Wickerman Festival Site Dundrennan reviews by real event-goers

Good Weekend

First time at Wickerman and I enjoyed it alot. I agree with earlier comments about the location of some things not being the right way round (silent disco/quiet camping/5.00am dance tents) but generally it was 90-95% spot on. Food pricey but of a sufficient standard to not a major problem. Drink policy silly.

Overall the quality of music was good not outstanding but this isn't TITP. I liked the Solus Tent best. Grateful for the good weather which made the weekend in my opinion. I'd vote to keep it at 2 days - it's just perfect - 3 days would add to the overall cost for many and you'd change the demographic.

Fun fun fun

Our first Wickerman-what an experience! we got used to the noise from the bass camp after the first night and quite frankly that was our only,very minor, grouch. Thought the peeve wasn't too pricey as I drink red wine and didn't think the mark up was too bad on site. Even if we'd been allowed to take booze into arena we couldnt have carried it to site-took 1 lift, 2 trains and the happy bus to get there! Still amazed at how friendly everyone was and how safe it felt. Food was great, especially the stovies! enjoyed all the acts we saw but the high point for us was esperi in the acoustic tent on Saturday- unusual and awesome!All in all one of the best weekends we've had in years, if we win the lottery we'll be back 2010!

Just can't get enough!!

This was my 4th Wickerman experience and it did not dissapoint!! It has got to be the friendliest festival by far.
The music was brilliant and the scenery as spectacular as ever. I swear it gets better every year!! There were even fireworks with added oo's and aa's!!
I missed out last year and I'm still gutted about it cos I went to a different festival instead and it was absolute pants in comparison. My only quibble was where were the druids?? I was looking forward to the fire ceremony.
Anyway, Bring on 2010!!!

Shhh! its our secret.....

As an 'ex camper' of T in the Park due to the ned fest, threatning aura and money grabbing stinking dump that the campsite has become I really enjoyed the warm safe happy atmosphere of the Wickerman. Kids going free is just fantastic and infuses the festival with a safe family feel. The toilets were luxury compared to my experiences and the security was more like a service than a force!

Me an my man loved the dance tents, they were fantastic and the main stage bands from early evening on were brilliant! Loved the Magic Numbers, Dreadzone and the Utah Saints, they were awesome (forgive the Americanism) but they were!!

The stalls were a bit samey though, selling cheap looking hats and sunglasses, I would have expected a lot more hand made, artistic and ethnic stalls. It took me just 5 mins to realise I wasn't interested in them. Pity because I was looking forward to a serious browse.

I thought the symbollic burning of the Wickerman was cool but a wee bit of an anti climax, I don't know what I expected, a little more drama maybe! The Wickerman its self was an amazing structure. Very impressive and imposing, i loved it. well done the artists who created him.

On the way to the festival we got lost (well not lost but weren't sure if we were going in the right direction from the main road through Kirkcubright). My husband was very frustrated at first because we thought, why are there not more directions on the road? but in retrospect, we are grateful because we decided the Wickerman doesn't want to be any bigger or exposed, it wants to keep its safe happy ethos. So I think it should continue to be road signed like a fete, not a festival. Well done.

And with this I saw the Wickerman himself symbolizing someone standing surveying their map, thinking 'where the hell is it?'.
This search also appling to life whether it be a map or a book. Very cool!!

Definately going back next year. Loved the camping, loved the arena and the bands, loved the spring rolls from Taste of Thialand, loved the ethos, thank you for a really great weekend, and that goes to ma pals too x

Not perfect but still great

2nd wickerman, went last year and had a blast. Big eighties and old skool dance fan so i was delighted with the line up! Utah Saints were the best by miles!

Agree with all the comments below about the drink policy - I know people who worked T in the park this year and even at that you were allowed to bring in drink in plastic bottles for your own use and it's the most commercial festival out there! Also heard that security were tasting people's drinks - ridiculous and unsafe / unhygienic. We paid £1.50 each for 2 bottles of c**e, then decided to go to the D&D toilets (Mrs is pregnant, they're a bit roomier). Hadn't finished the c**e and had to chuck it to get back in to the arena! The cider was REALLY weak in the arena - you expect to pay rip off prices at a festival but i would have got more of a buzz from Appeltiser.

Lay out of the arena was rubbish - headphone disco last year was packed as it was well located, you hardly knew it was there this year. Maybe swap the dance tent with the headphone disco - sure this would be more popular with the family campers!

