Answers to the questions we get asked the most at ALSO HQ….
FESTIVAL INFO
ALSO is the festival where ideas run wild and it returns for its tenth edition over the 12th - 14th July 2024 weekend. The festival is set in the heart of Warwickshire (CV35 9HJ) and the site is completely wild and untamed — this is incredible for lots of reasons including being close to such a range of wildlife, for being able to spend a weekend in nature, the relaxing effects of our awe-inspiring view of the lake... All of this is so great for health and mental health, for feelings of well-being and a fix of being in nature in the UK summer. It’s not great for heels or sending PowerPoint presentations.
How should I plan my weekend?
There is plenty to do, see, hear and take part in at ALSO and most events are run on a turn-up basis leaving you free to enjoy your time with us to suit your mood at the weekend.
Some workshops, masterclasses, or experiences, as we call them, give our guests the opportunity to dive deeper into any aspect of ALSO they enjoy. They range in level and technique and materials needed to get them to work in the field and are priced accordingly, our ambition is to always have something for everyone. Experiences bookings opens from May 2024.
Do you have an overview of the schedule?
To help you plan your weekend with us, we get the schedule published two months in advance of the festival so you can plan some of your time with us. This does mean sometimes venues and events have to change — this is always because of events beyond our control — but we do our best to keep this to a minimum.
We have a number of paid, bookable, workshops, designed to go deeper into the subject or to have a go at trying the subject out. We aim to make the workshops a real chance to have a go at something unusual, and the chance to explore the pleasures of food and drink a little bit more. ALSO is the festival where ideas run wild and part of the idea of ALSO is that we try to connect you with many many ideas in the hope that one might be the one you’re looking for or that can help you with what you’re focusing on in your life right now. The more open you are to the experience the more likely this is to occur. Experiences bookings open in May 2024.
But it doesn’t matter if you’re going to book on everything or if you’re on a tight budget, ALSO24 is designed to be bursting with ideas and experiences for all.
What facilities are there?
ALSO is a very small but upmarket festival and has toilets and showers to match.
We also offer private toilets for those who would prefer their own..
We do not have an ATM on-site, but cards are accepted across the site.
We do not have WiFi on-site, but 4G reception is good, depending on your provider.
Camping
We have 50 acres of beautiful parkland to camp in so plenty of options where to set up for the weekend. It is a rare site because underneath the wildness is Capability Brown’s landscaping who designed our site when it was part of the Compton Verney estate. This mixture of sculpted landscape covered over with two centuries of nature gradually reclaiming it gives the site both feelings of natural beauty and designed beauty and because like so few festivals you are able to camp in the actual site that the festival takes place we suggest you enjoy this — oh — and we also ask that you please do not pitch your tent under trees.
Cars
There is free parking up at the main entrance in which you can walk into the site no problem. Access is via Gate/entrance A.
Car passes
Alternatively, we have a number of car passes which means you can bring your car onto the actual site via Gate/entrance B. Further details below.
Campervans
We love Campervans (including caravans and motorhomes) and there is a place for them which is on the main site. You will need a Campervan Pass to park there. If you’ve purchased a Campervan Pass (or a car pass) you will need to access ALSO via Gate/entrance B.
Do you have a map of the gates/entrances?
The map of the gates/entrances is pictured below:
I don’t want to camp, is there a hotel?
Mercure Warwickshire Walton Hall, a 4 Star Hotel and Spa, is next door to the site, however, we are in 50 acres and they are in 70 so it is a 10-minute drive away (or half an hour over wild ground for any hikers). There is also The Charlecote Pheasant a car journey away.
How do I get there?
We are in a wild site which is great but it does mean there is very little signage on the roads surrounding ALSO and there is a limit to how much signage we can put in place, so we recommend having those directions downloaded, and to hand.
Also Festival can be put into a Sat Nav.
Is there free parking?
Yes, there is free parking in the main car park, accessed via Gate/entrance A.
Are cars allowed on site?
There are no unregistered cars allowed on-site at ALSO. The main car park is at the top of the site and the walk down to the main site is a few minutes.
We offer a limited number of car pass ticket which allows you to park next to where you camp — car passes can be purchased here. Access to this area is via Gate/entrance B.
Are there any shuttles or buses? How much are taxis? Where is the nearest station?
The nearest station is Leamington Spa, there are great advance tickets on the train if anyone’s based in London. There are no shuttle buses available but taxis to and from the station are approx £20. We will have taxi numbers at information but we really recommend pre-booking if you intend to leave from the festival on the Sunday because this is a remote site and we don’t want you to have to wait around.
Local taxi numbers:
- Jim Red Taxis — 07930 337 249
- Leamington Spa Taxis — 01926 801 901
- Avon Knight — 01926 881161
- Runarun Cabs — 07702 941748
- Dawn To Dusk — 07768 436662
How do I volunteer?
Each year we grow ALSO’s ambition a little, taking what is possible to do in a field and we can do this because of the volunteers who work with us both on build and delivery. Find out more about becoming a volunteer here. Please consider volunteering or suggesting friends who might get something out of it. We often develop close and mutually beneficial relationships with our volunteers and many of both our talent and our delivery team have started out as volunteers that we got to know. It’s a lovely way of being both part of the ALSO team and learning how to create and deliver a show. Essential life skills — we believe!
What food do you have at ALSO?
