Sounds like a great new site,but 110 quid?

Great value at twice the price!

Good move. Carlyon Bay, Cornwall was the best site (but now they’re building over it). Hope we can get off site quicker than Reading this year, though!

I can’t tell you how pleased i am that womad is in charlton park this year!!!
I live in malmesbury!!!
Could you please tell me what concessions you do and how much a concession ticket is please?
Many thanks Lucy

Yes, probably a lovely site, but why such early ticket sales? So far from a station too - I hope there will be shuttle buses to the site or at least a National Express coach from most large towns. What about it Womad? You owe that much to your loyal customers who’ve patronised you for years.

CyberPurple
Saturday 18 November 2006

The location looks and sounds wonderful (but then I don’t have to rely on public transport). I was wondering if the price increase of tickets (and early sale) is due to reduced numbers? But if that’s the case why move from Reading (think I remember it being mentioned Womad had ‘outgrown’ Reading?) if ticket sales will be restricted to 20,000?
NB the Early Bird price is NOT the same as last year’s Early Bird - that’s cool, prices do go up etc - but just don’t try and kid us that they are the same!!

Well said CyberPurple and Waterdragon, I totally agree.

With regard to site location, I really hope that the Womad team bear in mind the rural location. 7 or 8 miles from the nearest station - how much extra will that be in taxi fares? I doubt it’s on a bus route.

A shuttle bus is a damn good idea - works brilliantly at Big Chill and Sunrise festival. How about it Womad?

I’m disappointed in the move rivermead was fantastic because it didn’t feel as if you were close to london but so easy to get to however far away you travelled from..
i don’t buy the ‘outgrown’ myth ive never felt overcrowded at womad this years event was brillient the only critism i have was moving the fairground into the tenting area
with no car and an extra 100 miles (i love the way the write up says ‘just’ 100 miles west of london) like it was a stones throw
I hope i will get there next year but im not feeling too positive

I think a move was in order. I didnt enjoy the site last year. We ended up very far away from the main arena in a field with no security towers. As a result many tents got burgled in our field. On top of that we had a major walk to the arena through the funfair. I like the funfair but didnt want to run the gauntlet of its noisy presence every time I went in and out of the main arena. Some one suggested that the providers must have paid Womad a lot of dosh to get that position. Oh cynics, that couldnt possibly be so - or could it?

As for remoteness, there are many even more inaccessible festivals and people still manage to get there. The price is still reasonable when compated with others - lets wait and see what Glasto wiull charge this year?

You can get a bus from Chippenham train station to Malmesbury and then (it depends which entrance of Charlton Park they’re going to use) you can get a bus from Malmesbury to Charlton village or a bus from Malmesbury going towards Cirencester (if the bus driver will let you stop outside the festival). Rural public transport takes a long time!

Just a note to everyone looking at this site, Womad has now extended the early bird ticket deadline til the end of Feb. Wonder if that’s to do with poor ticket sales?

Anyone know how many tickets were sold for Rivermead? I’m sure it was way more than 20,000 - more like 30 or 40 thousand I thought?

I agree the ticket prices are very expensive, they are for all festivals. When I first started going with my mum and sisters when we were young, to Womad at Carlyon Bay and Elephant Fair etc, we could actually afford to go - this is an unemplyed single mother with three children and almost no income…. She wouldn’t have a hope in hell now, not even with concessions! What a shame! I always hoped I’d be able to take my kids to festivals, but I seriously doubt I’ll be able to! Unless we go to one of those very small hippy ones in the middle of Wales or something, but that wasn’t what I was hoping for.

Glasto kind of has an excuse in that they don’t make any money and that it’s HUGE! And wonderful in every way… But the fact that Big Chill has the cheek to charge the same amount has put me off going to that one for ever, even if I could afford it!

Anyway, have bought my Womad tickets, thank god we have a car, wouldn’t fancy trying to get there on public transport, hope there’s plenty of SECURE parking, and am looking forward to exploring the new site!

Btw; about all the stealing at last year’s Womad in Reading - we were camped close to the arena, right in between three security towers, and so many people around us got robbed too - it was an organised group of people who bought tickets for the purpose of robbing tents. Very nasty. There’s not much the security in the towers can do about it, unless they memorise which tent belongs to whom! Just don’t ever leave anything valuable in your tent, and listen out for people unzipping your tent at night who have no right to be doing that! A good reason not to get too mashed….

I didn’t like where the fair was either, and I have to say, there were plenty of dodgy characters about, as there are at fairs, and who knows, maybe they were the robbers? Let’s just hope there won’t be that problem at Charlton Park….

Any more advice on transport? We are planning to arrive at Bristol Airport from Inverness and make our way to the site - Will arriving on Thursday lunchtime give us enough time? Also we planned to leave from the airport at 10am on Monday. Any advice very welcome. We recommend Belladrum [Beauly] for those who like friendly festivals and Loopallu [Ullapool] for those who like ‘em remote! The Highlands is hooching for festivals and sounds like our public transport is better too!