Burning of the wickerman was much better this year - no faffing about with bagpipes etc, get that bad boy burning quick and back to the partying. Fireworks were a nice touch too. Maybe better to have it look more like the one from the film too - a bit more atmospheric.

Overall - well kept environment, safe, pleasant atmosphere, good music and good laugh. Crap layout and drink policy. We'll go back.

not long till next year

been coming since first wickerman,and havent had a bad time yet.missed the chill out tent and eden zone this year.there also seemed to be a lot less going on in the site or maybe it was the lack of alcohol we were allowed to bring in with us.At least allow plastic containers.zion train ,dreadzone and the utah saints were excellent and special mention to the counterfeit clash who put on a storming set.next time you take lennys van dont forget a spare tyre.

kid british and other changes to the line up

Er, how did other people know that kid british was moved to a different tent? I never knew about this. Can't wickerman publicise changes to line up/ venues/ delays better? I did pay a fiver for details of the line up, but still didn't know what was going on?! You could put these on a screen in the main area?

Quiet Camping? Environmental Health?

Good music this year, great to see some poetry and free yoga.

Please have a clear plan and instructions to support a genuine quiet camping area next year.

The quiet camping had two problems (noisy kids playing at all hours late at night and early morning) and an incredibly loud base coming from the loudest tent in the festival (which was too close by- it shook the ground I was trying to sleep on and I might as well have been in the music tent, my earplugs did little to mitigate the problem) These problems could have been mitigated/avoided by better planning and management.

Thought the details of timings of the line up should have been available for free, rather than the elaborate £5 product, (though it was a good product, but a lot of your target customers are on tight budgets)

our weekend

where was the security for the campervan/caravan area? generators? fireworks? plus, why can't there be more toilets in the campervan site? Booze restriction is just pathetic, what harm is anyone doing by taking in a small amount in a plastic bottle, everyone would still buy some in there anyway! Stalls were pathetic this year, too many hats and sunglasses stalls, what happened to the wickerman crafts that took me ages to look round last year?! What has happened to the dance tents? last year there were three large dance tents plus the skiddle tent and this year there was only one large dance tent!! Also, where were the firedancers at the wickerman burning? I told all of my friends all about last year and I felt totaly stupid when two guys came out and set fire to the wickermans toes! hello, what happened to the build up? On the up side, Utah saints were superb,as was dreadzone and zion train. Will I be here next year? I will have to think about it as it seems to be heading down the t in the p road of squeezing as much cash out of everyone as they possibly can, still had a good weekend but enjoyed it so much better last year! think I will go to the eden festival to get the original wickerman feel back again cos that is where the eden camp chillout zone is going! see you all there!

Great, but still room for improvement . . .

The Uppers:

My second year and definitely one of my favourite festivals. Great location, happy vibe, not too big and fairly ned-free.

Thursday night entertainment - a great idea, keep it simple . . . loved the ceilidh band . . oh, and a dance tent for the kids.

Cover bands . . . yes definitely, as long as the quality is there, cover artistes Candy Staton and the Counterfeit Clash were superb (I do realise she had a couple of hits of her own).

Great line up - loved all the main stage performers with one exception, which brings me nicely to the downers.

The Downers:

Ah yes, my one exception . . . I've got a great merchandising idea, Billy Bragg Punchbags or if that's too violent, Billy Bragg Balloons . . . This over opinionated guy really got the crowds back up (and mine).

The poetry event was neatly hidden away and subsequently far too quiet, a shame. I suspect the acoustic village suffered similarly. Perhaps a bit more attention to a corporate signage syatem.

The choke points at the main entrance and exit are a worry. If you get a rush of panicky people, you'll have a problem and probable injuries evacuating the area through the wee gates. No reply required, please take note though!

The 'drinks police' - I agree with your policies on glass bottles and alcohol, but like many other review moaners, I brought sealed plastic fruit juice bottles and had to discard them at the gate. "A bridge too far" Mr Farmer?

. . . and finally. I don't like rum 'n angustouri bitters, could we have the Marguerita Slush Puppy Bar back next year as I will definitely be there and would really appreciate the tequila.

one more thing...

Also, Complaining about lack of sleep?! Get a grip, some of you expect way too much!

all about the people

This was my second year at wickerman and I'd gladly recommend it over overrated festivals such as T in the park, however I'm worried about the direction the festival's headed. Security generally nice but sealed bottles being disallowed, seriously? It's understandable that there is a safety risk when bringing bottles and cans into the arena but it struck me as much more of a money-making scheme, considering the amount of praise given to the atmosphere of the festival its unlikely anybody's going to set out to hurt someone.

