Everything you need to know about Wychwood 2023!
Hiya Wychwooders!
We’re so excited to welcome you all to what is set to be the biggest and best Wychwood EVER! Please take a minute to read everything you need to know about this year's festival!
Big Changes for 2023
We’re very excited to be moving to a new home within Cheltenham Racecourse. The new location means that gone are the days of long walks between the campsite and arena! Our new home allows us to have the campsite directly next to the main arena to dramatically reduce your daily walks!
Unfortunately, you will no longer be able to drop your stuff off in the campsite before getting wristbands, however the new site has also allowed us to get the car park much closer to the campsite than ever before with just a 150m walk (approx 2-3 minutes) between the two! All these changes should save the average Wychwooder about 60 minutes of walking across the weekend, giving you more time for the fun stuff!
To encourage people to share vehicles, and reduce our carbon footprint, we have introduced a charge for parking. Car parking tickets can be purchased in advance at £5 for a day or £10 for the weekend up until midnight on Thursday 1st June, after this you will need to purchase your parking ticket on the door at a cost of £10 for the day or £20 for the weekend. We strongly advise booking before you arrive if you are planning on driving. If you are a Ticket For Life customer your parking ticket will be sent to you along with your entry tickets.
Ticket Information
All e-Tickets will be sent out 7-10 days before the festival. If you haven’t received your tickets by this date please contact the ticket agent that you purchased your tickets through.
Official Ticket Sellers for Wychwood Festival 2023 are:
- Kaboodle – After tickets have been emailed out you may also download them via your Kaboodle account.
- LIVE IT
- Everyman Theatre Cheltenham
- Gigantic
- The Ticket Factory
- Ticketline
- Ticketweb
- We Got Tickets
To speed up your entry to the festival please print your ticket and have it ready for scanning by our staff, alternatively download your ticket to your mobile phone.
Anyone that is camping at Wychwood, whether in a tent, campervan, Pitch Village or Glamping tent will need a Weekend with Camping pass, if you do not have a Weekend with camping pass please get in touch to upgrade your ticket as soon as possible. TFL customers have camping included in their ticket.
Box Office and Gate Opening Times
- Camping Customers
- –
- –
- –
- Day Ticket Customers
- –
- –
- –
Weekend ticket holders can leave and re-enter the site as you wish throughout the weekend – please keep your wristband on!
What to bring
- Tickets – The most essential item! If you can’t print your tickets at home please download them to your smartphone ready for scanning.
- Cash/Cards – Like 2022 we will be accepting both cash and cards on site, we will not have any ATMs on site so if you would prefer to use cash please be sure to bring some with you.
- ID – We operate a strict ‘Challenge 25’ policy at all of our bars. Passport, Driver’s License, Validate UK or Citizen Cards are accepted. Please note photocopies will not be accepted as a form of ID to purchase.
- Reusable bottle – Don’t forget to stay hydrated all weekend! There will be water points inside the festival and in the campsites so please bring a reusable water bottle. Water will also be on sale across all bars.
- Suitable clothing – Unfortunately we’ve been unable to predict the weather this year. Please check the forecast and pack suitably for the weather.
Getting here
Please see our How To Get Here page for extensive information on festival site directions and transport options.
If you are coming to Wychwood in a Campervan you will arrive at the festival via Southam Lane to the North of the racecourse. Campervans will have a separate direct entrance into the festival site and signs for campervans should be followed on arrival. If using satellite navigation ensure you input “Southam Lane, GL50 4SH” which will bring you to the correct entrance.
Please follow signs for Campervans. Campervans will arrive on site through a separate entrance, on Southam Lane. On arrival, have your campervan ticket and festival entry tickets ready as you will be issued with your wristbands upon arrival.
Please note: All guests staying in campervans must hold a valid Weekend with Camping ticket. If you have purchased a weekend without camping ticket please contact your ticket provider to upgrade your ticket to a weekend with camping ticket.
Prohibited Items
- Any glass containers
- Potential harmful fluids (for example paint stripper)
- Weapons – bladed or pointed
- Banners and flags (in festival area)
- Marker pens
- Laser pens
- Non-prescription drugs, including the previously described ‘legal highs’
- Professional photography or recording equipment sound systems
- Fireworks/Flares/Laser candle lights/gas canisters/BBQ’s
- Chinese Lanterns
- Portable Generators
- Sparklers
- Any other type of explosive
- Windbreakers/tents
- Dogs (except guide/service dogs)
- Bicycles
- Aerosols, gas canisters or air horns
- Drones
- Gazebos
- Large sound systems
- Whilst food and drink are allowed into the campsite, no food or drink is permitted (with the exception of a sealed 500ml water bottle, empty refillable bottle and baby food) inside the festival arena. There are bars and lots of food options including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options.
All guests are liable to be searched on entry to the festival and any prohibited items will be confiscated.
Alcohol Policy
If you have a Weekend with Camping ticket you will be permitted to bring alcohol into the campsite. However, we cannot allow any glass containers on the site, so please make sure alcohol is decanted into plastic containers. You may not bring your own alcohol into the festival village. Day tickets and Weekend without camping customers are not permitted to bring alcohol into the festival.
