Car park disgrace!

I can't speak for the cars as I got the coach back to Paddington which ran like a dream, no issues whatsoever. It was run by SeeTickets though.

Look on the bright side though, you weren't at Z008!

Whilst acknowledging that the car parking arrangements upon exit were pretty poor to say the least (inadequate marshalling etc etc), what struck me more was how quickly many of the people behind the wheels of the vehicles in the car park changed from (presumably) peace loving individuals embracing the all round good vibes of the event (let's be honest, and maybe a shortage of toilet facilities apart, up to that point it had been brilliant) to completely self-absorbed idiots, careering about the car park (well in Blue Car Park 18 anyway) cutting other drivers up, refusing to let them in and showing a complete and utter lack of courtesy to, not to mention a complete disregard for the safety of others.

Anyway, all of that nonsense was quickly forgotten when reflecting upon the day's music. I thought it was fantastic, from start to finish. My Morning Jacket were magnificent, almost as good as at Glastonbury a week before; Primal Scream showed what a truly wonderful rock n roll band they really can be when managing to hold it all together; and to hear Neil Young play Words for the very first time, having seen him numerous times over the years (from CSN&Y at Wembley in '74 through many tours with Crazy Horse, Booker T etc), was absolutely astonishing.

Instead of slating the organisers for poor car parking arrangements, we should be applauding them for putting on a fantastic day's live music.

I really cant believe there are so many people with little to do in there lives other than sit and complain on the website!! Surely you all have lives.

I myself went to the festival with a large group of friends in two different cars and we were prepared for the drive home...Yes its annoying to wait and Yes it takes a long time...but all of you clearly do not go to festivals and are just used to your outdoor concerts for a couple thousand people! (BTW it takes 6 hours to get out of Glasto)! Im sure next year things will be better in terms of transport etc...

I myself would like to say thanks to the organizers...not only was it refreshing to go to a festival that wasnt filled with branding and bombarded with VIP areas....it was a great ( and wet!) day that me and my group enjoyed. Great gigs and well worth my money.

SUPERGRASS was brilliant and Neil Young took us back....a wonderful day..thanks Vince Power.

clearspot wrote:completely self-absorbed idiots, careering about the car park

I think it was a vicious circle - a few idiots (which is what marshals should have been there for) caused a bottleneck, and then queuing became pointless. Once things get beyond a certain point, behaving in a civilised manner doesn't work.

it certainly was a disgrace. marshals bending over backwards on the way in - nowhere to be seen on the way out. we left Neil Young a bit early to get a head start . no chance. also, before we got to the car i headed off to a hedge to go for a quick wee and plunged into a fucking stream. was my fault cos it was cordoned off and that but ended up having to take all me clothes off in the car - and then sit there for a two and a half hours! i've stll got a tingly electric shock feeling in my fingers! happy days!

Thanks for saying this...i actually think people need to grow up.....there is clearly an age gap here and a massive amount of middle aged folks who cant wait to complain about something. The car park wasn't a great situation but me and my mates knew this would be an issue, cause well it is a festival......

Me and my mates had a briliant day. The gig was amazing...

Will def. buy tickets for next year...I hear there will be camping!

Thanks for saying this...i actually think people need to grow up.....

Yeah - that'd be you sweetpea43. Maybe you and your mates want to spend all night in a field, and thats entirely your perogative. I won't stop you, and I don't suppose many others would too. Some of us have commitments that don't give us that luxury (read the thread), and we'd like to get home - safely.

there is clearly an age gap here and a massive amount of middle aged folks who cant wait to complain about something

And who couldn't see this one coming ? Surely if we're all middle aged that means we've grown up too ? Bit of a contradiction there mate.

me and my mates knew this would be an issue

I reckon a lot of people were as smart as you and your mates. That doesn't change that what happened was a at best a major inconvenience and a worst potentially dangerous situation with a bunch of numpties not in control. Young numpties, like you probably.

