Overview

This was my first time attending the Green Gathering, an off-grid non-profit festival run by solar and wind power in Chepstow last summer. I had some correspondence with the Access Manager and despite the fact that I sent in my queries after the closing date for disabled ticket purchase, the team still got back to me with lots of really helpful info about the site, general access etc and I was able to get accessible tickets. Access to the site was good with one very short slightly problematic area of rough terrain through the grounds for our car to reach the festival site. If your car doesn’t have a lowered floor you will be fine and we were able to negotiate this bumpy part of the track without any damage. Due to my medical needs, we had to come in and out of the festival every day and we were always met by a member of staff who led the car slowly through the main track on the festival site to the Assisted Access Area where we had to park and where the Disabled Access info tent is. There is also a chill-out space, disabled toilets and shower and a campfire. The site is in a beautiful spot, next to the racecourse, spread around an old mansion house and across fields; there are a couple of transportation buggies if you need them for both people and wheelchairs. We met the access team here who were very helpful and lovely, special shout-out to Carol and Shona for making the whole experience extra special and really going the extra mile to ensure that I felt part of the festival and that everything was as accessible as possible. They also told me that all of the team either had disabilities themselves or experience of disability themselves; I thought this really reflected the ethos of the festival. This part of the festival really works. I had two very different viewing experiences here when viewing bands. The performance tents are too small for viewing platforms and this worried me somewhat as I felt that I wouldn’t be able to see anything other than people’s backs and also I could get crushed if actually in amongst the crowd. There were seated performances for poetry, comedy, talks and some music but I also wanted to see different bands. Carole told me that if there was anything I wanted to see in the more crowded tents, just to let them know and where possible, someone would accompany me down and maintain a space. Carole herself came down with me to the Triban Tent for the first performance I wanted to see and stayed as she wanted to experience the event from my perspective. She not only made space for me at the front corner of the tent and assigned another team member for the next band but spoke with the owner of the site to discuss how they could possibly use different kinds of fencing to fence off an area like the one I was in to make the space as safe as possible for people with disabilities. Another site manager made sure we were happy with the space and was also there to call on if needed. I felt safe and loved the two events I saw. However......... This was my own fault but next night when I went to see another band I didn't ask for assistance and ended up trapped in the Floating Lotus tent in a scary situation and having to be rescued by the lovely Lisa who we'd given a lift up the hill to. As it got more lively, more people got dancing far too close to me and the crowd was too thick to get through to the exit for me without getting hurt. Lisa gathered her friends up and they lifted my chair out of the back of the tent and broke me out of the performers' compound. We were so grateful to them as it was pretty frightening. Back at the Assistance Area, the general concensus from other people with disabilities we met was that they just didn't attend 'live bands like that' for that reason which is really disappointing to me. I went for the music and poets chiefly and I feel that I should be able to access the bands safely like any other person; I did contact the festival regarding this a couple of times but have had no reply. Yes, probably should have asked for help to go there but in principle, as a person with a disability, shouldn't actually have had to ask at all...... I saw Dizraeli the poet (who was amazing) and also the band ‘Dragons Fly’ who were also great and had everyone up dancing and singing. I also saw Louise The Poet who was brilliant and a talk essentially about cultural appropriation and how it could be addressed. There is also another larger performance tent which I didn’t get to (there was so, so much to see and do). This is a small festival but it has masses of music, art and poetry, good food, lovely people and good fun, for example, skarobics. There was lots to learn: Permaculture Area, the Healing Area, Talks, Crafts, Campaigns and much more more, I wish I'd had more time. It has a family feel (lots of children seemed to be having an amazing time amongst bubbles, costumes, crafts and play) and at night small campfires all over the site that you can just relax by and meet very interesting people between or as well as the performances. If you just want to meander about and meet people, this is the place for you.

Transport & Parking

I came by car but there were shuttle buses from Chepstow Station to the Welcome Tent also shuttle buses up into the park as well but I don't know if they are accessible. Disabled Parking is available at the Assisted Access area.

Access

Access into the site was good with one very short slightly problematic area of rough terrain through the grounds for our car to reach the festival site. If your car doesn’t have a lowered floor you will be fine and we were able to negotiate this bumpy part of the track without any damage. We were led very slowly in and out of the site through the main track to the Assisted Access Area where we parked. There are gravel tracks around all of the main areas of the site, rougher terrain over grass which my powerchair could handle and a couple of steeper banks I wouldn't feel happy tackling in my powerchair. I've given a lesser score re. access around my viewing experience above rather than the access around the site.

Toilets

These small festival toilets in the Accessible Area were clean with hand sanitiser. The shower yurt was a peaceful, clean space with a showering trolley if needed for people who can't sit or stand in the shower. If you made the staff aware of your needs, they did their best to accommodate you.

Staff

Shout out to Carol and Shona, see above, many thanks to them and the rest of the team, they were all lovely and helpful.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

I would recommend this festival to other people, it had lots of the things I love, however, they really need to sort out a tangible and safe viewing solution for the more lively music events. I think that I would need to know something was in place for this to feel safe. If you're just going for the seated events like poetry etc you should be fine. In general, I loved the ethos and atmosphere of the festival, if they fixed that issue around the bands, I'd definitely be back.

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