Laura Taylor, performer, poet, and friend of FFA took in the Ravenstonedale last weekend. Here’s her review….

I have just spent the weekend at one of the North’s best kept secrets – Ravenstonedale Festival, in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria. A small but perfectly formed festival with approximately 500 punters, set in the stunning landscape of Eden Valley at the foot of the Howgills. A dramatic setting with dramatic weather to match, they don’t do things by halves in Cumbria!

As I was only performing on the Saturday, I decided to resist the temptation of Friday night partying so missed the apparently biblical rain on the Friday night! Within two minutes of being on-site though, I’d managed to wedge my car deep into the sodden ground, but the wonderfully friendly and capable staff located a tractor and had me towed out of there in no time. 

Photo: Ross Monaghan (Lost Panda Productions)

A three day event, the festival provides some excellent entertainment from up and coming performers of all kinds, from spoken word/poetry, to DJs, and bands.  There’s a bar stage (the Raven’s Nest) with drinks at extremely reasonable prices, an acoustic stage (the Melodrome, where most of the spoken word acts took place), the PixyDiscRecordings Welfare Tent, which is one of the dinkiest chill-out/welfare tents I’ve ever come across (think a miniature Dogs in Space, and you’re there), and a full-on Dance Tent which played some of the best dance tunes I’ve heard at a festie in a long time!

The choice of food was generous, given the limited amount of space on site, and there were enough vegetarian options to keep us both happy and well fed. All reasonably priced too, and of a very high standard.

The toilets were clean all weekend which is always welcome, although there could have been more toilet roll provided, but I’m not complaining given the all-round perfection otherwise.

And the punters - what a crowd! Clearly most of these were hardened small festival goers, all completely up for it and intent on having a proper party.  A good mix of old ravers and younger dementeds, we all got on famously, and made 20 new best festie friends each. A friend had told me previously that Ravenstonedale was just like ‘a mini Beat-Herder’, and she was spot on. 

I saw some wonderful acts this weekend, both musical and spoken word, and will definitely apply to perform there next year. 

This festie is a little belter, one of the best discoveries so far on the festie map. I’m giving it 10 out of 10 for everything – you’ll have to see for yourself how good it is!

More about the festival HERE.

Article by Laura Taylor