Yes it was a great day and despite this I am not surprised to read all the grumps.
I have been to plenty of Festivals and seen some awful situations including taking six hours to get out of Glastonbury last year (not this year). Caused as much as anything by breakdowns in the mud.
Negatives first -
Moaners and groaners - the toilet queues were too long and this needs tightening up: suspect that this problem was as much caused by the virtual sell out of the event but VP should have envisaged and covered for that possibility. Why do festival organisers not realise just how important toilet facilities are to festival goers.
The car park fiasco was pretty awful and those above who attempt to ameliorate the problem are living in a fantasy world (possibly created by the post Neil Young euphoria).
What a nightmare and even for those who like a challenge ( as I do) all attempts at initiative and lateral thinking fell on hard ground as no matter what we did it proved a waste of time and we didn't leave the Hop Farm until 1.45-ish. I was one of those who unashamedly treated the rush to the exit as a bit of fun though deep inside I was furious at the time at the lack of marshalling and the fact that most of them had gone home leaving a small number to do their very best. Which they did apart from the fact that their was a surfeit of marshalls at the end of the exit route and only one in our field where we were, yet again, unreasonably handicapped by being early arrivals.
What worried me most was seeing teenage students gamely standing in the middle of the road in the pitch black while all those cars bore down on them at speed, either side as the road had become two narrow lanes at this stage.
VP - your management is to blame and they should have known better. Getting people in and out is a core responsibility and you failed miserably - beyond miserably!
However their are many positives to balance the above. All the performers were superb and were great value for money. The space was great and don't give any credence to the stupid people above who complain about the food and the prices. These are idiots who have no idea of the costs of organising and staffing a mobile catering operation - at the end of the day the selection was excellent and the quality also was extremely good. Queues were not too bad at all. You know those of you who complain above - these guys are not here to do you a favour. they do this to make a reasonable profit and it infuriates me, just how totally devoid of common sense are the criticisms above.
The atmosphere was buzzing and the music was fantastic. I look forward to a repeat next year, though some aspects will need some serious attention and maybe an odd head will need to roll in the meantime. Bring it on......................

Festival was brilliant with some great acts. Toilet issue was ok although I had to queue it wasn't too long a wait. The car parking was dire we left a little earlier in the hope of avoiding the mad rush to no avail. In the end after waiting just under 2 hours we took down the rope barrier and dived out into the scrum to get out via the coach park. The marshalls had no idea and in the end it was the drivers who took charge and got people organized. It was a great day though shame the weather was so awful.

we had a great day music top draw ,carpark bit iffy but hey hey my my, got back to oxford at 3.30 am and up at 6.30,bit of a bummer, im off to bed

The event itself was great - superb and balanced line-up. All in all very good value for money. Every act performed superbly.


We cannot however gloss over the fiasco of EXITing the car park. At best this is inept at worst it could have been fatal. There should be an official acknowledgement that this area of planning was either devoid or someone failed to follow insructions. There were NO marshalls in our field and nothing moved for about two hours. When it did it was via a newly created exit - created by the drivers themselves and it did cause some chaotic and dangerous behaviour.

Where were the marshalls? Apart from the static ones on the fringes of the Hop Farm - no use whatsoever.


If anyone aims to hold further events at this venue they will need to assure those going that they can get out!!

GIVE US AN OFFICIAL VIEW MR POWER...

Flaves.

My friend who was giving us all a lift wanted to leave at ten and I was a bit disappointed, but now am mighty glad as we sailed straight out with no problems. Presumably we were just that little bit early and missed the madness (but also missed quite a lot of Neil).

Overall I thought the whole thing was well organised. We had our bag searched by the most friendly guy, the queues for the loo were sometimes long (usually at the end of a set) but a couple of times I went and there was no queue at all, and there were hardly any queues at the bars also.

I did see security trying to get people to take their little shelters and even their umbrellas at one stage. Ridiculous when it is pouring with rain, people power proved too much and the brollys stayed up!

Also regarding complaints about the weather, I live 15 mins from the Hop Farm and today (Monday) it has been raining ALL DAY and for the last 15 mins it has been bucketing down soooo hard it would make your head bleed. So things could have been worse! We had a really great day.

I've been going to these kind of things for 22 years now - Monsters Of Rock at Castle Donington, Glastonbury, various things at Milton Keynes Bowl, Cropredy, Cambridge Folk Festival, sporting events at places like Twickenham, Ricoh Arena, Sheffield Arena, Franklin Gardens, Vicarage Road - so I think I can say that I know what to expect when it comes to car parking and how long it takes to get away.

This was the most poorly organised, badly lit and totally inept display I've ever seen. You can't ask that many cars to be parked, and then have no-one offering guidance or directions afterwards. Pitiful.

According to the website, there would be plenty of signs giving directions from the motorway. All I can say is that it's just as well we had an atlas in the car.

Ticket stubs? Pah. Thanks.

Toilets? There were some lovely unsignposted ones behind the box office - if you knew where to look.