Looking forward to Chorlton Park with a little more space might keep all our tent pegs in this year! It may make it more secure too. I know it might put people off but I think it would be wise to advise all campers this year that the first night is rife with people robbing from tents. In the middle of the night, if someone says they’ve mistakenly stumbled into your tent they are most probably lying. Their excuse is just sorry wrong tent a laugh and off to the next where they hope the occupant won’t wake up. All the tents around us last year had something go missing or woke up to that excuse. Seems to be a first night thing as it happened the previous year too. It won’t put us off though, can’t wait.

Is it true day tickets are no longer available?

I’ve bought my ticket, now how do I get there?
Why are there no transport details on the womad site?
Which is the nearest railway station?
What buses serve the festival site?

The website is a bit confusing to navigate but there is info on getting there:
HOW TO GET TO CHARLTON PARK

Charlton Park is located just outside the historic abbey town of Malmesbury in North Wiltshire. Easily accessible by road and rail, the festival site is just seven miles from Junction 17 off the M4, only one hundred miles due west of London, and less than thirty miles away from Bath, Bristol and Swindon.

By Road
Charlton Park is situated just off the A429 between Cirencester and Chippenham, and is close to Malmesbury. The site is 7 miles from Junction 17 off the M4, and approximately 100 miles from London and 80 miles from Birmingham.

By Coach
National Express will be providing coach services to the festival site from various locations around the country including London, Reading, Birmingham, Bristol, Swindon, Gloucester and Cheltenham. There will be a service running from all routes on Thursday and Friday and returning on Monday morning.

For more details, including exact routes, prices and how to book, please visit http://www.nationalexpress.com/womad

By Train
The nearest train station is Kemble, which is about 7 miles from the festival site. Other nearby stations include Swindon and Chippenham. There are regular and direct trains to these stations from London, Cheltenham Spa, Gloucester, Stroud, Didcot and Reading.

We will be running a shuttle bus service between the local stations and the festival site. More details will be available over the coming months.

Local Buses
Further information on local bus links will be available over the coming months.

And just reading back through a lot of the comments here, it does sound like they have listened to pleas for shuttle buses and other ways to make it easier for non-drivers to get there.

I hope it is more secure too. It was very easy to get into the camping area from the Thames path without needing a ticket at all last year (I did it to avoid the fun fair a few times).

There’ll certainly be a few pros and cons — as with any move. I am quite excited though to see how it shakes out. I hope they take the chance to steal lots of ideas from other festivals and recapture a spirit of playful adventure to complement the music.

As much as I applaud the idea of a rural site, I’m afraid it will mean I will no longer be able to come to Womad - which upsets me tremendously. Not only do I not have my own transport, but I am not physically able to cart a lot of bags around on a long journey by public transport or to sleep in a tent. That’s why Reading was perfect for me you see? Plenty of hotels/b & bs around to get back to at night. Perhaps you don’t want people like me there anymore - or maybe you might have thought moving to the new site was not going to be perfect for everyone.

Hi Mother F - WOMAD’s site has quite a lot of info for disabled visitors but I see you can speak to someone direct if you’d like:
Tel: (0117) 916 6481
Email: camping@oxfam.org.uk

(By the way, Fly is not connected to WOMAD)

I love Womad, I have been to Reading 4 or 5 times, and used to camp. I got fed up with people peeing on the canvas and the head-cases drumming all night and the filthy toilets, so switched to visiting for the day (not to mention the price). Now there are no day-tickets. What a shame. So a large section of the public who don’t camp/are too old/can’t face it with children/are in a wheel chair/can’t afford the £120 per head are now excluded. The new site is huge - I think the policy is wrong and I bet this will be the first and last year this restriction is in place. Hopefully the organisers will relent and sell some day-tickets.

are there any tickets left?

Hello. Can you please let me know if day tickets are available or do you only sell weekend tickets at £120?

Do you also know when the final line up schedule will be ready?

Many thanks, Adele

Only weekend tickets are on sale for this event I’m afraid

I’ve been to the Reading site for the last 5 years with my two boys - very convenient as I only live 6 miles away !

Looking forward to Charlton park this year however, it looks absolutely lovely

It’s too expensive. I admit that the line-up and venue are superb but I haven’t got £120 to spare. It’s got too commercial, and those of us who remember the days of free festivals are bound to be disappointed.

Hello,

Can we have some mobile phone charging points this year? I’ve heard of other festivals using pedal powered electricity for them. It would really help ‘cos my phone is 7 years old and the battery won’t last for 3 days!It’s really useful for finding friends etc, would be family friendly too.

I’m really excited about WOMAD moving to Charlton Park this year. For those people moaning about the distance from London… not everyone lives in London! It will be an easier journey for some, the site will be much greener and pleasanter and it is time for a change!

