Upton Blues Festival
We went to 2 new festivals this year along with our regular journey to Cropredy
The first one we attended was the Upton Blues festival in Upton Upon Seven. Worcestershire I had come across this from one of the Motorhome Forums I keep up with.
We went up on the Thursday and decided to stay at Bishops Green Farm on the outskirts of Newbury to break the journey up as Sam had been working that day, arriving we found a nice small site with all the amenities a nice dog walk area and a super fishing pond stacked with fish, we sat back that evening had a nice meal and a few drinks happy days, however in the morning after packing up and ready to go, the first of two disasters happened, the engine battery failed, not for the first time it had been playing up quite a lot recently and we had been charging it whilst on site at Wisborough Green so it was evident that the battery was not holding the charge and so a call to the RAC and he dutifully arrived within a hour, the engineer did some tests and confirmed my prognosis and after a jump start I had to follow him into Newbury to change the battery
New battery installed and we are on the road again but after missing the turn off at Newbury to get on the M4 I took the executive decision to take the A415 and A40 to Cheltenham and up ? Big Mistake Disaster Two!! It took forever and driving thru Cheltenham was a nightmare they seem to have been sold a job lot of traffic lights and we got red every time,
Eventually we got there late afternoon and was in need of a drink to calm my frayed nerves.
The campsite is a 5 minute walk to the town centre so after setting up we headed into town to savour the local fare
The music at the festival takes place in and around the pubs of the town with a large stage set in the centre. it was a great weekend with an eclectic mix of music with plenty of food stalls and bars
And the price of beer was right up our street at less than £3 a pint at most places only added to the ambiance, and I was warming to the town already
We had 3 great nights at Upton and this is now a firm favourite and we'll be returning next year
http://uptonbluesfestival.org.uk/ and the new leisure batteries held up well 3 days laptop TV charging phones and lighting all good battery down to 85% the drive home will charge it back. The drive back was a doddle compared to the outward journey no issues no wrong turns and we were back at Wisborough Green
CROPREDY
Anyone that knows us will know we go to the annual Cropredy reunion this is the highlight of our summer and we meet up with quite a few Horsham friends that make the journey up on the Thursday morning leaving at 5 am regimentally and good friends that we have met at the gathering over the years
The festival has been going since 1976 and is getting more popular with each year this is due to the class acts they have there and the wider spread of genres of music , and this year was a sell out once again
We have for the last few years been going up to Cropredy a week earlier and staying at different sites along the way.
This year we stayed at Home Farm located near the picturesque village of Radnage in Buckinghamshire a nice place with Red Kites hovering overhead an amazing sight, also a lovely pub "The Crown" to your left as you walk out of the entrance, Bliss
After two nights at Home Farm it was on to Diamond Farm Bletchingdon Oxfordshire, another nice site with all amenities swimming pool etc. A big plus it has a bar on site !! However it was not open until the weekend due to staff shortages and I had picked this site because of the bar "darn" so it was into the nearest village for refreshments. There is a footpath available a short walk away on a quiet country road, leading to Bletchingdon village through some corn fields a nice walk as it happens, and we found the village and The Black Heads Inn
The village itself was sleepy and quiet but very pretty and we made the journey across the corn fields a few times during our 2 day stay
Then it was onto Adderbury Oxfordshire to a camp site we have stayed at twice previously called Bo Beep
This is a fantastic site
The walks are all manicured and Max loves it here as he is off his lead most of the time
This camp site is one of our favourites and one we will return to every year, the site is a 15 min walk through a nature reserve
to the pretty village of Adderbury
The Coach & Horses pub is a firm favourite with a nice selection of ale and a menu that won't break the bank. The landlord Tony makes a curry once a week and this is very popular with the locals and tradesmen working in the area and it sells out very quickly along with other home cooked fare. We had a nice meal here one evening sitting outside in the sunshine
Another pub we frequent is the Bell Inn.. This is another traditional pub with a Aunt Sally throw in the pub garden, The pub has changed hands since our last visit and is now owned by a local gentleman who I had a nice chat with while awaiting my refreshment.
It was here on the wed evening we bumped into Chris Leslie a member of Fairport Convention a nice chap who was very friendly and we had a brief chat as he was awaiting his meal, he wished us well as we bade farewell and hoped we have a good time at Cropredy
That night we returned to the van packed up most of the stuff had a few more drinks and we were ready to roll
And so it was Thursday the big day had arrived, alarm was set for 6 am and after a quick clear up and shower n change we were on the road in 45 minutes and phoning our friends who were on route, to arrange a meeting point on the A361. Meet you at 7am was the words from the convoy leader "Paddy McIlroy"
However because of a toilet stop much needed by one of the convoy team (not mentioning names but Andy Rafferty springs to mind) they stopped at the services, we were now on the A361 and could not find a place in any of the layby's to pull over ! So we carried on down Williamscot Road onto field 5 where we usually stay we were confronted by a jobs worth who informed us that this year no Motorhomes were being allowed in,
I remonstrated with him that every year we stay in this field and I was meeting others who were a short while behind, but to no avail, and to top it all a police motorcyclist pulled over because I was blocking the road and told me to listen to the young whipper snapper from the Hitler youth movement in his hi viz and move onto field 4 !! After some more choice words I reversed back and proceeded onto field 4 !! I knew there was something not right as it would have said on the official web site but that's what happens when someone is given a new hi viz and manning the gate alone without proper supervision but hey ho. So I phoned up the convoy to let them know, 20 minutes later Paddy phoned me to say everyone was in field 5
no problems . Happy about this
NOT !! But there was no way we could travel around the one way system and hope to get into the field and so we set up for the next 3 days
I met up with the Hitler youth chap a few hours later and asked him how come there was about half a dozen to a dozen large motorhomes in the field, he seemed a bit tongue tied now under questioning and probably had not been trained in this field of gate management it could have been the way I had questioned him, either way I left him in no doubt that he needed to go on a diet, wished him a good weekend "Rant Over"
Cropredy has a few pubs the Brasenose and the Red Lion which have live music throughout the day also the Cricket club and a massive bar in the main area where the stars and normal punters mix "no back stage artists only at this gig" which is quite unique
This year another bar sprung up on a bit of land across from field 5 and a short walk from the entrance to the main field
This was quickly renamed the benefit arms due to the price of the drinks on sale and would be frequented several times throughout the weekend especially in the 2 evenings when it was pouring down as you could still listen to the acts on stage
Here we are sitting around the Benefit Arms. Max seeking shelter from the sun
Outside the Red Lion
Well after another fantastic weekend and Stella line up Cropredy had come and gone the batteries had again held up well, and we drove home on the Sunday with good memories and looking forward to next year
New Forest Folk Festival
Sam found out about this festival on the Internet. What a gem in it's 3rd year and still basically off the radar for a lot of festival goer's. But I don't think it will as word of mouth spreads and it will eventually reach it's maximum quota and they will sell out due to the small nature of it.
