Church End Farm Hertfordshire reviews by real event-goers

Review of Sign of the Times

2023 was a great year with 70's 80's music, a great accessible venue and atmosphere; and Notorious Dog, Tom Robinson with great headliners.
2024 had more of a 90's / 00's vibe but still some superb introductions like Buster Shuffle, Dub pistols, The Lottery winners amongst others.
Such a privilege to stand ankle deep in the mud (generated by the worst weekend weather this year), and hear 'Waterboys' plus other awesome live music.
Well done SOTT, a fantastic team!!

Review of Sign of the Times

Some negatives...practical problems included no water supply to the live in vehicles' field. It was very difficult pulling a full aqua roll up the hill before the heavy rain, in the mud it was a nightmare. On the Saturday there was no water at all for a while, nearly causing a riot. The weather obviously caused problems, we were very worried that we would not be able to get off the site with our caravan. There may have been contingency planning in place but it wasn't shared with festival goers. Communication in this situation is vital. I felt sorry for staff who were being asked about issues with water, where to empty caravan toilets, getting off the field, when they had no answers.
The music however was amazing, we didn't see one bad band ( although we did opt out of Toyah, who just doesn't have the voice to cover the songs she chose). We were introduced to music that was totally new to us ( Dub Pistols, Peat and Diesel, The K's ) and were not disappointed by The Waterboys ( who were the main reason that I booked this). Feeder were a superb closing act.
Despite the appalling weather, everyone was incredibly good humoured. All the staff we met were polite and welcoming ( especially the Geordie lads directing new arrivals after 9pm on 04/07). And then there was the big screen for the England match, making a lot of people very happy!
My only other feedback is that the food offerings were ok but could have been more interesting. We saw a Malaysian food stall in Bishop's Stortford on the Saturday, it smelled amazing and was much more appealing than some of the food on offer. Alcohol is always over-priced where you have a captive audience, but £15 for a bottled Tequila c**ktail was just silly.

To sum up, excellent music and atmosphere. Hopefully the practical issues can be ironed out before next year.

Review of Sign of the Times

Unfortunately the sound system wasn't managed to my liking, the bass was far too loud and vocals too soft. The two stages were too close so sounds from one stage were heard when watching bands on the other stage. Only one coffee supplier for a whole festival! Other than that a nice sized festival, easy to get to and loads of marshals. Nice atmosphere amongst staff.

Review of Sign of the Times

I've just attended my 4th year at sign of the times & each year is getting bigger & better! I don't however want it to get too big, but I'm loving how it's progressing! The music & atmosphere is outstanding & I've already got my tickets for next year!

Review of Sign of the Times

Review of Sign of the Times

Review of Sign of the Times

Needed more security within the arena and campsites - I witnessed a lot of drug use. Needed better preparation for the bad weather. Needed more food stalls in the camping area

Review of Sign of the Times

It rained all weekend and the organisers made absolutely zero effort to make it any less muddy, no straw, no wood-chips, even at the most trodden junctions, just a sea of mud from day one. Also every time you come in from the campsite you get physically frisked and patted down and touched up and have all your bags turned out and even camping chairs in case you try to bring in a can of beer. The food is low grade. The sort of thing you used to get at festivals decades ago. If you're camping there isn't even access to those food stalls until about midday or 1pm when the arena opens. Only one catering van in the campsite. The toilets were fine except the mud you had to wade through to get there. The showers were fine, but only 4 cubicles. Everything stops at 11pm except loud generator and engine noises which seemed to go on until about 2am.

Review of Sign of the Times

Review of Sign of the Times

Relaxed atmosphere, so well organised, excellent line-up! Really well laid-out site - easy to get between stages, bar, food and toilets and no big queues for anything!

Review of Sign of the Times

Great festival. Well run. Bands were not as good this year as previous years (they seem to have moved into the 1990s, more than the 1980's) but still worth the money. Not buying the tickets yet for next year until they announce the line up now; as I feel they changed the feel of the music too much this year (2024).

Review of Sign of the Times

friendly. something for everyone. excellent value for money.

Review of Sign of the Times

Review of Sign of the Times

Review of Sign of the Times

We had weekend non-camping tickets and we were also here in 2022 (in the sunshine). SOTT is an excellent small festival and I'd like it not to get any bigger. We had a wonderful time, weather aside! But when the sun came out dancing in the mud is a bit more fun.

Pros:
- Arena loos - well stocked, no queues, thank you! Best I've experienced as a hardened festival goer
- Staff - all were excellent and friendly! Hats off to them in rather tricky conditions!
- Bar queues - pretty much no queues all weekend, excellent!
- Line up - absolutely fantastic, the nest yet!
- Food - fairly good selection but very limited for gluten free (chips!)
- Shut down in thunder storm, good safety protocol and action
- Benches - maybe a few more next year as were always full
- Great size - arena is easy to move around and get from one stage to another (ignoring the mud)

Cons:
- W**d smell - everywhere! Nothing being done about it. Was disgusting and had two kids with me.
- Bar prices - bit expensive for the choices
- Big top music - too loud, clashes badly with main stage
- Mud - very little prep and proactive action over the course of the weekend
- More shelter - for rain & sun
- Loos on the other side too would have been good but small enough area to walk back to the entrance
Recycling - can this be provided for / encouraged next year?

However, I do love this festival, recommend and will be back.

Review of Sign of the Times

Few little changes required. Getting there tho, been to everyone. More covered areas come rain or shine. Loos at various areas. Water and waste near motorhome site. Few more food options - veggie! Not complaining, as had great fun and enjoyed every minute.

Review of Sign of the Times

Great little festival with top rated bands. The entry took a little longer than expected to get in but once inside the gates it was well set up. Toilets remained decent for the time we were there. The food options were good.
It might be worth adding some boardwalks for when it rains inside and in the carpark to avoid problems with mud. A couple more shelters wouldn't go amiss.
We'd definitely go again. Good to bring children. We felt very comfortable letting our young teens go off by themselves as the site was fairly small.
If there was any extension to the festival, perhaps a fairground ride would be fun for kids/teens.

Review of Sign of the Times

Review of Sign of the Times

We had a Sunday day ticket, but decided to get there for about 6pm due to the weather. We had an absolutely brilliant time. The bands we saw were amazing, especially Turin Brakes and Feeder, who we hasn't seen for years.

Despite a lot of mud, some rain and a brief thunderstorm, there was a happy, chilled, friendly vibe.

The venue had everything we needed. We had a delicious Wow pizza and used the tequila bar and one of the main bars, where the staff were friendly. The toilet floors were unavoidably muddy but were otherwise clean for festival toilets. The entire field was pure mud, but it's to be expected after so much rain.

We would definitely recommend the festival and hope to return next year for the whole weekend. Fingers crossed for drier weather next time!

Review of Sign of the Times