As for the lack of day tickets, maybe that is just a one-off ‘25th anniversary’ thing? It will prevent people just coming to see one particular artist on Friday night, which is not in keeping with the spirit of WOMAD imho.

I live in Reading and have been going to the WOMAD festival every single year since it moved here. I live 10mins walk from where it was held, which was a bonus. Living in Reading, it doesn’t surprise me that WOMAD have decided to move elsewhere. Peter Gabriel said something about there being ‘negative noise’ in Reading? Well, that’s putting it, although somewhat elequently, politely. There is without doubt a rather ‘nasty’ element in Reading. Over the years I found a massive increase of people who attended the festival who did not seem to appreciate the fantastic world music, ambience and atmosphere but had alternative reasons to be there. I for one am more than happy to travel and camp and hope to meet new friends who like me adore and feel revitalized by all that WOMAD has to offer!!

it started in the west country its just comming home . can not wait d/bathd/bath

Good move no more dust and golf balls. Why harp on about the price and the move? Reading was quite nasty for such a mellow event. Do you really think there will be no transport from the rail station er, like your gonna have to walk 7-8 miles to a major UK festival. Pah just get your ticket and come what does it matter that they are on sale early?

We are a family of four and always went to Womad on the Friday.
We won’t be going this year - its further for us but not selling day tickets has meant that £120 each (our boys are now teenagers) is a bit daft for one day - we are really upset about it!

we are a family of six (3 of us are boys over 14 )we pay the full ticket price. we, like many people are sick of day tickets. maybe these people should target a DAY FESTIVAL and not a weekend one . as far as people moaning about the relocation away from cities and town , reading was and always will be a crap venue . a big thank you womad for the change of venue and no day ticket A BIG THUMBS UP FROM US

yo really looking 4 word to womad.cant wait 4 steel pulse or isaac hayes! nice 1 rest up!

Is there mobile phone reception on site?

We were sorry to learn that Woamd are not selling day tickets. Its expensive for some couples @ £240 for a weekends entertainment. Also what happened to Whirly-gig!! It seems to be more commercialised with shops and appears to pay less attention to “Chilled” out people. I hope that Womad re-considers its roots and main purpose for being a festival. Good luck with the new venue. Peace & Respect to all

Hi can you tell me how I can get details of the car share up to the Malmesbury site? I’ve read a bit about it but can’t find any info now.

do you have a healing area I do shiatsu and would like to come to womad

Hi - this will be a whole new experience for me . . . just me & my 11yr old (rest of the family had other plans!). Never been to a festival before! The site looks great - Malmesbury is a lovely place. The line-up so varied. Should be great!

I have visited with my son, with family and alone over the years. Charlton Park looks lovely, sadly my mother can not come anymore.. to big, too hectic now and my son and his girlfriend can’t come… too expensive. Looking forward to Issac Hayes and the other suprises that each year brings. Oh yes and Peter G. Womad is special to me for times spent with friends and family.

wish i could get tickets in bristol ticket shop!

not been to your festival for a good 10 years as your line up always seemed staid and boring…..see you are still booking the same artists 10 years later….steel pulse, asian dub foundation, same same, same same, do us a favour,good on you for leaving Reading though, what a pit !! enjoy reading your Guardians ! yawn yawn

Will there be anywhere to buy fresh milk? It was handy to be able to pop to shop in Reading - we have been coming to WOMAD for many years and now have young children who need their milk! Looking forward to the new site..

hello. my name is alfee! this sounds apsolutly lovely.
i would love to come and vistite you during my work break weekend! i’m sure i’ll have lots of fun! looking forwward to seeing the new site! i hope it doesn’t rain! i can’t stand it!

-terance clay

Fans have snapped up nearly all of the tickets for WOMAD 2007.

The line-up is now complete and the weekend will feature one hundred artists from forty-two different countries. WOMAD are also celebrating the festival’s 25th anniversary by releasing a three CD box set that brings together some of the many musical highlights from its history. The forty-five track release also includes a ninety-six-page book and is due out at the end of July to coincide with the festival.

Hi we are looking forward to attending WOMAD this year mainly because of the change of location. We used to go with our children when it was at Carlyon Bay and had a great family holiday. Reading just could not compete as a venue. Sadly, our kids will not be able to come with us this year because of the price. It’s a shame that it seems you can only enjoy the festy vibe if you have a duel household income that can cope with today’s prices as the concessions are not enough for those on limited incomes or benefits. We should all have an equal opportunity to spend some time away from the rat race to recharge our batteries.

I would just like to make double sure that we are able to bring a caravan along to the festival. A friend of mine did make an enquiry early on before we bought our tickets but it has been nagging away at me and I would just like it confirmed.

