Wickerman Festival Site Dundrennan reviews by real event-goers

Wickerman review

This is only the 2nd year I've been to the Wickerman Festival, and noticed a dramatic difference to last year, more in atmosphere and behaviours.
Great band line-up, can't beat Gun, as well as James, The Coral, Feeder etc. Found some really cool and talented wee bands, which is what this type of festival is all about. Great weather too, and generally, during the day, a great atmosphere. However, having been a regular at T in the Park, Glasto, Rockness etc was really sad to see absolute "eejits", drunk and out of their faces. Don't expect to see that at the Wickerman. The eejits were desperate to have a fight, and even ended up throwing bottles at the bands. Not smart to hit the lead singer of the Coral with a bottle. What's that all about?
The Security guys were acting fairly quickly on bad behaviour, but with so many families and small children around, that part was spoilt for me, so left before the burning of the Wickerman and before the drunken eejits with limited brain cells really spoilt a great weekend.
The Wickerman is becoming more commercial, guess it would be hard to stop that from happening. With a great setting, and a great opportunity for unknown bands to play their music, I would like to think that commercialism will not totally dominate, what for me, is a fabulous opportunity to enjoy a unique festival.

WickerMan Was Amazing !

AMAZING!,one of the BEST and FRIENDLY festivals i have been to ! NO N.E.D's ! CLEAN campsites and toilets,freindly staff allways willing to help you! Great Food ! plenty to do!
will defo be recomending this to freinds and will defo be going to everyone i can from now on ! thanks for a great weekend !

It's a festival people

Although this was my 1st Wickerman, it was by no means my 1st festival. My group weren't charged extra for parking next to the quiet site, so not sure what that was about. The quiet site was pretty noisey from time to time, but if you have loud neig*bours on the 1st night then make sure the kids ping their guy ropes at 6:30 am, consideration soon shines through. The food prices were on the high side, even for a festival & alcohol was a complete rip off. Security were very rigorous in their checks which was a pain. Yes there were lots of people drinking on the main site, & evidence of lots of dope smoking, but that's what happens.
I really enjoyeed the music, don't like James so went to see the Damned again, & thought the burning was excellent. Will definately go again, but I do prefer the familly orientated, reasonable prices & relaxed atmosphere of Solfest.

Great :)

enjoyed my stay, enjoyed the bands, Echo and The Bunnymen as good as they ever were, Feeder exelent, one wee critique the speakers were to low down on the stage i felt i was being blown off my feet, and the main stage could use a couple of big screens, and finaly :) the Wickerman burning was very good so was the fireworks :), depening on the line up may do Wickerman next year :D

James :-(

Negs: Don't know why we were charged extra to use the "quiet" campsite, surely this should be included in the £90 ticket price as stated on the website. There was no mention of an extra charge so felt ripped off to be honest. Either camping is included in the ticket price or it isn't and this needs to be clearly stated. In addition to this it wasn't quiet and I never saw anyone patrolling to make sure. I wouldn't pay for this again as the noise from the bass camp until 5 in the morning made it a waste of money. My main reason for going was to see James so was very disappointed with the sound problem which was apparent during the Bunnymen set and should've been sorted before they came on. From The Jam should've been on the main stage imo. Positives: The atmosphere/music was excellent, people were friendly, Wickerman burning and fireworks stunning, but the above needs sorting.

Feedback should be reason for change.

Please take ACTION on our Feedback and make changes,I agree with all the previous comments and added a few of my own.To offer Breathtest free was a bonus to drivers unsure whether over the limit.but the Chief Robocop,directing traffic after the festival,would not allow me to turn right,,to go Kircud,way.[WHY?].Skiddle bus had WiFi connection[I asked for to share Password,but without joy], i could NOT get a mobile phone signal those 3 days,[even the WICKERMAN app for iphone was useless],Open both exit/entrance after midnight, more lights in these areas please,[Trip Hazards]I will NOT buy DnD,or Showers next year i complained to the Staff that no Water running in Gent sinks,She agreed it was same last year[Wickerman had a year to sort this problem]Shower queue was BAD,,,.enuf sed.