Yes, I enjoyed the music - I seem to be in the minority of people who really enjoyed Primal Scream - but was it worth the hassle? Having seen Neil Young at Hammersmith earlier this year, no, not even close. Would I go to Hop Farm again? You couldn't pay me to go to Hop Farm again.

tomandlu wrote:

Paul_H_42 wrote:I suspect this forum might soon disappear due to 'inappropriate comments', though.

Hope not (although they can delete any post started by bloodfart). Apart from the parking and a little more thought needed on the loo-front, I've no complaints. Check out the news on the Zoo8 festival if you want to put it in perspective...

seems like the knob jockeys using this thread are more likely to be responsible for the downfall of this forum than any threads i have started... SOUR GRAPES ANYBODY????? perhaps the time is now to say I TOLD YOU SO!!! nobody forces you to read my threads but more people have visited my threads than this one even if they do not leave comments??? i think there was roughly only 1080 odd readers of my threads and that was within the first 24 hours. i dare not start another thread or that will be at least another 150 ppl desperate to hear my great WORDS OF WISDOM. watch out my head might explode i'm not used to being famous. A GOOD WAY TO SHUT DOWN A FORUM IS TO SLAG OFF THE ORGANISERS which EVERYBODY on this thread seems to be doing. YOU'RE ALL F**KING STOOOPID!!!!!! fancy slating the organiser/s that provided this wonderful venue and band line up. GET A BRAIN MORONS YOU SHOULD BE PRAISING THE ORGANISERS THAT WORKED SO HARD TO BRING YOU THIS WONDERFUL NON COMMERCIAL VENTURE AND AWESOME LINE UP ROFLMFAO AT YOU INGRATES

Having read all the postings I agree that it was a disgraceful and dangerous shambles.
Presumably these events need an annual licence - sending a copy of all the postings on this thread to the relevant authority would surely concentrate a few minds.

obrado29 wrote:I really cant believe there are so many people with little to do in there lives other than sit and complain on the website!! Surely you all have lives.

I myself went to the festival with a large group of friends in two different cars and we were prepared for the drive home...Yes its annoying to wait and Yes it takes a long time...but all of you clearly do not go to festivals and are just used to your outdoor concerts for a couple thousand people! (BTW it takes 6 hours to get out of Glasto)! Im sure next year things will be better in terms of transport etc...

I myself would like to say thanks to the organizers...not only was it refreshing to go to a festival that wasnt filled with branding and bombarded with VIP areas....it was a great ( and wet!) day that me and my group enjoyed. Great gigs and well worth my money.

SUPERGRASS was brilliant and Neil Young took us back....a wonderful day..thanks Vince Power.

But by moaning we might get an improvement. By the way in the last 2 weeks we've been to...
Radiohead (Victoria Park) getting in was no problem and when they had to close the nearest tube after the gig the stewards let us know what was happening and gave clear instructions about the next nearest tube.
Glastonbury - Brilliant as ever with friendly helpful security and staff that could give you information and there are about 180,000 + people moving not just 50,000
Rufus Wainwright at Kenwood House - Tiny in comparrison but again well organised.
I think that the fact that a lot more information was given before the events about public transport and parking etc etc and that they all had stewards available to give you information before, during and after the events this made a big difference.

obrado29 wrote:I really cant believe there are so many people with little to do in there lives other than sit and complain on the website!! Surely you all have lives.

I myself went to the festival with a large group of friends in two different cars and we were prepared for the drive home...Yes its annoying to wait and Yes it takes a long time...but all of you clearly do not go to festivals and are just used to your outdoor concerts for a couple thousand people! (BTW it takes 6 hours to get out of Glasto)! Im sure next year things will be better in terms of transport etc...

I myself would like to say thanks to the organizers...not only was it refreshing to go to a festival that wasnt filled with branding and bombarded with VIP areas....it was a great ( and wet!) day that me and my group enjoyed. Great gigs and well worth my money.

SUPERGRASS was brilliant and Neil Young took us back....a wonderful day..thanks Vince Power.

But by moaning we might get an improvement. By the way in the last 2 weeks we've been to...
Radiohead (Victoria Park) getting in was no problem and when they had to close the nearest tube after the gig the stewards let us know what was happening and gave clear instructions about the next nearest tube.
Glastonbury - Brilliant as ever with friendly helpful security and staff that could give you information and there are about 180,000 + people moving not just 50,000
Rufus Wainwright at Kenwood House - Tiny in comparrison but again well organised.
I think that the fact that a lot more information was given before the events about public transport and parking etc etc and that they all had stewards available to give you information before, during and after the events this made a big difference.

