It seems like winter is finally behind us and spring is starting to appear. We can start to look forward to warmer temperatures and more sunshine. One thing I like to do in the summer is to go to music festivals. This year I’m going to 2: Isle of Wight Festival, and Latitude Festival.
In this post, I’m going to tell you why I chose these festivals and the preparation I have to do in advance.
Isle Of Wight Festival
As you can guess, this festival takes place on the Isle of Wight, on the 13th to the 16th June. It’s quite a trek from where I live in Lincolnshire. I wanted to go to this festival because firstly they seem to have good bands on that I like such as Fat Boy Slim, Bastille, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds amongst others. Secondly, because it’s so far away it’s going to be a bit of an adventure which should be exciting.
Accommodation
Ideally I would have liked to camp in a tent at the festival but unfortunately, that would be a bit tricky. Tents are quite cramped and I need to get a mobile hoist, my Powerchair, a couple of beds, and room for my carers. So logistically it wouldn’t be easy.
So, the 2nd option was to use an accessible motorhome like I did at Blue Dot festival last year. But because the Isle of Wight is a long way from where the company is based in Nuneaton it would cost a lot for them to deliver it to the festival. So this option wasn’t really feasible either.
The 3rd option was to look at hotels near the festival. The Premier inn closest to the festival site wasn’t available for that week, because apparently because the artists stay there during the festival.
I looked at a nearby Travelodge and there were rooms available for the week of the festival but they were insanely expensive. The week before and after the festival it would cost £400 for 5 days. The week of the festival the price jumped up to just under £2000 for 5 days. £2000 to stay in a TRAVELODGE! It’s a robbery.
The same was true for almost every other possible accommodation near to the festival.
Eventually, I came across an accessible static caravan at a holiday park. It was a 15-minute drive from the festival site and only cost £400 for the week of the festival. Fantastic.
I can only get the caravan for a full week so I will be staying there for 7 days. This should be good because it will give me a few days to explore the Isle of Wight before spending 3 days at the festival.
Getting there
My 2 carers and I will be driving to the Isle of Wight in my adapted car. We’re going to be driving down to Portsmouth and catching a ferry over to the Isle of Wight. I’ve been on the Isle of Wight ferry before and it’s quite good. We can get out of the car during the journey and go up to another deck to chill out.
The Ticket Buying Process
for the Isle of Wight Festival I had to buy a normal weekend ticket first, and then I had to fill out an access requirements form which I downloaded from their website. Unfortunately, you couldn’t fill out the form online so I had to print it out, fill it in, scan it, and email it back to them.
You can select whether you want access to the viewing platform, disabled parking, and carers wristbands. But unfortunately, these weren’t available to select online for some reason. So I emailed them and asked for what I needed.
Then I had to email a copy of my DLA letter as proof of my disability, a copy of my blue badge to get a parking permit, a doctor’s letter explaining why I need 2 carer’s tickets, and the scanned access form. A week or so later they emailed back saying everything was fine and I had been given everything I needed. Excellent!
Latitude Festival
Latitude Festival takes place in Henham Park in Suffolk, on the 18th to the 21st July. Latitude also seems to have a good lineup with Snow Patrol, George Ezra, and Lana Del Rey headlining.
Accommodation
As this festival is not too far away I am going to be taking the accessible motorhome to stay in. I had to make sure that we would have access to a power hook up so that we could charge the motorhome if needed. At Blue Dot festival we ran out of power one point and the lift stopped working so I couldn’t get back in.
Thankfully, Latitude said they would let me have access to a power hook up which is great. My carer will probably stay in a tent again nearby, as the motorhome only has space for 2 people.
The ticket buying process
Latitude had an access form that you could fill out online which was a lot easier than the Isle of Wight Festival system. You could upload any supporting documents that you need to before you submitted it and explain any additional needs that you have.
I had to apply for motorhome space, car parking space (because I’m going to leave my car there for the duration of the festival), and ask for the power hook up.
After about a week they confirmed that I had been granted everything I needed. Quite simple to do really.
So everything is sorted for both of those festivals. Now, all that is left to do is look forward to the summer. Bring on the sunshine!
