Midnight Sun Weekender festival

Midnight Sun Weekender takes place Thursday 25th May - Saturday 27th May 2023.

Midnight Sun Weekender is located at Stornoway Castle Grounds.

Doors open at 3pm with the first acts getting on stage at 4:30pm. Curfew of the arena is 11pm so when the final act finishes please make your way to the gates. There are fringe events in Stornoway running until 2am in An Lanntair and 4am in Stornoway town hall. Fringe events announced in March.

Yes you can. Please ensure wristbands are kept on for re-entry. You will need to return before 10pm when the gates close.

There is a catering area within the festival arena offering a wide range of food, soft drinks, teas and coffee.

Full bar facilities, soft drinks and other refreshments are available onsite. Please do not attempt to take alcohol with you to the main arena - it will be confiscated.

Ferry

Calmac (www.calmac.co.uk) operate regular ferries from Ullapool to Stornoway. We advise you to book in advance.

Flights

Please visit the LoganAir (www.loganair.co.uk) website for flights to the island.

Car Hire

If arriving as a foot passenger or via flight, you may want to hire a car for the weekend or however long you choose to stay - at present, there are just three rental companies on Lewis - these are Car Hire Hebrides (www.carhire-hebrides.co.uk), Stornoway Car Hire (https://www.stornowaycarhire.co.uk) and Stornoway Vehicle Hire (www.stornowayvehiclehire.co.uk). Again, pre-booking cars is absolutely essential as there is a very high demand and so availability can be limited.

Bus

Bus timetables for Spring / Summer 2023 will be available to view from March (www.cne-siar.gov.uk/roads-travel-and-parking/public-transport/bus-services)

Scottish Citylink (www.citylink.co.uk) operate a number of bus services on the mainland which connect with the ferries - again, pre-booking is absolutely essential. Citylink do not have a telephone number, but bookings can be made on their website, social channels, email or from the Visit Scotland iCentre (www.visitscotland.com/info/services/stornoway-icentre-p333541).

Train

If travelling to Ullapool, the nearest station is in Garve, and if travelling to Uig on Skye, the nearest station is in Kyle of Lochalsh, so alternative transport will be required to get to and from the ferry ports. Please visit ScotRail (www.scotrail.co.uk) should you plan to travel this way.

Taxi

Here is a list of local taxi services which we are sure will be of use to any visitors requiring transport to and from the festival. However we always strongly recommend booking journeys in advance, especially since they are likely to be very busy before and after each night of the festival.

STAD! TAXIS 01851 222499

A2B TAXIS 01851 703415

A1 TAXIS 01851 702234

MM TAXIS 01851 700000

BEATON TAXIS 07879 874722

M S TAXIS 01851 700013

TOP CABS 01851 701177

ATS TAXIS & COURIERS 01851 701111

STORNOWAY CAB CO 01851 702092

JIMMY’S TAXI 01851 702727

QUICK CABS 01851 701234

247 TAXIS 01851 702424

STS TAXIS 01851 704444

Midnight Sun Weekender is unable to provide camping with tickets but there are many campsites available on the island, the closest being Laxdale Holiday Park (www.laxdaleholidaypark.com). Read more details on accommodation here: www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/accommodation.

Midnight Sun Weekender offers the following bookable accessible facilities:

• A complimentary personal assistant ticket
• A car parking space in the accessible car parking for blue badge holders.
• A disabled viewing platform pass (for Main Stage) and 1 for a Personal Assistant.

To request access to the viewing platform please email: sales@midnightsunweekenderstornoway.com

Midnight Sun Weekender is held on a parkland site with varying topography and ground conditions so an all-terrain wheelchair or pushchair will be required.

This is predominantly an open-air event and weather conditions can dramatically affect the ground conditions, so make sure to check the forecast ahead and consider preparations you may need to make and any extra equipment that may be necessary.

Midnight Sun Weekender offer a complimentary ticket for Personal Assistants (PAs), requiring supporting documentation from the accessible ticket holder in order to issue. Accepted forms of supporting documentation include the below and must show your full name:

• DLA
• PIP
• Blue badge parking & photo ID
• Medical professionals letter
• Nimbus Access card
• D/deaf or blind registration
• War Disablement Pension
• Armed Forces Independence payment
• CredAbility Access Card

Please contact us if you do not have any of these forms of documentation and wish to discuss this further. Please email custcare@skiddle.com to apply for PA tickets.

There will be fully accessible toilets in two areas of the arena, some at the entry to the accessible viewing platform and also at the food and drink area.

Blue badge parking is at the woodland centre close to the arena with a hard standing road to the arena gates.

Registered assistance dogs are the only animals allowed in the arena.

Please note some of the music performances may include strobe lighting. 

Folding camp chairs are permitted in the arena. However, please note that there is a designated area for them in the Big Top Tent and they are not permitted outside of this area. Should any area within the arena become busy you may be asked to put your chair away.  If you have accessibility requirements where you feel you require the chair, the organisers ask that you explain this to the person asking you to take your chair away and the team will try and find a solution or a new location where you can use your chair. The health and safety of patrons is paramount.

Please let the festival organisers know in advance if you plan to bring medication with you and they will make arrangements.