It is all well and good to say that a magnificent festival was put on by the hard work of others... but
the public pay a certain sum and for this is quite rightly expect a certain standard of facility. There is a duty of care to the payers - this is in law a contract after all - and the question is whether or not this duty was discharged correctly. It was evident on the night and proved beyond doubt by these postings that it was not.
The question of hard work is irrelevant as there was a remuneration by way of an entrance fee and where did the phrase 'not profit-making' come from? The standard required is the same whether there is a profit motive or not as this is bought by the ticket.
To excuse this shambles by quoting the even greater one at Zoo8 is a total false analogy. The fact remains that the organisation was totally lacking and presumably if as has been sugested in earlier postings there had been people harmed or a fatality then you would expect prosecutions to follow.
Would I go again? The phrases wild horses and hell freezes spring to mind.

Yes, the organisation was 'not very good', but when is it ever in this Country at the moment?
The simple fact of the matter is that I would have put up with 'nearly' anything to
have seen that performance by Neil Young, certainly the car parking problems!

Is it true that VP is organising an event in a brewery ???

cybr40hn wrote:No Sponsorship : No Branding : and we can now add No F#*king Clue. Mr Power couldn't care I imagine. He only relented on the No Food or Drink because of the response from the very people that he was evidently trying to attract, and of course this was quite some time before the event. There's no point in having entry into the car park well marshalled (good organisation) but leaving the exit to a complete free for all, and yes it was basically first in last out, we made it to the road at just before 2am. Thankfully we only live about 30 miles away, I feel sorry for those with a much longer journey.

Relented on the food & drink? I wasn't aware of this and neither were the stewards in front of me confiscating bottles of wine. Or did you mean soft drinks? I did wonder at the amount of food I saw from outside. Music was brilliant. Saw all the acts & none were weak. Real ale ran out too early & most upset I couldn't keep my ticket stub. Thought the lack of marshalls on exiting was absymal. Got out in hour and half & thought that was bad but it seems I was lucky. No excuse for that & just because music was great does not excuse chaos of car park.

Took my daughter and friends to see Robbie Williams at Knebworth a few years ago, I quite enjoyed the day! Left the arena at about 2330hrs , sat in the camper for five hours started to move about 0430 hrs, exited the site about 0630! A total of 7 hours. So 2 to 3 hours to exit the Hop Farm not to bad?

TarantiniDust wrote:

cybr40hn wrote:No Sponsorship : No Branding : and we can now add No F#*king Clue. Mr Power couldn't care I imagine. He only relented on the No Food or Drink because of the response from the very people that he was evidently trying to attract, and of course this was quite some time before the event. There's no point in having entry into the car park well marshalled (good organisation) but leaving the exit to a complete free for all, and yes it was basically first in last out, we made it to the road at just before 2am. Thankfully we only live about 30 miles away, I feel sorry for those with a much longer journey.

Relented on the food & drink? I wasn't aware of this and neither were the stewards in front of me confiscating bottles of wine. Or did you mean soft drinks? I did wonder at the amount of food I saw from outside. Music was brilliant. Saw all the acts & none were weak. Real ale ran out too early & most upset I couldn't keep my ticket stub. Thought the lack of marshalls on exiting was absymal. Got out in hour and half & thought that was bad but it seems I was lucky. No excuse for that & just because music was great does not excuse chaos of car park.

Real Ale, what Real Ale! Was told at the bar 'only doing lager' And this at the old home of Whitbread! As for tictet stubs a disgrace have emailed the Hop Farm and VP about this as yet no reply! At least log your complaint at... rachel.alvarado@vpmg.net

i really dont understand the moaners,what a good day we had,great music well organised nice crowd, getting away was a bit of a farce but a small price to pay ,all you moaners stay at home next time ,you would be f*8"ed if all had gone to plan you would have nothing to moan about,keep rockin in the free world!

Don't know about the toilets behind the booking office, but there was a nice row of trees to the back of the field which was servicing nicely as a unisex loo ...... having said that, if there are any video's of me on YouTube hunkering down I won't be happy

It did need a big more organisation on the getting home front (whether by car or shuttle bus) or to have camping allowed, adn the brollies should have been banned!!

Had a great day though - highlight for me was the sun coming out during Rufus' Hallelujah, plus the man who had to help me at the cashpoint (too much cider by then to see straight!)

See you there next year??