Camping
In our bid to make your Solfest experience the most relaxed and fun it can be we offer several things that other festivals don’t: you can even park next to your tent. Here's everything you'll need to know...
Camping Areas
Shoreside (Noisy) Camping
This is the campsite to head for if you are a party animal and like to go to bed as the sun comes up and start your day late. This will be a noisy place to be until the early hours as it offers the closest camping to the Dance Tent.
Fellside (Slightly Quieter) Family Camping
This campsite is close to the kids arena and is designed for families so may well be a busy place in the mornings as children rise and families get themselves ready to make the most of their day.
Townside Camping (Quiet)
This campsite is aimed at those people who like to sleep when they return to their camp. Please respect this by being quiet in this camping area.
Tarnside (Overspill) Camping
This campsite overlooks the tarn and is used when all the other campsites are full. There will be a mixture of people in this campsite so please be mindful of this when camping here.
Posh Camping
Yurts and squrts are back at Solfest in the family field within a bunting enclosure, available from Thursday afternoon until 10am on Monday. See Posh Camping for more information.
Please note:
You won’t be permitted to save camping spaces for your mates so if you are travelling separately and wish to camp together please make sure you arrive at the site together. We recommend that you arrange to meet up a few miles away and travel to the site in convoy to avoid disappointment.
Access Times
If you wish to make the most of your Solfest experience, the campsites will open at 9am and close at 8pm on Thursday to those of you with a Thursday Camping Pass (these can be purchased online for £10 per Adult). The campsites will reopen on Friday at 9am. The main festival arena opens at noon on Friday.
When You Arrive...
Make sure you follow the signs to your chosen campsite. Our stewards are all volunteers who will be working hard to locate you as quickly as possible. You will be directed to the next available camping spot, please follow their directions and camp in the areas they direct you to.
You will need to show a ticket for each of the occupants in your car. Please make sure you don't put your ticket at the bottom of your rucksack - keep it to hand - then you can drive straight on, set up camp and begin the party!
Keep Safety Lanes Clear
These are for emergency access and must be kept free at all times. Please follow steward's instructions where these are concerned. Tents, vehicles or other items that are found to be obstructing them may be carefully moved without notice.
Respect Your Neighbours
As keen festival enthusiasts ourselves, we know that if the main entertainment finishes early in the evening, it is all too common for people to return to their own tents and create their own entertainment, often, at the same time disturbing other people who are trying to sleep.
To combat this, we aim to keep the main festival area running as late as possible – all be it at a reduced volume, so that those who want to sleep can do so in peace, and those who are not yet ready to drift into slumber can continue to socialise in the dance tent, enjoy a late night pint of Solfest Ale in the bar, check out the late night entertainment in the acoustic area or the all night fun in the Dogs in Space chill out tent. No private sound systems or petrol driven generators will be permitted on site.
Please respect people’s right to a good night’s sleep, especially if they are camped in the quiet/family camping area, but also please remember that wherever you are camped, it is unreasonable to expect absolute silence all night – it is a music festival after all!
Facilities
There are a host of facilities on site to make your Solfest experience as comfortable as possible but remember it's a festival! All camping facilities will be basic but clean. Toilets will be of the 'portaloo' type and will be professionally cleaned several times a day. Toilets with disabled access will be available - please ask a steward for directions to the nearest one. We will also have a number of straw bale urinals for the blokes to use – more about this in our Green information section.
All camping facilities will be provided and maintained in accordance with the Government HSE guidelines on Event Management, but remember, Solfest is in a field and not a 4* hotel. If you do discover a problem please let one of the stewards know. They might not be able to solve the problem immediately but you can be certain that a team of 'festival fix it fairies' will wing their way just as soon as they can.
Parking
Unlike many other festivals, we allow you to park next to where you camp. See our location/travel page for more information on parking.
Caravans & Campervans
You are welcome to bring a live-in vehicle, van, caravan, campervan, motor-home or trailer tent to Solfest at no extra cost and may erect a tent or awning next to it if you wish.
Dogs
At the landowner's request, dogs are NOT allowed on site.
Campfires
At the request of the land owner, it's been requested that there are NO FIRES within camping fields for 2015. This is due to a significant amount of damaged caused to the land during 2013 and it taking longer to recover than expected.
Be Carbon Monoxide Aware!
NEVER use fuel-burning devices inside a tent, camper, or other enclosed shelter.
Fuel-burning equipment can include:
- camping stoves
- camping heaters
- lanterns
- charcoal grills
- disposable barbecues
Using any of these indoors can cause Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning. They give off fumes for hours and hours after you have used them - levels high enough to result in CO poisoning.
Opening tent flaps, doors, or windows WILL NOT prevent the build-up of CO concentrations from these devices.
Be safe - Be carbon monoxide aware!
Chinese Lanterns & Kites
We would like to think we are fairly relaxed at Solfest and that this allows you to have a great time whilst you are here, however after a number of incidents over the last few years we no longer permit festival goers to release Chinese lanterns on site.
Several power lines cross the Solfest site and that makes kite flying extremely dangerous. The professional kite flyers who attend Solfest are highly experienced and fully insured. Enjoy their weekend kite displays but please do not bring your own kites to Solfest. They are not permitted anywhere inside the main festival arena or camping areas.
UAV's & Drones
Unmanned aerial vehicles and drones (including remote control quadcopters, helicopters and other models) are not permitted to be flown under any circumstances within the site boundary. Doing so will be in contravention of the Air Navigation order and users will be reported to the police.
Water & Showers
There will be lighting and fresh mains fed water right round the Solfest site and in all camping areas. Taps are located at regular intervals around the perimeter of the camping fields so you should never have to travel too far to find one. We recommend that you bring your own water container and fill it up last thing at night to avoid queuing at peak times.
A limited number of hot showers will be available operating just outside the entrance to the festival site next to disabled camping and close to family camping. Showers are limited in number and are token operated for a small fee.
Security – look after your valuables
We do have on site security, however, we can’t be responsible for your valuables. Everything you bring to Solfest you bring at your own risk. Please use your common sense and lock your valuables in your car out of site. If you are not travelling in a vehicle please think carefully about whether you need to bring expensive items with you.
Disabled Access & Facilities
We have a dedicated area for disabled festival goers and those in their party. This is located a short distance inside the main entrance and very close to the main arena on flat level ground. Please ask to be directed here on your arrival. This reserved area is very close to our hot showers and disabled toilets and there is a hard track that takes you directly to the main arena. Just inside the entrance to the main arena you will find the information tent where you can charge batteries for electric wheelchairs and mobility vehicles. We have the firm belief that you are the expert in your specific needs so if you are unsure or need anything then please ask and we will do our best to try to accommodate you.