Music was a step up from last year but please keep it as it is, with a few main draws as the festival seems to have become more commercialised. Kid British and We Were Promised Jetpacks amazing! atmosphere in some of the dance tents etc was ruined by a lack of people as people were more happy to stay in the campsite and drink their own booze than be fleeced in the arena. the general arena felt more empty than last year, with less attractions and stalls as well as the eden tent being missing(or hidden?)

Don't complain about posh toilets and showers, get some baby wipes and don't have such high expectations! The idea of it being posh is the fact that there is a price tag on it and its likely people wont want to pay for it, therefore meaning the toilets are cleaner as less people are using them. however, thank you all those who did pay for DnD passes as it meant the portaloos weren't too bad in comparison to most other festivals.

Police and security generally non-imposing in the arena and campsite which was great, keep it that way please.

Also, please make it a three day festival!!

I'll be back, just call me Ishmael;)

FAT FARMER hope your next jobby is a hedgehog

Loved the weekend although I had a slight arguement with the fat farmer who 'Owns the Land' After being told by the stewards that we could no longer take the kids up to the Wickerman on the Saturday as they were preparing for the fire, for health and safety reasons we were just about to walk away when the FAT FARMER brought a band along and waved his magic stick and they were allowed in. On challenging this descision the FAT FARMER told me that he wasn't prepared to let the 10 expectant children up the hill at the same time as the band as he had the power and although we had payed for our tickets, quote "Life isn't fair kids".

Music was great and the Funk bus was a treat.

Atmosphere and people fantastic as usual

The no drink rule was over police and to be quite frank I found it insulting having my nappy bag checked evey time I left the campsite.I personally don't drink but I don't see why people who do can't take a moderate amount of there own drink in plastic containers. They would still by from the bar when their drink was done or too warm.

Kids loved it although £2 into the kidzone was reasonable did we then have to pay £3 for kite making and face painting.

I think if we don't watch out the Wickerman could fast turn into TITP, seemed much more commercial than in previous years. And although I love going to TITP with friends the Wickerman is our family festival. With prices creeping up every year people aren't going to want to come with kids as the cost just keeps getting higher.

And why was the base camp next to the family camping? Who ever came up with that layout should have tried sleeping in that area till 5am!!

whickerman festival

Had brilliant time - well organised, clean for a festival and loved the burning of the whicker man. Uncle Billy was as good as ever and the mixture of music really good. Best bit tho was spending time with my sis. Worst bit being accused by security of smuggling in whisky -it was diet c**e honest !

Are Ryanair now running Wickerman ?

Looks like the organisers have been on the phone to Mr O'Leary about how to screw us by stealth!
6 quid for a posh bog, 6 quid for a posh shower, 5? quid for a programme on a string ...
Did anybody actually use a posh shower/bog? As everone says, the queues were enormous - once I found out where it was.

When you add it all up - is £170 for TITP that expensive, considering the much much higher atandard of bands at TITP?

Then there's the beer nazis on the gate, who enjoyed their work far too much. I'm sure I saw a few with elecric cattle prods :)

All in all though, a good weekend with great weather. Must work on a cunning plan to outfox the beer nazis next year.

Some observations

A great festival once again. Best music in the Solus tent. I always enjoy 'people watching' and was hugely entertained by a large extended family sitting near to us on the grass, which included a disabled gentleman with a mobility scooter. They must have been inspired by Andy (Little Britain) as the scooter was being used to transport forbidden beverages hidden in the shopping basket attachment, the said gentleman hopping on and off the scooter with no trouble at all and making frequent trips to the car or campsite to replenish their stock of cans. Presumably the same security that searched our 9 year old didn't bother to pull up the 'disabled' gent. Nice one!
The Zutons didn't do it for me, but there was so much good stuff here and there if you made the effort to keep touring round the tents, that what was going on on the main stage didn't matter.
I live near the festival site and look forward to it every year. It's always a cracking good weekend.

First but not our last Wickerman experience

We had a great time and really enjoyed the family friendly vibe.

Thought the line up was great and just right for this size of festival. One wee gripe re up and coming bands - those that play covers shouldnt be allowed. There are plenty bands doing their own music who should be given a stage before those that have only 3 or 4 of their own tracks to play.