Bars
This year we will have 3 bars on site selling alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Wychwood operates the ‘Challenge 25’ policy. If you look under 25 please do not be offended if we ask you for your proof of age when you buy alcohol. Please bring proof of ID to show you are over 18.
We accept the following forms of identification:
- UK Passport
- Driver’s License of Provisional License
Plus the following cards (part of the PASS scheme):
- VALIDATE UK
- CitizenCard
Please enjoy alcohol responsibly. Do not buy alcohol for persons under the age of 18, if you do, you risk being ejected from the festival.
Key Info
Campsite Managers
We have a dedicated campsite management team on our campsite. Campsite managers will be on duty 24 hours a day and are there to provide information or answer queries throughout your weekend at Wychwood.
Headphone Disco
The Headphone Disco will be taking place in Howlin’ Pete’s each night from – . Please note that there will be a £10 cash deposit required for each headphone set. We advise you bring cash with you to the festival for this, however if you do not have cash we will be offering cashback for the Headphone Disco at the Stagger Inn bar located next door.
Workshops, Activities & Shows
Wychwood offers a wide range of family workshops and activities over the festival weekend, plus our prestigious line-up of authors and illustrators in our very own Story Box – Kids Literature Festival.
Fun For All Ages – Download the full schedule (PDF, 409KB)
Keeping Wychwood Green
It is all of our responsibilities to ensure we work together to reduce our Carbon Footprint. Please help us this year to make this year's Wychwood our most sustainable yet!
- All Bars will be serving drinks in reusable cups. Each cup comes with a £2 levy that you will need to pay on your first drink, keep hold of your cup and bring it with you to the bar each time you order a drink. When you’ve finished with your cup for the weekend simply return it to the bar!
- Please bring a reusable water bottle! There will be water refill points located across the festival.
- Keep your camping area clean and tidy, there will be bins located in the campsite and if you need a bin bag find your nearest campsite manager and ask for one!
- Please take your tent home on Monday morning - we will not be able to recycle any tents left behind and they will end up in landfill.
- Bring only what you need! Bring just the essentials, not the whole kitchen cupboard!
Merchandise
Official Wychwood Festival merchandise will be available within the main area. There will also be limited Artist Merchandise on sale too.
Mobile Phones
Please protect your phones and belongings while at Wychwood. Please be advised that phone thieves are known to target large scale music events. Keep your phone in a safe place such as a front pocket. Avoid back pockets or handbags that are easy to enter. Protect your phone by enabling a pin lock and write down all details including IMEI number and any tracker details (such as activating find my iphone).
Arrange a location to meet your friends if you do lose your phone. Please help us to keep yourselves and your property safe.
Toilets
We’ve got more toilets than ever before at this year's Wychwood. The campsite facilities are located at the campsite entrance. There will also be toilets at various locations in the main arena. All toilet blocks will have 1 accessible toilet.
This year we have a Mobiloo all age accessible toilet and changing facility with hoist available for festival goers. The Mobiloo is staffed at all times to provide assistance using the tail lift to access the facility. Personal assistance is not provided but the Mobiloo is spacious enough to accommodate users and up to 2 PA/Carers. Hoist users need to provide their own sling.
Performance Times
We will be selling lanyards at the merch stand with all the stage times on.
Lost Property
If you lose something at Wychwood, head over to the Info point, there staff will be able to take all your details and try to help reconnect you with your lost item. If possible please put a phone number for you and a friend in your wallets/bags so we can call you if we find your items.
Lockers
We will be providing a free Property Lockup service on the campsite where festivalgoers can leave, in safety, any valuables: rucksacks, wallets, musical instruments, bicycles, flea circuses – anything else you want to keep safe while you enjoy the festival. You can also get your phone charged at the Lockup for a £1 fee. The Lockup will be open 24 hours a day from on the Friday until , so you can leave and pick up your belongings at 3am when the lockups crew will be particularly delighted to see you! Please don’t leave valuables in tents.
First Aid
There will be first aid on site to help anyone in need. The Medical team will be located near the Mountainside and Hillside tents and also in the campsite.
Rubbish/Elsan
Make sure you place your waste in one of the campsite waste collection compounds. Our contractor will process all waste off site to ensure they reach the highest recycling rates possible. For chemical toilet disposal, please use one of the Elsan waste tanks which are located in live-in vehicle fields near to the toilets.
Cooking On Gas
You can use gas cooking appliances within the camping areas. Please do so safely. Gas canisters over the size of 500 grams are not permitted. Any changing of gas canisters should be done in the open air (not inside your tent) and empty canisters should be stored or disposed of correctly, if you're unsure on this or have any issues, speak to one of the stewards.
Looking for a shout out?
Birthday? Engagement? Anniversary? Or just fancy hearing your name from the Wychwood stage? Send your requests to special@wychwoodfestival.com and we’ll see what we can do for you!
Stay In Touch
If you have any queries during your time at Wychwood please do not hesitate to get in touch via social media or email!
Last but not least…
We can’t wait to show you everything that we’ve been working on since Wychwood 2022, we have lots of exciting changes in store!
Love Wychwood x