We recognise that disabled people bring important contributions and perspectives, and their presence at the festival is valuable. We are focused on trying to make Buddhafield as accessible as possible and value feedback and suggestions.
We recognise that disabilities come in a wide range of forms, including mobility needs, sensory needs, mental health, neurodiversity and many, many others. Many disabilities are invisible and fluctuate. We strongly encourage those who feel that their disability may make it difficult for them to attend, to get in touch to discuss this. We will try to support as many needs as possible, in whatever ways are practical.
ACCESSIBILITY-FOCUSED QUESTIONS
Many of the common questions are answered below. However, please do get in touch if you have any other questions. We want to encourage people to access the festival and can provide support if needed. If any of these things apply to you and you want to talk it through, contact us and we'll see what creative solutions are possible.
Also, some people feel more comfortable if they have articulated their needs or specific situation before arriving somewhere – even if they are aiming to be independent. If you want to arrange a call before booking your tickets, please contact us.
What is the festival terrain like?
The Festival is distributed across a total of four fields, gently sloping on both sides of a valley.
Most tracks have a slope, tend to be uneven and gravelly. In very bad weather tracks between the lower arena fields (Rings and Owl) into the Long Field will be challenging for wheelchairs; entrances in and out of all fields get muddy after persistent rain. People do use powered mobility aids around the site, but please check your specific model is suitable, and off-road models are advisable. Some companies hire electric mobility aids that may be suitable for festival use.
For safety reasons, we are unable to allow free passage of cars between fields for any reason, so please do not consider a motor vehicle bigger than a motorised chair as a viable mode of transit around the site.
Is there accessible camping?
Yes. The accessible camping area is central to the festival and close to disabled toilet facilities.
We can accept live-in vehicles in this area.
For accessible camping, it’s possible for you to have one of the following:
- Support to get your equipment to accessible camping
- The ability to drive close to accessible camping for pick-up/ drop off and then return your car to the car park
- If needed, you may be able to park your car next to your tent
Please note that we have limited space in this area. You do not need to be registered disabled or disclose the full details of your needs to access this area. However, as space is limited, please consider whether you can manage in other areas of the festival before requesting a spot. We may be able to assist you in other ways that mean that you can do that so please do get in touch to enquire.
Applications for accessible camping can be made here. Please note that if you have requested contact about your application that we do not usually begin to look at applications until closer to the event there may be a delay before you get a reponse.
How far is it from the car park to the camping area?
It’s around a ten-minute walk to the main camping field. The terrain is mostly flat with slopes in between the fields. There is a hardcore trackway running through the site.
Will there be someone available to help with my setup?
Yes – if you need help with putting up your tent in the main camping area, one of the stewards can help you find a team member to support that.
If you have a place in accessible camping and need help to set up there, we will radio ahead to our welfare tent - which is right in that area - and a team member from there will be waiting to assist.
Is there power for charging electric / power-assisted wheelchair batteries?
Unfortunately, as we are off-grid, we cannot offer charging for electric wheelchairs. If you check with the wheelchair provider or your local mobility support, sometimes they can recommend places in different areas of the country where wheelchair batteries can be charged.
Are there disabled toilets?
Yes - there are two sets of disabled toilets on site - one in the main camping field and one near accessible camping. At present we don’t have wheelchair accessible showers - but this is an aspiration for the future.
Do you provide chairs for your events?
We do try to supply different seating options in our mediation areas and workshops. However, we cannot guarantee that we will have suitable chairs for everyone and so it's best to bring your own, where possible.
Is there a place I can refrigerate my medication?
We have no refrigeration facilities at any of our sites.
Is sign language provided for talks?
At present we don’t offer signing for talks or workshops, nor a festival programme for the hard of seeing, but please contact us to ask about particular assistance we can offer; if we know in advance, we can plan to help you. Once you’re on site, ask at the Info Point for any specific help and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.
Do you offer carer tickets?
Yes, we do - please book your tickets and upload your proof of concession. Then contact us with your ticket information and your carer's name and date of birth. A member of the team will then add your carer ticket.
Do you offer free parking for Blue Badge holders?
Yes we do - please add a no-cost vehicle ticket to your booking when purchasing your tickets. You can also book vehicle passes separately if you already have your entry tickets.
I need to camp in a quiet area - is this possible?
Although there is nowhere on site that is completely noise- or activity-free, stewards can point you in the direction of areas that are further away from noise or likely to be less densely populated with people during the event.
Are there any quiet spaces within the event space?
There are no areas that are completely noise or that we can guarantee will be people free. However, we do hold a quiet lounge space at our info point tent that you are welcome to visit at any time during their opening hours which are published in the festival programme. You can also go to welfare where they have comfortable couches and a team on hand to support people. For outdoor space, you may like to make your way to the woodland glade are which is often less crowded and has hammocks in the trees where you can take some time out.
Can I see the event spaces and/or timetable beforehand to help me prepare to be on site?
While the festival site does change from year-to-year, there are many things about it that stay the same. You can see pictures of the festival site and some of the areas here. The festival programme is published online before the event and will be available on the event page from around the beginning of June. To be notified when it comes out, please sign up for our newsletter or socials - links for these are above. Please note that the programme only contains some of the timings for events at the festival. This is because there are usually changes right up until the start and so it's not possible to confirm these before the programme print deadline. However, these are usually available once the event has started and you can see times for the current day and the next day's events on our information boards. The info tent will also be able to help with days beyond that.
Other helpful information
We recognise that neurodiversity takes many forms and that individual needs can vary. We are unlikely to meet all of these in an FAQ like this. Please do contact us if you want to discuss anything that you might need.
In the meantime, we will keep adding information below as people continue to tell us about things that they would have found it helpful to know in advance before attending our event for the first time:
- The layout of the festival can change from year to year. We publish a map in the programme which show the broad strokes and areas but if there is something you would particularly like to check on before the event, please get in touch.
- Many of our workshops and events happen at the same time. While we try to be sensitive about very loud noises in the vicinity of our workshop and talk areas, some crossover of noise does happen and can be distracting.