music and comedy at Latitude so not sure if there will be enough at Wilderness to keep us interested. Also considered YNot as payment plan available and only a hour away from us but a friend went this year and found the set up a bit 'meh' so having second thoughts - plus it's the weekend directly after Latitude.

[incident]

It's personal taste of course, but Latitude is actually the festival I was specifically thinking of when I mentioned security checks/restrictions going into the arena and awful beer choices. It's one of the ones I went to this year but it'd take something pretty special to tempt me back there in the future whereas the others I wouldn't hesitate.

If Comedy is a big factor for you, then yeah the Wilderness lineup will be relatively weak in that regard. There was a few acts on, but not many names I knew before or can remember now and it felt like half of them mentioned that they were missing Edinburgh for the first time in years. I thought the musical side held up well considering that it was less than half the capacity of Latitude - naturally the names weren't as big, but I thought the offering overall was generally more interesting and varied. Again though that's personal taste.

[swelsbyuk]

That's interesting. We love Latitude and there's a few of us that go each year. However, a couple of friends joined us this year for the first time and they really weren't all that impressed with it.

The comedy isn't a deal-breaker tbh but the music will be. Just hope that, if we do buy, that the line-up for 2019 is a good one. Thanks for your feedback - much appreciated.

[incident]

Instead of committing to something now, and taking a punt on the lineup, would it be an option to just set the money aside into a dedicated account or something rather than using a payment plan?

From what I remember, Wilderness this year was sold out, but only like a week or two in advance - I wouldn't think there's any risk of missing out if you wait until the lineup gets announced.