Pics taken upon arriving on the Thursday afternoon, the stage was made from wood taken from the New Forest and made by the owners of this field brothers Nick and Keith Curtis who organise this with the aid of Richard Digance and friends in the music business
We arrived about 4.00 pm set up camp and would meet our neighbours for the weekend in their motorhome aside us Steve and Pat, a smashing couple who had attended the previous year. Meeting this couple was the first bit of luck we had over the 4 nights because in our haste to get there we had not done a beer check before leaving and found we had about 1/2 dozen tins, there is a very well stocked bar with great ales and ciders on site at very reasonable prices but we were thinking long term like after the evening had finished and our night caps.
As it happened we got speaking to Steve later in the main field and when I asked him if there was anywhere local to purchase, he told me there nowhere within walking distance to replenish but said his wife was working the next day and would probably pick some up for us. Pat came over a short while later and offered to pick up some refreshments for us and the next day 2 slabs duly arrived "forever indebted"
Thursday night was a nice intro to the festivities of the weekend to come. There was a BBQ going and some traditional Morris dancers "The King John's Morris Men" finished by a an impromptu sing along with Richard Digance and friends in the bar a great start
Fri we ventured over to the main field and were one of the first to arrive we thought we would set up our seats for the day and get a good vantage point
Unlike other festival's it was easy to find a space with good views and it was like this all weekend, we tend to choose the artists we watch but at this venue they have a hour break each afternoon to allow people to stretch their legs or go back to their van's tents to have a bite to eat so we sat down all day and enjoyed every act till the break and returned when the music recommenced
Saturday was another fine day weather wise and we had no problem getting a seat close to the front and catch Digance get the crowd going with his wit and repertoire of his own classic songs. We were also treated to a fly over by the red arrows
Jerry Donahue and Doug Morter
Jenna Witts
Saturday brought our second bit of luck for the weekend
We had purchased tickets for the raffle they run daily on site and where listening to the draw being made and for the numerous prizes and heard that ticket 292 was the winning ticket for a pair of tickets to the 2015 festival with VIP camping
I knew our tickets finished at 300 and fumbled in my pockets and heard the compere say "Anyone if it's not claimed it will be redrawn" I hastily found the tickets in my wallet and lo and behold I had the winning ticket I shouted out and a few people in front shouted also before another ticket was drawn, and we are now in possession of our tickets for next year
Happy Days
Steeleye Span finished off a great day
Saturdays headline act Steeleye Span
Sunday morning was another fine day we had set our clocks to go off early to take up the offer of reduced price tickets for next year going on sale at 10 to 12 as long as you had purchased a programme but after last nights good fortune we could laze about and have a nice breakfast, looking around the camp site we spotted a funster flag flying, this is a Motorhome forum we are members of so I went over later to introduce myself unfortunately the occupants were away but I later found out on the forum it was owned by a couple named Pat & Trish they were there with fellow funsters Keith & Sue and Jez & Lin
I also found out they were in the same field as us at Cropredy, shame we missed them but it's a small world, they have their tickets also for next year so will meet up then if not before on our travels
Pat & Trish van with Fun flag flying
Well Sunday turned into a social day and they reduced the price of the beer to £3.00 a pint never look a gift horse in the mouth sprung to mind and so we had a chilled day listening to music and chatting with the many stars that were using the beer tent
It was when we were there we were approached by Cropredy bloggers Dan and Tom and asked if we would give an interview. We have watched quite a lot of the Cropredy blogs and it was nice to meet these well grounded lads with old heads on their shoulders,
I was asked 2 questions and apart from when Max went berserk when another dog he didn't like walked past "cut" I answered what my thoughts were on the festival and what makes it and where do I see it going ? There is a link to the video on the bottom of the official web page for next year
http://www.newforestfolkfestival.co.uk/
Anyone that is interested it is on for 5 days next year over the August bank holiday
So no photos were taken on Sunday due to copious amount of drink consumed but another fantastic day of sunshine and music finished off by The Feast Of Fiddles featuring everyone !! also the owners managed to get an extension at the bar till 11.30 pm how lucky
We drove back on the Monday and our thoughts were on what a great weekend we had, just had how lucky we were with the weather and what we could do in the weekend between Cropredy and The New Forest Folk Festival next year ?
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