Review commissioned for Ryedale and Thirsk Mumbler, July 2024.
The short version:
Well organised, great food, good bands, funny comedians and lots of activities for kids. Deer Shed was a big hit for us and we can’t wait for next year!
The full version:
Comedy, music, festival food, glitter, sports, science, sun cream and rain coats: we were lucky to go to Deer Shed Festival for the first time this year and had an amazing time! We didn’t know what to expect (we’re not seasoned festival goers – I don’t even like Portaloos!) and were delighted to find that we’d been missing out for the past few years!
From receiving the tickets electronically via SEE Tickets, to parking and entry, the whole event was planned to precision and the organisers had thought of just about everything. The crew and volunteers worked tirelessly all weekend to keep the site clean and ensure everything was running smoothly.
It’s not a cheap weekend, but does include camping, then you really don’t have to spend a lot while you’re there (but it’s very tempting). The programme was £10 and this included the timetable of events in each tent/area. It was a must to get one so that we could plan what we wanted to do the most, and then also found things by chance as we were passing. Many of the family activities were included in the ticket price, the highlights for us being Tinker Town and the Planetarium.
There are a number of paid events and workshops and we missed out on some of those as they were already sold out when we got there (we need to plan ahead and seek out information before the event next year!), but then there were sessions that only took bookings on the day, making it fairer to get a turn.
From Yoga to calligraphy, Jedi fighting to robot making, the workshops catered for a range of interests and most looked to be good value, though we didn’t pay to do any. We did smile to ourselves seeing families walking round laden with junk models later in the day! A trolley seemed to be a valuable festival resource and these could be hired at the entrance or people had taken their own. There were children riding in some, sleeping in others, and some full of all the kit (drinks bottles, clothes for all seasons, junk models etc!).
Food
The programme stated:
“Eating well at a festival is very important, right?”
“We don’t accept any trader with less than a 4 star rating (the vast majority are five stars) – we are really picky who gets to come along.”
“We are also acutely aware that value for money is important…”
…and this was true.
There were so many different vendors to choose from, and some delicious treats to try that were not all extortionately priced. It was great to see vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options clearly marked on menus, especially as it can be really difficult for those who are vegan or coeliac to eat out at events like these. We had loaded fries (£8-10) from Spud Gun while one of our party went for noodles then had food envy (the noodles were great, too)! I have an unusual allergy that’s not one of the 14 notifiable food types but the staff on the stall were great, looking up the ingredients for me before I ordered my Cajun fries – spot on!
We tried huge ice creams from Yorkshire Dales Ice Cream (£4 for a medium cone - don’t tell them but a small one would have been plenty!) and, of course, sampled the lager and cider from one of the pub tents! The whole event aims to be single-use plastic free and so reusable cups were sold at the bars. These were £2.50 but could be swapped out at each new drink, hot or cold, and then exchanged for a special 2024 version on the Sunday.
Shopping
If you like your festival attire, there were plenty of stalls selling everything from vintage Converse to animal tails, and strawberry shaped felt hats to hair braids. We didn’t go for face paints or glitter but our daughter got her first hair braid, which was quickly clipped in and should last for around a month.
You could buy festival merchandise which seemed reasonably priced, and much of it was organic. There really was an eco feel about the festival, without being too primitive! That brings me to the toilets…
Toilets
Not being a fan of a wild wee, I often worry about toilets at events; I’m a fussy pants but I survived! There were typical Portaloos, compostable sawdust loos, and eco urinals so we could take our pick! Each of the toilets was regularly cleaned and kept topped up with toilet roll, though Sunday morning was a little worse for wear in the Portaloo department! Hand gel was available at the toilets on the Friday and Saturday but unfortunately, this had mostly run out on the Sunday. Always have some in your pocket!
Music
We were lucky to hear a few artists throughout the weekend but wish we’d been able to hear more. We could nip between stages to hear different styles and enjoyed sitting in the evening sun listening to Katherine Priddy on the Saturday evening. A top tip for next year is to listen to the artists on the Spotify playlist ahead of the weekend and plan out our favourites. We looked across during Katherine’s set and saw a young boy singing along to every word so he’d done his prep work!
We heard Personal Trainer from outside the tent and wished we’d gone in! They’ll definitely be one to look out for next year. On Sunday, Melin Melyn was good, too, and comical. They made a funny joke about having been to ‘that school over there,’ not realising it was an all-girls’ school!
Comedy
We settled into the Big Top Tent on Saturday afternoon for the comedy shorts and laughed along to Katie Pritchard (MC), Olaf Falafel, and Su Mi. Katie Pritchard entertained us with the Banana Song (and our daughter managed to catch the flying banana!) and her funny ‘Girl Bond’ song. Olaf Falafel’s ‘mind reading mic stand’ made us chuckle: one man in the audience was caught wondering if crabs think people walk sideways, and another was thinking, ‘Surely not everybody was Kung Fu Fighting?’ Su Mi’s song about having IBS might not have been to everyone’s taste but it was light-hearted, family-friendly comedy and that’s what we needed.
Camping
Unfortunately for us, we weren’t able to camp this time and, living down the road, we could pop home to our own beds, feed the dog and get to swimming training early on Sunday morning! I asked a friend who knew people who did camp and they’d found everything to be good, even when the water ran out and the showers stopped working – all quickly rectified/supplemented.
Keeping Little People Busy
Deer Shed is a festival where children are not just tolerated but are celebrated! A whole host of activities were included in the programme this year for babies, toddlers, children and teens: from the Sports’ Arena to Feral Farm, there was something to suit all interests. Feral Farm saw building with bales, which turned into a straw storm as children chucked it at each other, laughing their socks off as they did so – I’m still finding straw in my socks, my hair and around the house!
The Sports Arena was great during the day but petered off a bit towards the end, which was when we went in on the Saturday so we missed the organised activities, unfortunately. The front lawn of the beautiful building that houses Queen Mary’s School may have never been so busy! There was a choreographed (we hope!) wrestling match going on in the evening when we were in the arena. We didn’t see this advertised but it had drawn quite a crowd! If we’d been there for the whole weekend, our children would have spent more time in the Sports Arena and could have timed the activities around everything else we got up to.
A walk through the Science Tent provided activities to suit all tastes, from retro computer games to lasers, a planetarium and soldering. Some activities needed to be booked and paid for, and seemed to be very popular. We made it our mission to get into the planetarium on the Sunday morning, and queued up early. Someone in the queue told us that the person at the front of the queue on the Saturday morning had booked 10 places at once, nearly all of them! They weren’t popular!
Tinker Town had to be one of the best and most unusual activities we’ve come across. My background as an early years teacher helps with understanding the benefits of activities like this but watching our nine and 12 year olds getting stuck in and hammering nails into pallets to build a play house really made me think how the national curriculum is too narrow and we need to enable older children to take risks and learn in this way. We headed back for a second go on Sunday, and then a third!
Tree climbing was a popular activity, with children dangling from the trees on safety ropes throughout the event! We hope to find this somewhere else, or book in for a turn next year as we missed our chance, and it seemed great value at just £5. You could also do kayaking for £10 for 30 mins on the lake in the grounds. There was a small (ish) Ferris Wheel for those wanting a view over the festival, and you could survey the site from the hill, looking down onto the main stage with a drink in hand.
Would we go again?
Absolutely! We’d love to go with friends or family, give the kids a budget, book a few activities in advance, and make the most of the whole weekend. Our first festival was a huge hit and we look forward to next year!
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