Cool but expensive

Luxury accommodation resulted in a hellish walk to and from the arena, so we ended up eating from the food hall, which cost a fortune! Food quality was excellent. Toilets were too far away for a quick night time visit. but really clean for the amount of folk using them. That said, I'm buying a wee portaloo for next time
Good point was being able to park right next to the yurt which was good, but there was no padded floor as per the website, glad we brought a blow up mattress.
Worst bit was how loud the bass camp was, way to go Cosy Camper and their ear plugs. It is a music festival after all
Acts were AWESOME!! Shame for James, that should have been taken well care of! The Side are well amazing, I'm downloading their stuff!
And of course the main man was better than ever, fireworks just added to their whole thing
BUT, change the security pleease! To leave the car sectioning in the road back to camp when you have hundreds of frozen folk trying to get back to their tents was a joke!

Wickerman 2011

This is my 4th year at Wickerman and I can highly recommend to anyone. It is very family friendly. The weather this year was great except for Friday night when it rained. A couple of downsides to the festival are that I have always purchased a D'n'D pass but may not get one next year because this year there were less showers than years before which meant a long wait unless you get up at the crack of dawn so not worth it. The toilets are generally ok and are cleaned regulary but I would love it if the disgusting people who think its ok to leave the toilet in a mess would just think about the people who use the toilet after them! The quiet campsite was actually quiet most of the time this year!

A Great Festival, would recommend A+++++

We arrived late afternoon on Friday and realised we should have been there earlier to get a better pitch for the caravan. Would recommend an earlier start next year. The campsite was fine, loads of families and not too noisy. The DND showers proved to be a waste of money as only 16 available for the entire park and not worth the 2 hour queue, baby wipes and Deo sufficed in true festival spirit. The lineup was superb, shame about James sound interruption but unforecast rain surely the problem there. From The Jam were superb, as were the Pigeon Detectives and The Damned. We had no problems with the security or any of the staff, all very friendly. I agree with other comments about having a security patrol in the caravan site as some people don't know how to behave at these gigs, more encouragement also needed for folk to pick up after themselves and respect their surroundings. The food was superb and not too expensive, stalls likewise but more variety next year please. Looking forward to next year, keep up the good work guys.
Hazel, Glasgow

fancey dress

i was very dissapointed more people didnt dress up my partner and i were both wearing masks great weekend

wickerman 2011

We overall had a great time, great music although james set was dissapointing because of the sound problem,prices werent too bad. We were dissapointe with the dnd showers, 6 of us paid £8 each but never actually had a shower as the que was so long, we wouldnt bother next time. We also paid onto the family area campervan site but was most annoyed at the amount of young male groups who partied all nite, played loud music and who language wasnt suitable for young children, they were also disrespectfull to our things by using our utility tent and throwing our things around the campsite, i would reccomend more security patrolling camping area

Can't please everybody

Good reviews so far, but can't agree with everything. Consider these points.

1) There's nowhere on the website to say that there is a premium for parking in the Quiet Campsite area. That's rubbish, I just refused to pay and so did my friends. They still let us through. A scam I suspect.
2) Festival prices? Get used to it, it's no different to any other festival or seaside resort.
3) Showers? It's only a two day festival. Isn't that what baby wipes and deoderant were invented for? Get into the spirit.
4) Alcohol into the arena? Understandably banned. However we got loads in, and so did everybody else. If you didn't then you weren't trying hard enough. Soft drinks in untampered bottles were allowed in.
5) Shame about the sound system, but it was raining, maybe that was the problem.
6)Quiet campsite? Believe me it's quieter than the main site. Music from the arena depends entirely on the wind direction. I found the quiet campsite better than last year.
7)The line up this year was awesome, can you believe the Pigeon Detectives were supporting the Coral and Feeder. They were the top band of the weekend. Bottom of the list was Chess Boxer. Who the hell are they (from Tennessee so maybe I just answered my own question)?

Lay off the negative comments and concenrate on the plus points, this is a top Festival, my fifth time and the best yet.

Do I get fee tickets for next year?

.Tim (Huddersfield)

Overall, a great experience!

Totally agree with all the points (good and bad) raised above.

My own personal disappointment was having James and Utah Saints on at the same time - I wanted to see James and my husband really wanted to see Utah Saints - ended up only seeing half of each set!

In addition to the points raised by others, we were under the impression before we got there that it was only alcohol that was to be banned in the main arena and not liquids in general - the ban didn't seem to work anyway - saw tons of people drinking coloured liquids that were blatantly not the water that was meant to be contained within them!

Also found it ironic that there were so many police there and yet there was blatant under-age drinking going on (they were wearing green wrist bands for christ's sake!) as well as people openly smoking spliffs and popping p***s! Not quite sure how 'family-friendly' it therefore makes this - lol!

