Frequently Asked Questions
I'm going home in the evenings, but don't want my car to be blocked in. Where should I park?
This year we have a dedicated "Parking Field" which will be clearly signposted from near the main Festival entrance. Camping is not allowed in this field. Please park here and make your way to the main entrance on foot. If you choose to park in any of the camping fields, we cannot be held responsible if you are blocked in for the weekend.
Can I bring my Dog?
For the first two years, Solfest allowed people to bring their dogs provided that they were well supervised at all times and provided that owners cleared up after them. While we know that the vast majority of dog owners did a great job of looking after their pets, there were the inevitable minority who, despite being reminded on many occasions, allowed their dogs to run wild and foul the site. While we try to please everyone at Solfest, our priority has to be your safety and this has regrettably forced us to decide that dogs will no longer be permitted at Solfest. This has been a really difficult decision to reach. Please don’t give us a hard time over it.
Naturally this does not apply to Assistance Dogs for the disabled who will be most welcome.
Can I buy a ticket for an individual day?
No, Solfest is a festival. Come for the weekend. For the reasons why, see the Programme page.
Will you tell me when my favourite band is playing?
No, Solfest is a festival. Come for the weekend. For the reasons why, see the Programme page.
What disabled facilities do you have?
We have a disabled policy which clearly states that since no two disabilities are alike and that actually, the disabled person or those people who care for them are the real expert on their disability. This being the case, rather than try to put things in place which may or may not meet your needs, we prefer to be guided by you as to what those needs are and, providing we are given plenty of notice, we will do everything we can to ensure that you are properly catered for. This policy has worked really well in the past and we now have a number of wheelchair users and people with other disabilities who attend on an annual basis and are happy to testify that we really are as good as our word. To give an idea, the sort of thing we can really easily arrange are things like convenient parking/camping near the main festival area, electric supplies for charging wheelchairs, disabled access toilet facilities etc. Since the outdoor stage is in a natural amphitheatre at the bottom of a gentle slope, it is perfectly possible to get a good view from wheelchair height, but if you want to boogie on right down the front in the thick of things then that's cool with us too! - We certainly wouldn’t dream of sticking our wheelchair users in a raised cage "viewing platform" like some other festivals we could mention...
Can I bring my caravan?
Yes! Caravans, trailer tents, camper vans etc are all welcome at Solfest and at no extra cost. However, some bits of the site (particularly in the quiet camping field) are a bit hilly, so if you’ve got them, some levelling chocks may be a good idea.
What else is there to do in the area?
The Solfest site is situated in a beautiful rural area between the Cumbrian Mountains and the Solway Firth. Close by are the costal towns of Silloth and Maryport and the delightful market town of Cockermouth. For more ideas, check out the Cumbria Tourist Board website at www.golakes.co.uk or alternatively, If you would like a free Holiday Guide sent to you containing accommodation and attractions, please e-mail tourism@allerdale.gov.uk with your request or telephone the Allerdale brochure hotline on 01271 336056.
I’m travelling up the night before Solfest; will I be able to get onto the site?
We have managed to obtain special permission to allow access to our camping fields to people arriving between the hours of 09.00 and 20.00 on Thursday 26th August . For insurance, licensing and safety reasons, the main arena will not open to the public until 09.00 on Friday 27th August. The cost for this adittional night's camping will be £10 per vehicle.
We want to encourage people to come on Thursday and stay on-site so that they don’t add to Friday traffic management issues. This being the case, if you decide to come on the Thursday, we would be grateful if you would remain on site for the duration on the festival if at all possible.
Because of the risks posed by having vehicles moving around in camping fields during the hours of darkness, access to the campsites on Thursday 26th August will only be permitted up until 8pm.
If you wish to extend your stay in the area, there are several local campsites, Hotels & B&Bs who would be delighted to accommodate you. For more details contact Silloth Tourist Information at:
Solway Coast Discovery Centre
Liddell Street
Silloth
016973 31944
sillothtic@allerdale.gov.uk
Can I bring glass bottles / containers onto the Solfest site?
At Solfest we’d rather work with you than against you so we don’t have a heavy handed, draconian approach to people bringing glass into our main arena. Instead we prefer to appeal to your good sense and simply remind you that the Solfest site is a working farm and that there will be livestock on the fields just a few weeks after the festival has finished. In the light of this, we would ask you not to bring any glass onto the site if at all possible.
Will Solfest be suitable for my kids/elderly relatives?
Solfest 2005 was enjoyed by at least three babies under four weeks old and countless hundreds of toddlers, older children and teenagers. At the other end of the spectrum, we also have a growing number of septuagenarians and even octogenarians for whom Solfest is becoming a cherished annual event. We take great pride in the fact that in past few years we had four generations of the same family all having a great time together at our festival. Forget the music; this is the stuff that memories are made of!
Is the field likely to be muddy this year?
Despite being a couple of miles from the sea, the Solfest is on land which at some point in history was sand dune. Because it is of a mainly sand base (with grass on it) the drainage is excellent. We have been up there on days when it has been raining torrentially for several weeks and still been able to drive a conventional car over it no problem. That said, mud is not unkown and wellies are always a good idea at festivals as dew can make the grass very wet in the mornings.