Can’t wait for July 26th (especially Peter Gabriel) and the line up is shaping up nicely. Lets hope the weather shapes up accordingly.

Chris

My girl friend has never being festival camping b4. She is worried, VERY WORRIED about the possible lack of washing & SHOWER facilities & not being able to blow dry her hair for 3days.
Organisers,can you plse comment.
Seasoned camping/festival ladies out there: any ‘womanly’ tips wld be most welcome.
P.S:
This yr’s line-up looks excellent, hope the weather holds out,looking foward to an excellent wkend of WOMAD.
Thx & cheers.

great new venue great line up coming to womad for my 21st! shame about the river :( enjoyed having a splash. xxx
-kim

I am really really looking forward to the weekend! its my 1st womad but I have been to other festivals. My girly advice would be to bring wet wipes, a hat & sun glsses and a pair of wellies!!

Can anyone give me some advice… we are thinking about bring my nephew, he is a very active 2 1/2 year old, who loves music. We are worried about how he will cope camping in the rain (or maybe worried about how we will cope!)? Any advice?

3-D will be playing their debut album at the WOMAD festival on the 29th July.
They appear at 5pm on the Radio 3 stage….some of the performance is going out live on Radio 3!
Check out the album (and purchase it!) at http://www.3-dproject.co.uk

He will be better off staying with his grandparents, you kids have fun, so will we adults when you are gone!!
and it will make Grandparents weekend !!

HI, does anyone know if the weather has effected the camping yet ? there seems to be floods everywhere and i am realy looking forward to this weekend , please dont cancel it??

Hi Womad,

Just wondering whats going to happen this weekend as most of central England is under water, as I waded through a field with my dog, I was wondering how on earth I was going to pitch a tent in a paddy field????

A official statement really is needed for all festival goers.

Whats the site like? Is it going to drain suffiently to cope with thousands of revelllers who like to party hard?

I gave up on Glastonbury because of the mud and sheerlack of atmosphere and everytime i’ve been to Womad its been hot, this year looks like it could be the first wet one for a while!!!!!

Please tell us today organisers, I need to know!!!

Please could you release an official statement as to whether the festival will be going ahead or not.
Thanks.

Dear organisers,
I agree with the sentiments of the previous person. Due to the amount of rain in the past 10 days, people wishing to come and hand over a lot of money for tickets and travel costs need some sort of assurance from the organisers that this festival site is not prone to flooding. Is it on a hill or in a valley? What are the risks of the entire thing becoming one big paddy field? Please will you comment about this? Many thanks. Richard

Yes - could some information be given about the state of the site and whether the event is looking as if it will be going ahead. Even if no decision can be made yet, could you let us know when that will have to be made please? Thanks

Can we have some information on how the rains have affected the site please.

Information on the state of the festival please. Is there any chance of the event being called off.

Doesnt look like the organisors are going to respond to the weather questions on this site. Anyone know a better way to find the latest info?

urgent need for regularly updated info. on conditions at the site and possibility of cancellation before thursday ticket holders start travelling.thank you

I’ve been so excited for my first year at WOMAD but spirits have been dampened if not a tad waterlogged by the weather!
Any news? Will it go ahead?

there is now an update in the news section on the actual Womad website. Looks like its going ahead. They say the site is unaffected though i would imagine travelling there will be tricky for some. The new posting is second on the news list, after all the basic festival info.

Update about weather here: http://womad.org/?section=news

its at womad.org and they’ve moved it to the top of the news list since i looked earlier. good luck everyone, see you there!

no hairdryer please! hair will probably be soaking from the rain anyway. or dry in the baking sun
showers: waste time qing or wet wipe like mad, think how great it will feel to get home to ‘civlisation’
don’t bring a whole great suitcase of clothes either

Calling all Amnesty International members &/or sympathisers who are going to WOMAD.

I will be running an AI stall at WOMAD and would be really grateful if anyone would be willing to help cover the stall (getting signatures on a petition etc) for an hour or so during the festival. Please come & find us (to help or just to sign the petition!) - we’ll be somewhere near Greenpeace I believe

CU there…

well well well!! im off to womad in like 2 days!! wooo have packed already!!! cant wait , loads of my fave bands are there i was jumping about when i heard that mr scruff was there!! and im excited for the new location , it will be an ace change and once again an amazing experience! x just hope it aint rainin!! x

Hiya, hate to put a ‘dampner’ on things (I’m packing already, and counting the hours..) … but are the floods going to affect the festival in any way??

is it still on? i’m coming from manchester!dont know if i can get a train 2 swindon?

Adam Townend: WOMAD is still on, look under NEWS on www.womad.org.