The organisers definitely need to make sure that their staff are also clued up on the relevant information to be given to those attending as we were constantly given conflicting and inaccurate information (such as the showers don't open till 9am meaning that, by the time we arrived, there was an impossibly long queue) which was extremely annoying!

Overall, however, we absolutely loved it and are hoping to make this a regular yearly thing, especially as we only live two hours away :-D

Wickerman 2011

The biggest disappointment was the technical problems throughout the whole of James set. It ruined their performance and if this had been a music venue the fans would have demanded their money back. The warning signs were there as it happened a couple of times in echo and the Bunneymen's set and should have been fixed before james went on stage.
The showers were a joke when you consider the numbers queueing up to use them. If extra money is being charged for their use then their should be enough showers to go round.
The security staff were very abrupt and unfriendly and it looks like this festival is moving from it's friendly and family orientated occasion to one in the T in the Park mould. It's probably become bigger than anticipated and that's why the focus is now changing. At the end of the day it's all about hard cash.
The acoustic area is good with some very funny guys on show.

Wickerman 2011

Loved the festival, as a regular festival going was surprised that the toilets were kept as clean as they were and as a consequence would not pay for the DnD toilets again, my partner also thought the European sytle urinals were genius. My 2 complaints are that the quiet area was over populated and not quiet at all and the showers were a joke, not enough and had problems water, I objected as we paid to use them and only managed one person shower amongst 2 people. Would suggest to the organisers to use communal showers, have used at the festivals before they are make for a quick shower and good for those with children.

Wickerman 2011

Bad Points:

1. Turn up early on Thursday, to be turned away or queue on the main road, rather than the sensible option to line up inside the main entrance.
2. So called quiet area! Was no quieter than the main camping area, not so bad on Thursday, but just as rowdy over the rest of the weekend.
3. No policing of entry into the quiet camping area, meaning that it was overcrowded from Friday onwards.
4. Extortionate prices, both food and drink.
5. Lack of showering facilities, far too few for the amount of people, And to be told to turn off the water, `cos were trying to save it! What a joke, I paid extra to use the facility, the showers were pathetic on Friday, to be told "were sorting it" I would not use again!

Good Points:
1. Excellent variety in the choice of bands.
2. Excellent venue, beautiful scenery.
3. The arena was kept very clean by the staff throughout the weekend, WELL DONE!
4. Good food, if a tad expensive.
5. The ability to be as close to the bands as possible, without the risk of the usual "mosh pits"
6. Cleanest toilets I have seen at a festival. No need to pay extra to use the "posh toilets" Again WELL DONE!
7. The "burning" and fireworks at the end of the event.
8. The overall "chilled, relaxed atmosphere"

Thank you to all the event organisers, the helpful staff throughout the weekend, see you next year!

Wicker man? Why.

Was not happy about having to pay extra to park at the quite camping as A) there was no warning of this an B) quite camping was busy than the normal camping. I took my baby and we ended up camping next to a group who partied all night. The staff were unable to answer any of the questions we asked them, and the security were a bit abrupt but hey that's security. We thought the shops were all the same, could have had more variety. We though the Wickerman festival was going to be largely influenced on the film bit it was a lot more corporate than we thought. However our family had a great time. We ate really well and absolutely loved the noisettes. Would strongly consider going again though because of how corporate it is.

Best bands set ruined

The biggest band to play at the Wickerman had their set ruined by the sound engineers. They had problems all evening and managed to have one side of the system cut out and back in and out throughout most of the songs in James' set. I hope the organisers get someone in next year who can cope with the job. Prices were very high at £3.60 for a single spirit and mixer or pint of Tuborg - the security wouldn't let you through with any drinks at all - water, soft drinks or alcohol. The food typically expensive at £6.50 for burger and chips. No mention of extra £5 fee for parking near the quiet camp site until you actually got to the entrance and was told pay up or park 15 minutes walk away. There were no checks made to see if people who were pitching on the quiet site were supposed to and the strangest part of the 'quiet' site was how close it was to the tent that had music on 'til 5 in the morning!
Not all bad though - good minxture of bands and although expensive, food outlets. Lots of shops to browse and generally friendly people - although Saturdays day vistors were noticeably more rowdy bunches of lads compared to the much more family feel about Thurs/Friday. Would certainly go again - just hope that the sound engineers know what they're doing and don't need the artists to have to keep telling them what's wrong.

ill

will never no as i ended up in ER , so the hole family missed out ...****...

skiddle bus!

the skiddle area was the only reason why i didn't leave this festival. skiddle brought down their bus and organised some amazing music, the rest of the festival was a bit weak and very small.