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Kendal Calling returns next month with hundreds of acts and thousands of people set to descend on Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District.
The festival has traditionally been very popular with Prestonians looking to catch a mid-sized festival with a little bit more of a chilled out atmosphere than the very biggest.
And the smaller stages at the festival have usually tended to feature acts from Preston on the way up, with Evil Blizzard, Pinstripe Pigeon Band and many more all appearing.
Read more: Kendal Calling 2024 headliners announced along with over 100 line-up names
This year, which runs from August 1-4, will feature headline performances from Paolo Nutini, Noel Gallagher, The Streets and Paul Heaton with Rianne Downey. Heather Baron-Gracie, of Pale Waves who are high up the bill, is from Preston while Granfalloon, who will play the Woodlands Stage, is a regular performer at The Ferret.
Here’s our guide for anyone making the journey up the M6 for Kendal Calling.
Travel
Direct coach tickets from Preston are available for either the Thursday or Friday and cost around £25.
Shuttle buses run from Penrith Railway Station to the festival between 10am and 6.45pm on Thursday and 8.30am and 7.15pm on Friday. Then it runs between 6am and 1.15pm for the journey home on Monday.
If you are driving, leave the the M6 at junction 39 and follow signs for Shap/A6. The festival advises that you turn the SatNav off. For drop off, follow signs for green gate, for everyone else, you are looking for red gate.
Weather
It’s the Lake District and it’d be fair to describe the weather as ‘changeable’. The same applies to the forecast, which can pivot from dreamland to quagmire in a matter of hours.
At Blog Preston, we use the Met Office only for our forecasts and they haven’t yet got dedicated day-by-day predictions up.
The line in their long-range forecast that “showers and occasional spells of rain are likely to affect all regions at times” will come as little surprise but at the moment it appears that the most likely outcome is a mixed bag.
Banned items
Items banned from the campsite: Animals (except assistance dogs), blowtorches, Chinese lanterns, campfires, children under 16 who are unsupervised, fireworks, flares, glass, perfume or aftershaves, weapons, illegal substances, drugs, liquid fuels, selfie sticks, walkie talkies.
Items banned from the arena: all the above plus, aerosols, alcohol (you can buy inside the arena), disposable barbecues, cans, compact mirrors, gas stoves, knives for cooking, small hammers, soft drinks above 500ml.
The festival warns that alcohol taken into the campsite must be taken in on your first entry into the festival.
Other bits
Your parking pass will cover you for Thursday even if it only says Friday to Sunday on it.
Tickets are sent out via post unless otherwise stated.
The festival is cashless.
Phone-charging sites are available on site but they aren’t free.
Headline acts finish by 11pm with other entertainment in the arena until 3am.
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