Will the oraganisors reconsider and have day tickets next year? My husband performed on the one world stage last year and can only get time off work on this sunday, £120 is too expensive for 1 day! We come every year, will loyalty be rewarded? Shelagh

I’d be more than a little disappointed to say the least if when I arrive (and yes I’m packing like evrybody else!) the camping site is like a paddling pool. Yes the website did ‘assure’ festival goers that the campsite is on a clay-based soil that drains quite efficiently and that the site is on higher ground, the fact that that had to be qualified by the next line which siad ‘there are contingencies in place’ if needed - still worries me a tad. But if the contingency is that we all get to rough it in the the grand house - then I’m all for that!!! Anyway - just went to check the latest on the website and it’s OFFLINE ( maybe its underwater?) Official statement please!!!!!

I drive past the site WOMAD is being held at every day on my way to work. Nowhere in the area is affected by the floods and it was lovely & sunny today as well. Sorry I can’t be there as I am already committed this weekend, but the site looks great. Maybe next year now I have heard about it.

anyone there yet report from the front how wet is it (wellies or waders?)

Any updtaeswelcome

Like many other people I’m still hoping you’ll relent and sell some day tickets. Not everyone can take time off work late July but we’re still real world music lovers and would come for the day if you let us at the weekend! Reading was great in that respect. Also, it seems really unfair to expect that everyone can or wants to camp (what about elderly music fans?).
Pretty disappointed,
Yasmin (Oxford)

In case you thought that charging £120 for the weekend, would be a good way to make more money, I seriously think you’ve made a bad decision. I for one, will not be coming, so you’ve lost my one day ticket and probably many other peoples as well. And I’m very upset about it because I’ve been looking forward to this for months. Why have you done this? It excludes people who enjoy it just as much as those who can afford £120. Please reconsider next year.

Shame, I’ve discovered I can’t come for just one day, I was really looking forward to it, rain or sunshine (or both!)…can’t get the saturday off work… maybe next year.

Can’t make the festival in person. Is there any coverage on radio or TV ?? Any other way of hearing some of the huge variety of music ?

Dear Sussie,(ref 27/4/07)
some people have financial, work or family commitments which prevent them from attending the whole weekend. Perhaps you could explain to us how excluding these people is more in keeping with the spirit of WOMAD.

I’m coming down with my friend from the Wirral in Merseyside hoping, like everyone else, for good weather. I’m just a bit worried about the route to take there with all the flooding around the area. Then, when we arrive, we’ll have a large tent we don’t know how to put up. So if you see two stressed out women standing next to a collapsed tent, please feel free to point and laugh.

from the front………
We went to see the site and talk to the security today.
Yes…it is obviously wet from the weather we have had.
Yes……..it’s going to be lots of fun
Do remember to bring
wet weather survival kit..
If you are going to camp, remember it will wet and muddy on Monday when you pack in up.
Something to sit on, as the ground will probably be too wet
Bring a sense of humour, it’s probably the most important ingredient

i have not a penny to my name and the little money i do have doesnt go into my account untill friday morning,i was wondering if there will be atm cash machines on site/nearby or will i be skint for the entire festival?

YAAAAAAAAAAAY WOMAD!! lets all just have a giggle..’n if u cant make it this year..good luck for next :) and now to make my rucksake a bit lighter..eek!

Please can there be day tickets. I cannot afford a whole weekend and come every year with my family. I’d love to come Sunday but to pay so much just isnt viable. Please relent and offer day tickets

Don’t bother coming, it’s chaos all around Charlton, traffic queuing everywhere, & it’s tipping down.
Poorly thought out venue i’m afraid.

The Womad festival and everything is great but it is a real dissapointment that you can not get day tickets only !!!! I think womad would have a better advertisment if they were to sell day tickets ..

Just had this message from my partner who has just talked to our friend at Charlton
He’s there, he’s wet and he’s not happy. Terrible drive (5hours),( from London,) torrential rain, quagmire and says its very crowded. He has got tents up - near…… They got the gazebo up and then the wind immediately destroyed it!

Kitchen tent too.
Says his waterproofs are soaked through! Apparently some road works on M4 are making things bad.

Oh

Massively disappointed there aren’t day tickets available - have been coming for years. Was intending coming down either Saturday or Sunday and didn’t think I had any reason to check this point; only logged on to look at the line up and now realise it’s a non-starter. Don’t understand what the wisdom is - if any - behind this decision. Please rethink for next year.
Big raspberry.

Ellie

We have weekend tickets but are lucky enough to be live nearby and can travel daily - I am really pleased about that. The site is a quagmire and really diffciult to get from stage to stage in the conditions. Several people have fallen in the mud with children very upset and frightened. I reckon it was a money decision to go ahead with it - in my opinion it should have been cancelled. For most of us it is a nightmare and for those with any sort of mobility problems it is even worse. We have supported and attended for years but, even though it is conveniently close, this may well be the last time.

Bang on target Jem… having to be towed onto the site was a bad omen… and no way could I get off the campsite in my wheelchair… we had to leave Friday morning… and then struggle home because the mud affected the car so badly (wheel balance and brakes). Have to say full credit to the Oxfam stewards on the disabled site though… they can have my refund (if I get one).