Musical highlights - Idlewild, Bumclocks, Ampetemeanies, Mr Kil, the Xcerts, Dreadzone, Billy Bragg, and the wonderfully awesome O'Death. More like them would be great - there are loads of smaller on the road all the time American/Canadian indie bands looking for venues.

Three gripes - first, the cost add ons. I'd rather pay my extra for quiet camping, for the kids zone, for a programme etc all upfront rather than eating into the budget I'd set ourselves. Only brought cash no cards so things got a bit tight.

Second, the no booze rule - this is not what the website said in advance of the festival. It said no bottles would be allowed not that all booze would be banned. Again stretched our budget as had not planned for it. And it did seem ironically that the zealous security were deployed at the quiet camping entrance where mostly families and older folks less likely to be getting trollied and abusing the situation. And pain to find lots of people managing to get round the ban entering from other points.

Third, the bloody base camp so close to quiet camping. No point insisting on quiet after 11pm if the dance tents keeping you awake til 5am. Poor site planning. Wouldn't it have been more sensible to site the acoustic village and kids area up there given thats where most kids were staying anyway and put the dance stuff away down the bottom of the site where least likely to annoy anyone?

But apart from that, we had a great time - 5 year old's first experience of a festival and we will definitely be back. Don't get any bigger Wickerman and keep the laid back friendly vibe. Boutique festivals are definitely the future. And as a Galloway native great to see something like this happening in my home patch. A great boost for the local economy and another great arts event putting the area on the map.

B+

Ill start with the positives:

Atmosphere super-better than last time I came and was good then.PLEASE though lovely Scottish people with really broad accents remember us English find it really difficult to understand you!!

Urinals/toilets - generally pretty good, and stops us blokes weeing on the seats in the dark, just on our feet now. I also had a really fascinating discussion while waiting for me missus on how women take soooo long to let it go. They of course blame the queues!

Wickerman burn - good idea to do it from behind (oo er). Got great photos. And good fireworks.

Negatives:

Entrance police - still dont see the point in it except for dealers.

Booze ban - I can understand it but a pain.

Too many bands sounding like The Clash (sorry never liked em).

Champagne moment - coming out of Phil Kay to four lashed up blokes asking awkward questions about Rabbie Burns to the lass who knew nothing on the RB stage. If it werent for the Human League Id have stayed. BTW the blonde lass in the HL is still tip top!!

Wickerfun

First time at this festival and very enjoyable with four adults and six kidz in our party.
Regulars at Wychwood so good to compare.
Cracking setting and line-up was good if not heart-stopping. Very friendly and had a great vibe about it.
Billy Bragg is always the same so you kinda got to expect it from him.
Agree with others about Bass Camp - an absolute pain in the a**e til 5am and so close to the camping area. Fine to party til 5am but not to affect others who really wanna sleep - just move it. Could do with some of those plastic wash/up troughs outside toilets and at water points - really simple but makes things a tad more civilised.
Didn't like the £2 each kid into the play area plus £3 to make a kite or have their face painted - smacked of penny-pinching on top of the admission price.
Had a great time overall - would return - if you moved that soddin Bass Camp!

Awesome Event!

1st time at the event, & first time my daughter (Buwy, 8) has ever been to a proper festival.. got to say the event was awesome!

I was a bit dubious about going, as i find going anywhere with my ex kinda dubious, she did get the tickets tho, & as we managed to lose her mostly: 'twas all good!

Spent the afternoons in the kids area making kites & then flying them, & wandering around taking a look at various bands. Really great site, & such a friendly atmosphere!

As the lil' one is not really into watching bands we set up sign-signals in case she wanted to bail out: she was happy to sit at the back for the entire Hot Chip set tho, & specially wanted to see the Bum Clocks (i suspect due to the name.. )

Musical highlights: Zion Train, Amphetameanies Hot Chip, Penetration, Bad Manners & Utah Saints! Bad Manners & Utah Saints were stormingly good! Was friggin great getting to see a load of oldskool style punk & ska acts.

The campsite itself was pretty well set up, toilets amazingly clean, & the lil' one & her mum reported the showers were brilliant too! A long way from the old festy toilets i remember from 15-20 year ago! I can see how folks in the quiet field would be peeved, that Skiddle showcase tent in Basscamp was booooming!

Security & policing seemed balanced, they were about, but not being asshats. The no alcohol rule seemed a bit petty & as for the beer.. sheesh.. did it really have alcohol in? >.