Derbyshire Sausage and Cider Festival – Mums on Tour

So, what happened when several slightly over-excited and over-ripened mummies descended on the Derbyshire Sausage and Cider Festival content in the knowledge they had neither children nor menfolk to think about?

Well, we knew things were on the up as we skipped around the supermarket en route belting out a little “Freedom” by George Michael, complete with the odd garland pilfered from our toddlers’ dressing up boxes. A few raised eyebrows from onlookers didn’t even dampen our spirits as we piled as much beige food into our trollies as we thought our bodies could take, feeling mightily rebellious.

On arrival, the strict booze allowance and thorough searches we could see taking place caused a little consternation as one member of our party admitted she had sneaked an extra 4 whole cans into her tent. She is no hardened criminal and admitted to sweating profusely as our turn came. For some reason, the security guard clearly decided we were no threat…possibly the granny trolley, mint tea and full case of cleaning paraphernalia had something to do with it, and after a perfunctory search, we were waved through.

We were struck straight away by the excellent organisation of the site: Main events field being central with camp fields all around meaning walking about was kept to a minimum, well-manned gates meaning continual movement, walk ways roped off and adorned with lights, plenty of CLEAN showers and LOT of toilets (thank the lord!!!)

Whilst we’re on the subject…what were the toilets like? This was, I think, my biggest concern after hearing stories of poo mountains at other festivals and not being 20 anymore. Well, as mentioned, there were plenty at each campsite and in the main events field; and the morning after the first day, we saw the lorry come to empty them, so it would seem they emptied and cleaned them every day. They were certainly much cleaner than I expected and stayed that way throughout, never running out of loo roll.  Derbyshire Sausage and Cider Festival toilet cleaners – I salute and thank you!

Another major concern of mine was food. Always. We were not allowed to bring certain types of BBQs in, ruling ours out and although the Festival had “sausage” in the title, you can never be too sure. The food on offer was actually pretty bloomin’ amazing with a whole row of a variety of artisan stalls offering pasta, pizza, wraps, chicken, pulled pork, pasties, cakes, even strawberries and cream as well as every type of sausage you can think of! The only downside was the stall they put in the actual campsite with soggy bacon baps and general dimwittery on offer for breakfast leading us to eat an eclectic mix of bananas and crisps until the main field opened at noon.

The music on offer was pretty much all covers bands, which isn’t the coolest option, but as I am not cool, it didn’t particularly bother me. In fact “Take This” and Steps 2 had me foot stomping whilst the Oasis tribute were absolutely brilliant, totes taking me back to my student days! If we’re really being honest, by the time we’d had a few ciders (particularly the one with mango in – YUM!) anyone could have been on stage and we’d have been happy!

The cider system was another good example of well thought-out organisation by Derbyshire Sausage and Cider Festival. You went to a booth (again, plenty of them) to pay for a cup token and “apple tokens” which you then took to one of the enormous marquees to exchange for the cider of your choice. The queues moved fast and the choice was brilliant – could have fizzy or flat, dry, sweet, perries, flavoured with various other fruits, there really was something for every palate. There was also a prosecco and cocktails van and lager was also available.

Being the rock chicks we are, we decided we were quite done with the main events by about 9pm and to get back to our camp (adorned with lovely feminine touches like bunting and fairylights which we are not usually allowed I might add.) We took the opportunity whilst camp was quiet to have showers and a spot of mint tea (again, living festival lifestyle to its fullest.)

We were prepared for camp to liven up a little when everybody else made their way back from the main events…and this was certainly the case! In fact, one of our party decided to pop to the loo at around chuck out time and ran back shortly screaming “run for your lives!” Apparently, a sea of folk descended, many on the verge of vomiting, generally shouting, singing, swaying and…collapsing. The volume increased exponentially as they made their way back to camp and stayed that way for a good 5 hours. We valiantly tried to get to sleep around midnight, but most were kept up by the call for “Alan!” making its way round the field, shouting, chanting and singing.

We were not refreshed when we awoke as some tool on the site had managed to keep their 6 am alarm call, and then snoozed it repeatedly. Also, we were expecting it to be quiet in the morning after all the excesses of the previous night…ha ha ha!!! No, they were all up with the lark and ready to start again…oh to be young!!

So, what have we learned for next time at the Derbyshire Sausage and Cider Festival?

• We will be staying in the “quiet” field.
• We will take ear plugs anyway.
• We will keep to the booze limit as we took approximately half of ours back with us.
• All of us will invest in Trangia burners (look them up – cheap, basic and brill!)
• An all-female camp is a happy place to be!

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Derbyshire Sausage and Cider Festival, found it excellent value for money and are raring to go for next year!

Check out these campsites near to various festivals:

Somerset – Petruth Paddocks Free Range Camping,

Cornwall – Lower Penderleath Campsite

Devon – Forest Glade Holiday Park

Ceredigian – Canvas & Campfires

Pembrokeshire – Bôn Camping

Can’t fit it in your car? Try an easy-to-use trailer courtesy of Venter Trailers UK