First time at Womad with children, went to Cambridge festival last year. Disappointed with set up; site so difficult to get around, agree it should have been cancelled.

We have returned on Saturday night from Womad, our eighth consecutive Womad Festival and our last. We are feeling cynically ripped off by the organisation. Such a lack of preparation on the site. The weather conditions were clear. Where was the straw, the ramped walkways, pallets by the water taps. Why couldn’t people with disabilities park by their tents. I could go on and on. So glad to be home. The worsat festival i have ever been to.

18yrs I have been going to womad I am 64 this was my holiday out of my pension money I left on sat morning this was a money making womad BAD KARMA PETER @ co

Jackie K

it was very muddly this yaer we came back with mud all over us

my gosh, womad was AMAZING.
I don’t get what the fuss is about the mud though. I understand its difficult to move in, especially for people with childern or disabilities, but to be honest, what did you expect at a festival?
We me and my friends stayed from thursday until monday. The mud was great fun, i fell over twice, and the best part had to be Balkan Beat Box. Bloody brilliant. The Chai Tea tent was fantastic, we sat there until the early hours of the morning. Well done everyone. Definately coming again next year.
=]

I’m sure this is not the first or the last time WOMAD organisers be hearing this but I was absolutely disgusted with the conditions at the festival. I too, like thousands of other people checked and checked the website and based on the VERY misleading information supplied about ‘clay based soil’ that ‘drained effeciently’ decided to go to the festival only to be met with a disgusting and disasterous experience. Only a bit of mud - well my back pain problems have been exaserbated by walking through hard, sticky mud (that is when I managed to stay upright )- not only that - to add insult to injury, whilst it took an age to walk to any tent, imagine my disappointment at the last second cancellation of many artists who were alway stuck at the airport ( really - why are these artists flying in at the very last second?) I’m woefully disappointed that it seems WOMADs financial benefit has finally completely overidden the safety, welfare and enjoyment of the WOMAD family - yes thats right, us paying punters who have been supporting the festival for the 25 years you were ‘celebrating’. While they are counting their profits, please know that I am so disappointed that the thought of coming back to the festival next year fills me full of dread!

The mud was a drag, but I think you’re wrong to question the integrity of the promoters.The site did indeed dry out amazingly on Sunday and I think would have been fine, had it not been for the last minute rain on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night.
Yes, lessons need to be learnt about the pallets, straw, improved access etc, but there was a lot of dedicated stewarding done, especially to keep the toilets in commission.
I understand why people bailed out on Saturday, but I’m glad we stayed, the vibes and sounds were amazing, and I think Womad did a good job of holding it together in impossible circumstances.

you no wot we had a brill time! WOMAD is amazing!
n if ur reading this hi to Derrum bomba, james jAMES, rory, the million people called dan, Anton n co. this is kind of gay, but i was really bored.. pah..
hannah n imi xxx

3 little words. duty of care

come on womad organisers you’ve had 25 years to figure it out. you owe it to the people who pay your wages to come up with the goods. I can’t fault the artists or the friendly local people, stewards and security who were much more accomadating than that rivermead crew. Charlton park site has great potential, but we all know how unpredictable british summer time can be. we only bought our tickets on wednesday morning because your website declared that it had been unaffected by the weather????. next year get some straw down, plastic matting and for god’s sake light up those exits, it wasn’t much fun rolling around in a foot and a half of sticky mud in complete darkness.

Bunch o whingers!
Womad such fun…mud added to pleasure. I took a bunch of 12 year olds and they had the best time. i have very little money & think £110 for a weekend of top class artists is fab value.
glad to get thigh work-out from walking in mud. What a blast! and how lucky to be alive and experience all that amazing weather and good spirit.
well done it was wonderful.

Bunch o whingers!
Womad such fun…mud added to pleasure. I took a bunch of 12 year olds and they had the best time. i have very little money & think £110 for a weekend of top class artists is fab value.
glad to get thigh work-out from walking in mud. What a blast! and how lucky to be alive and experience all that amazing weather and good spirit.
well done it was wonderful.

I was so disappointed to have had to leave on the Friday morning… 200 miles for one nights b&b has a drag but there was no way I could use my wheelchair on the site.

I envy those who stayed for the full weekend and braved the mud.. but those who complain have good reasons too because there were a bunch of mistakes to learn from.

Wherever it is mext year I’ll have tickets for… whether I can stay will depend on the weather and infrastructure etc, but it felt amazing just getting there in the first place.

