Download Festival

This was my 3rd time at Download - all weekends with no camping. My first year in 2022 was horrendous, getting from the car park to the viewing platform was far too far away for someone who has mobility issues and refuses to be confined to a buggy! Leaving the venue was very scary, the funnel meant people were squeezing their way through a narrow exit and I didn't feel safe! If it had been wet then it would have been extremely dangerous for me to use that exit! I wrote a long email to the Accessible team and made quite a few suggestions. The Accessible plan for 2023 was much improved but I did have an issue with parking and to say the marshalls were inappropriate, demanding & bullying is an understatement! The viewing platforms were too small for the number of accessible guests. In fact, had there been some disaster, like a fire, then I would suggest there would be carnage with the number of big mobility scooters on the platform! It was sheer luck the platform didn't end up collapsing as there was too much weight! Another long email was sent with the hope that 2024 might be a bit better. With high hopes in 2024, I've got to say that the Accessible team, got it almost perfect! The viewing platforms were larger, the marshalls were vigilant in letting people on to the platform. Getting from the car park to the arenas was vastly improved, all hard standing and well sign posted. For me and my walking stick, it was till too far but my supporting buddy insisted on stopping frequently and having a rest. The merch bars had a lane for accessible guests and I did see able bodied people turned away to join the correct queues - this wasn't the case in 2022 & 2023. The bars & food outlets were plentiful catering for all tastes - fish & chips, pizza, burgers, halloumi, sushi, ice cream etc. Prices were all about the same. The toilets were cleaned after each day and were fine early on but as the day progressed it's fair to say that some of them were disgusting in the early evening! I purposely stopped drinking (water - I don't drink alcohol) in the early evening as I couldn't stomach the stench or pee splattered bowls! (I did attend Glastonbudget - tribute festival in Wymeswold earlier in the year - and after each person used the toilet they were cleaned & disinfected - I was well impressed and the guys running the toilet blocks were held in high esteem!) The big issue with 2024 was the rain. This did cause issues for people in buggies. Almost 80% of the journey had hard standing but areas where there wasn't, the mud was ... well mud! A lot of people losing their footing, amusing at times but scary at others! Anyone planning ongoing need to do their homework. The Accessible team are good. They have taken on-board the criticism of previous years! The only thing that would have made it perfect was having a shuttle "buggy" taking people from the car park to the Accessible entrance. And perhaps toilets cleaned throughout the day!

Overall as a day ticket holder I was happy with the provisions. The viewing platforms were excellent, the parking was good and generally the site was easy to get around. Aspects to reconsider: Toilets - queues for disabled toilets - not overwhelming but as someone with bladder conditions waiting was tough. Entrance - the disabled entrance was via the disabled camping - this is a long walk from the carpark for those not using a wheelchair/scooter. In addition, there was no hard flooring at the security entrance so my wheelchair had to struggle with some really large gravel and stones. A single line of hard flooring to a disabled line for security would rectify this.