We really love to eat and we are really proud of what we are able to create in a totally wild site for ALSO. We support diverse founders and choose a number of concessions that are excellent in terms of animal welfare and sustainability. The concessions are designed to make the widest variety of food available so there are options for whoever you’re coming with and their food choices, including vegan and vegetarian, and we have our Deli of Dreams where food produced by those with great ethics, diverse founders or locally made can be bought to enhance your lakeside or tent side eating. We’re really trying to reduce our plastic right down so the less you bring in (looking at you supermarkets) the happier we’ll all be.
To provide much more variety, we supplement our concessions with our dining and tasting experiences marquee and host a number of dining events over the weekend and they are open for booking. We recommend doing these — they are an absolute highlight of the festival, they also mean we can offer so much more variety in terms of food by having workshops that also include a breakfast or a lunch. Win, win we say….
Can we bring food and alcohol?
We do our best to cater to every need of all our visitors. Only alcohol bought from festival bars can be drunk in the main arena and, because the site is on farmland, we cannot have any glass brought on site by order of the swans, sheep and wild birds who live here year-round.
Fires
We don’t allow open fires on-site including BBQs. Gas grill combos and camping stoves are allowed but you must be used responsibly and safely, please have water to hand to extinguish if needed.
Do you know what the start and finish time of the acts is likely to be?
We open the site from 12pm on Friday 12th July with programming starting from around 6pm on the Friday evening and beginning around 8am on Saturday and Sunday.
Programming wraps up Sunday 14th July around 7pm but the festival stays open later and we’ll be celebrating our 11th year so do join us.
Can we stay over on Sunday night?
You are welcome to stay over on Sunday night we just just ask that you are off site by 10am on the Monday as we need to get the field ready for the sheep. Please note this is at the organisers’ discretion and at your own risk.
Hay fever and hot weather.
If you suffer from hay fever or allergies, we highly recommend you bring antihistamines for those high pollen count days.
As we are on our way to being plastic-free, we will have limited plastic bottles of water for sale on-site, but we do have two water points on site and reusable ALSO water canteens available to purchase.
Can we bring dogs to the festival?
As much as we love our furry friends, the land really belongs to the sheep so the farmer says no dogs on site.
Where do I find my tickets?
Your tickets are automatically sent to the email address on your payment account as soon as they are bought.
If you’ve lost your tickets, have changed emails, or deleted them, don’t worry we can retrieve them — however, this can take a bit of time as we get closer to the festival.
Can I get a refund on my ticket?
Tickets are non-refundable but we do understand plans can change. A ticket can be transferred to another name or rolled over to the following year with an admin charge - please use our ‘Ticket Rollover / Name Transfer Fee’ option. This can be done up to two weeks in advance, email info@also-festival.com to confirm.
Can I get a refund for a workshop?
If you are able to, please buy all tickets for any workshops you would like to do in advance via the website once these become available. Apologies, we are unable to offer refunds for workshops but you're more than welcome to put your details on The Tower of ALSO and this can act as an informal place to swap tickets.
And now for the not very frequently asked questions…..
What can I bring?
If you are coming by car / camper we really encourage you to bring everything you need and to make this sculpted parkland festival your own for the weekend and why not dig deep — think creatively for whatever you might want or need for the weekend — you are kinda setting up home for the weekend in an extraordinarily beautiful place. PLUS we are so unusual as a site that there is not a huge amount of walking (unless you want to) and so it is possible to be ambitious in how comfortable you can make it — you can bring loads and get it from the car as you need it — as the weather does its thing…..We have seen in the field in no particular order….extravagant picnic blankets, extra duvets, fold up chairs, tables, lights to dress yourself in, wetsuits, umbrellas, wine chillers, opera singers, candelabra with electric candles, yoga mats, waterproofs, hat, gloves, walking boots, extra socks, jumpers, wellies, inflatables, gazebos, reusable coffee cups and water bottles, paddleboards, something warm, glamorous and sparkly to wear for Saturday night.
If you’re coming by train concentrate on what you’re going to wear to be in weather. We really recommend 80s ski wear chic — ticks all the boxes. It’s a very friendly crowd — someone will share their blanket, gazebos, see above.
If you’re coming by bike — we love you and we plan to do much more for bikers in the next few years.
Please don’t bring loads of single-use plastic (last year we had to hire a jumbo skip just for the hummus pots), pets (the ghost of ALSO eats them at night) or much booze (we’ve built bars just for you).
What shall I wear?
We recommend dressing for the weather which we know is hard. Comfortable clothing for the wellness sessions (and you will need your own mat or towel for these), Those who have read the T&Cs in detail will know that you can actually be asked to leave ALSO for wearing walking trousers that zip off at the knees so think on. Just kidding! Kinda! So clothes are always a big theme for ALSO and even bigger for 2024 because rethinking clothes is so good for the planet. However, if you find clothes hard — think second-hand 80s ski wear is perfect for all weathers. We are asking people to wear on Saturday night (or anytime through the weekend) clothes they have in their wardrobe that make them feel great but that they never get to wear.
How do I apply for a carer ticket?
If you would like to come to the festival and require a full time carer, please purchase your ticket then email us at info@also-festival.com, attaching their proof of carer status, and we will issue them a ticket too.
We’re so looking forward to seeing you in the field at ALSO24…
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