Been coming since the first one. Had to miss a few but big connection with WOMAD. If I could have got my car out I would have left early. Sea of mud. Of course it rains, which is why I kept checking your site conditions info which was completely misleading. Misrepresentation. Of course, I was stuck (literally) and made sure I had a fabulous time. I echo all the comments about organisation. Truly dreadful in places. Gutted to miss Steel Pulse who you put on EARLY. We had a good party though. Met lovely, lovely people again - and they all deserve more respect and honesty from you. If you had only said “It’s a sea of mud, come if you want to but sorry there will be no refunds” that might have been more honorable. Praise be for Balkan Beat Box. Changed the energy. Sorry for all the traders who add such a buzz to the place - we couldn’t even reach many of their stalls. I always think this might be my last WOMAD but I come again. I think next time I want you to be more honest, and then we know where we are. People who go to WOMAD generally know how to party and look after themselves, but this was a bigger stretch. Hard work all the time, and a great party too.

hey, can anyone state the condition of the big tents there, the really big ones?

£120 a ticket is fine if you’ve got a well organised gig, but we call it a rip off if you cut corners. You had enough warning about the weather and really should have done better improving the walkways. Your website gives a very misleading idea too.
Security really needs improving too, especially the first night - we know that 60 people had money and mobiles stolen out of their tents while they were sleeping - not a very pleasant thought.
A statement from the organisers post-event would be helpful if they want punters next year.

I have only just found this website and reading through from the top of the page my family runs the funfair at WOMAD and as for your comments “Ruth, Monday 29th January 2007” I and my family are deeply offended by you comments of us being responsible for the robberies that went on at last years event, we take these sweeping, inaccurate opions of being “dodgy characters” very much to heart and would kindly request that you do not tarnish us all with the same brush! Do you really think that if we were not to attend the robberies would magicaly stop, I think not! And to you “womadjenny”, no “dosh” was given for the position in the campsite 2006, infact we were not keen on the position at all ourselves and were very happy to learn of the position change this year. On a brighter note we really enjoyed this year again, even with the mud. And thank you to all the well wishers who made the effort to thank us and comment on what a wonderful outfit we run. Well done WOMAD for pulling it off as well as you did, it could and should have been alot worse considering the weather in the weeks and days before.

So laugh too much because every sixty second you spend upset is a minute of happiness you will never get back

Yeah ur right Rosmary.., STOP MOANING everyone

first time at womad with two small children weather not good but its been bad everywhere? fest was great kids loved it and oxfam were brilliant roll on next year

Our 10th WOMAD, 4 kids and were there for whole w/e.

If it wasn’t for the clay soil Charlton Park would be an amazing site with so many trees and space. However, selecting Charlton was a MASSIVE mistake as the clay will ALWAYS provide the chance that the same quagmire conditions will be repeated. You wouldn’t need the sort of conditions we’ve had this summer to have the same muddy mess again, just a few heavy showers in the few days before or during the event. The water will not drain off or through the clay. It is not mcuh more permeable than a sheet of plastic. The heavy foot traffic and the staggering number of heavy tractors that zipped around the site all the time (never saw vehicles like these all over the Reading site…) make certain that another swamp will be churned up again and again. Unless WOMAD moves or does a HUGE amount of ground work preparation (e.g. wood chips on matting for feet and 4 inch stone on matting for vehicles) I can’t see WOMAD surviving financially for more than 3-4 years (tops). Both punters and traders will feel ripped off and fewer and fewer will come (particularly with w/e only tickets). Clay is virtually impermeable to water and whoever advised them that it will drain well should be sued / sacked. I heard that WOMAD had signed a 15 year contract to stay at Charlton, I hope it was just untrue gossip and that they can find a freely drained siter somewhere else asap before everyone gets fed up with tramping through 10 inches of sticky toffee pudding. I found Sunday much easier to get around as the Saturday night rain had made it sloppy again. Not sure if it’ll be known as the ‘Pushchair festival’ for as long as it stays there. Will probably come back next year but it’ll be the last one - if they don’t move - (regardless of conditions) if they haven’t made hard tracks for the vehicles and improved access for people all over the site. By the way I loved the fireworks (amazing), most of the music (that we could get to and wasn’t cancelled or postponed - Gabriel quite fantastic) and the toilets were the best I’ve experienced at WOMAD. Last point: whose brilliant idea was it to put the children’s tents at the furthest point in the site away from the family field? Not much joined up thinking there…..
Some locals told me that during a really dry summer the clay becomes really badly cracked with very deep cracks quite a few inches wide can open up. This might also provide quite a challenge for push/wheel chairs. WOMAD organisers please try to find somewhere around the same altitude (~100m) but with sandy-loam soil. Buying a soil map of the UK would be a good place to start. I really want my kids to be able to bring their kids to one of the very best festivals ever conceived. Long live WOMAD!!

