Overview

This was my first time at Bearded Theory in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside. The line-up was amazing and we were mainly there to see Iggy Pop but the other headliners were Paul Heaton, Manic Street Preachers and English Teacher. Iggy was absolutely amazing and I couldn’t get over his energy; everyone asks me if he took his shirt off but I don’t think he ever had it on, he only sat still for one song in a one-and-a-half hour set! We felt sorry for everyone coming after him (Manics in particular) as no-one was ever going to be able to follow that. There were so, so many fantastic bands to see but I ended up seeing: the incredible Nadine Shah, her beautiful, strong voice has such a haunting, hypnotic quality and we were really lifted up by Asian Dub Foundation and the Osaka Ramones! We also saw English Teacher, Yard Act, Nova Twins, Selecter, Billy Nomates, Dreadzone and The Mary Wallopers; no-one disappointed. There were also lots of stalls, food, activities, bars, funfair, cabaret and a Children’s area; we met lots of beautiful souls on the platforms and in the bars. I had a fantastic time; the only fly in the ointment was that site access wasn’t what it could have been.

Transport & Parking

We travelled in by car each day to park in the disabled area of the general car-park which was next to the site entrance, however, the field we had to drive through was very rutted and bumpy and even wearing a neck-collar didn’t really stop my neck being jarred. After the entrance, there was a long way to go to reach the centre which was also really bumpy and we had to manoeuvre each rut which took ages. We seemed to meet the same people coming in with different physical disabilities who came up to us and commiserated with us having the same problem. I live in the Highlands of Scotland, I go up and down forestry tracks and fields almost every week so I’m used to rough terrain; this was another level. There were buses to ferry people into the site from Burton-on-Trent but I don’t know if they were accessible. I've given 2 stars because of the steps the Access Team took to help but just some tracking or access to the road from the start would have really helped lots of us with disabilities.

Access

Once into the main area, there were many good, flat areas of grass which were easy to cross but to go between stages etc. took me much longer than it should have and it was really uncomfortable due to the ruts and potholes. The staff did their best to fill the holes with sand but there were far too many of them for that to work. I met one woman on the platform who had had a knee operation a few months before who had twisted her knee because her leg went down a pothole and she was worried that she’d need the op again. I also met a woman whose friend was in a self- propelling wheelchair and was in ‘terrible pain’ due to the terrain. A fellow wheelchair user alerted me to a service road which security, on seeing people in wheelchairs struggle, were leading people along the service road (when there were no pyrotechnics on nearby). We went to see the Access Manager who agreed that we should use this road and it made all the difference; I was able to see bands I wanted to see without missing them because of the time it took to get to the stage and most importantly, I wasn’t getting hurt so I could enjoy them more. She also very kindly offered us a pass to park in the disabled camp-site/ staff car-park which cut out the rutted pathway to the car-park altogether as we could just drive up the main road and turn into the field; this also made a massive difference to me. She has said that she will put this info in her report and that they can consider using the service road for people with disabilities next year if the other services can go another route as things can change each year. There were two good viewing platforms at the main stages accessed via ramps and staff were really great, friendly and helpful at both of them. The Woodland area was a particularly magical place to see bands at night but as there’s no viewing platform there, people in wheelchairs can only really listen or glimpse the band through a gap every so often. When the platform was quieter, friends and family were also able to stay with me as well as my P.A. When we queried why there was very little, if any, tracking available over the site, we were told that it was because people slip on it when it rains! Think people might slip more in the mud somehow, as we’ve witnessed first-hand at other festivals. Another person on the platform said that they were told it was because English Heritage wouldn’t allow it! Come ON management, I won’t be made to feel that it’s a privilege that I can go to a festival and I should just put up with the above, please address this, thank you. I've given 2 stars as the Access Team did their best to rectify things and the actual platform was really good; I had a brilliant view and was still able to enjoy the atmosphere of the space.

Toilets

I didn’t use the disabled toilets but there were lots in the disabled campsite which looked very clean and also near viewing platforms; sorry I didn’t get any photos.

Staff

Staff were very helpful and friendly, especially the security staff; I loved it that the staff danced on the platforms with us when there was space, it made the vibe even better.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

We met Asian Dub Foundation in a hotel car-park the day after we saw them perform; they were genuinely lovely people and offered to put us on the guest-list for their next gig that night but sadly, we had to go home….. I had a great time, Iggy was iconic and made everything worth it; if Bearded Theory fix the access issues highlighted, I'd love to go back.

Photos