This was my first womad, it was a fantastic experience in many ways. The music, and atmosphere was superlative. people were so cheerful and good natured in very trying conditions. It was extremely unlucky that the festival took place on a new site, under such adverse weather conditions, as any new venue will have the normal run of teething problems to sort out.
I speak from experience, having worked on a large festival for 15 years, the last 5 on various green field sites.
In hind sight, it would have been better to put up to date logistic info on the web, as the site was a sea of mud when we arrived on Friday mid-day.
So many huge events have been cancelled this summer, (Game fair, first time in 39 years) that the organiseres were brave to go ahead, but more practical recommendations could have been suggested. We had the immense good fortune to be in a nearby b&b, AND to have an ancient 4WD. We had the utmost admiration for the campers, their humour and fortitude! Thousands of people in the Siam tent having a blast in the pouring rain at 1am on saturday night,watching the best African musicians was a high point!
Apart from the mud and logistics, some really basic points were seriously overlooked, surprising in a festival of 25 years duration.
When you arrived at the entrance gate, there were no site maps telling you where to go, and no programmes.It took us a good half hour to locate progs, and that was just by asking punters.

how basic and easy to laminate a huge blow up of maps in catalogue, and have progs for sale at entrance, or at the very least a handout map! eventually found 2 people with boxes by the BBC3 stage, under a tree.
Due to the adverse weather,
BBC 3 and open stage were badly sited and out on a limb, with just one narrow and almost impassable entrance, this needs a re-think!

Also agree, that there was just no lighting by exits at night, can’t think how that slipped thro’ Health&Safety!
young stewards had no idea where car park nos were located, they had v basic site maps, radio’d, but no-one seemed to know. Almost nil lighting in main car parks.
it was all a logistical nightmare, and I feel very sorry for the organisers, and the estate, I cannot imagine the task ahead in getting it back to some semblance of normality. But thankyou for an extraordinary experience, and above all for just the best music, after all, that is what we came for!

charlton park great site, yea we had a few artists not there or not could see, but on the whole well done to all staff there, at least it went ahead, rivermead was flooded at least it did not flood out at charlton park, be greatful for what you saw and heard they tried there best and in our group of 12 we all enjoyed it is what you make it !
well done again and many thanks to the tractor driver,s who worked hard long hours to get us all out. Zel

solidarity in mud
three days discomfort
against the others
that come and go

but it’s the music
that flows

(also available as fridge magnets)

the tablapoet

We LOVED it. You are all Pathetic for complaining about the Mud! The site was fantastic! Its not the fault of the Organisers it rained!
Sam

Mostly we loved it. The ambience and music was supreme. If you can’t handle the mud then go to Royal Ascot. The website was deceitfully wrong, has to be said. IF We were wheelchair users then we’d be thoroughly pissed off. Steel Pulse were sublime, shame about the lack oncours. For £120 surely a programme could be inclusive. Trying to sell a programme for £2 near the end when the itinery was changed is a farce.
The food cost more than clothing! Although there was a vast choice, it was more expensive than a motorway service station with it’s hygeine and safety regulations. Poorly trained but pleasant marshalls and bad lighting, plus inaccessable campervan area was inexcusable for an experienced organisation. As a footnote I suspect the Reading site was under water this year. Would we go again? We will give you the benefit of the doubt.

Our group had a great w/end DESPITE the bad organisation.
Matting would really have made huge difference - we arrived Thurs at 2pm ish and gate 2 was already toffee pud! Childrens w/shops too far from family site, very few (if any) loos on family site, very few taps on site for drinking water, and where were all the fire towers? Marshalls told us that since no fires were allowed there should be no need for them - what about all that Gaz??? This would also surely have been a deterrent for the thieving which was rife in our field on firat night.Most towers I saw were in the main arena area?
Still, we met some fantastic people, heard some brill music and what a wonderful firework display.

This was our first Womad and we had a brilliant time.At first the mud was a real trial but it was amazing how quickly we got used to it. It also created a kind of ‘spirit of the blitz’ mentality amongst everyone. We really liked the location because we felt well away from the rest of the world for the weekend; it was ‘Womad World’. Oh and the mud made for some great photos! We’ll definitely be there next year. Many thanks

I would like to remind the previous moaners and groaners that this has been the worst ‘summer’ since records began. I accept that the weather affected movement around the site for everyone regardless of their physical ability, but I for one would rather have put up with this inconvenience than had the festival cancelled as so many have been. I still find it amazing that people from London seem to expect all events to be within easy reach for them. This site is beautiful and far better than Reading. Well done Womad.

I loved Womad this year and want to come again in 2008. However due to weather etc would like to book a ‘pod’. Could you let us know all details (size/price etc) on web pages and booking forms BEFORE we see them as we arrive!!!!!!!!!!
But this apart we had a wonderfull time.
See you all next year.

I loved Womad this year and want to come again in 2008. However due to weather etc would like to book a ‘pod’. Could you let us know all details (size/price etc) on web pages and booking forms BEFORE we see them as we arrive!!!!!!!!!!
But this apart we had a wonderfull time.
See you all next year.