Essential Info

The Festival

It is with great pleasure that we present to you The Kelburn Garden Party. Truly independent and boutique, The Garden Party is an utterly unique event in a spectacular setting on Scotland’s West Coast. The line-up features an unparalleled range of musical styles and top quality performers assembled especially for your enjoyment. Aside from all the wonderful music, there is ample activities and attractions for kids, both big and small, as well as many secret gigs and goings-on in nooks and crannies around the site. The festival is free from corporate interference, and is brought to life by the tireless efforts of the organisers, volunteers, performers and of course you, our friendly campers and dancers! We earnestly hope you can join us this year and partake in the many delights we have on offer. Here is what you need to know.

The Venue

The Garden Party is taking place in the stunningly lush grounds surrounding Kelburn Castle, near Largs (40mins from Glasgow, 90mins from Edinburgh), known around the world as the site of the Graffiti Project. Entertainment will be spread over a number of intimate and unusual areas throughout the site: Viewpoint Stage, Square Stage, Pyramid Stage, Secret Forest, The Lawn, The Pavilion, Formal Gardens and around the lush glen that rises above the site.

Festival goers can enjoy, at their leisure, one of Kelburn’s most outstanding features: the glen. In the space of just over half a mile, the Kel burn, which has helped to form the glen over thousands of years, rises on the moors 800 feet above the castle and drops dramatically, by way of many waterfalls and deep gorges, to the sea. The glen is a wealth of wild flowers and ferns, shrubs and trees, partly cultivated but predominantly wild, and rugged trails criss-cross the burn, providing a little workout for those who feel the need.

The campsite is just a few minutes walk from the festival site, is grassy and spacious, and affords spectacular view across the Firth of Clyde to Cumbrae and the Islands beyond.

Here’s a map of the area.

Food & Drink

Here at Kelburn we like to look after our tummies, and we have a wide and tasty selection of food from your old-schoolfairground tuck to traditional Scottish fare using locally sourced ingredients, woodfired pizzas, curries and even a Japanese kitchen. Drink is equally diverse with a range of respected Scottish breweries provided ales, lager and cider on tap. There will be a cocktails bar available too. Proper tea and coffee are of course standard.

Kids

We welcome kids of all ages to The Garden Party this year. Kelburn Country Park has endless facilities to keep everyone entertained, from adventure assault courses, a falconry, and secret woodland trails. We also have some dedicated entertainment for our younger visitors – The Secret Forest Project was a massive hit last year, and returns in 2013. There is also a supervised kids play area in the wooden fort, and a weekend long programme of workshops and activites. Kids under 13 go free, those older need to have standard tickets. ID will be required on entry. Naturally, we ask that all children under the age of 18 are supervised.

Tickets

Tickets are available on this site through Paypal, at usual outlets in Edinburgh & Glasgow as well as on Ticketweb. They are limited to just 900, and we expect them to go fast. Kids are welcome at this years festival, under 13s go free, everyone else must purchase a standard ticket. For more information on tickets and where to purchase go to the ticket page. Tickets include weekend camping, EXCEPT Friday night, when there is an extra charge for camping and warm-up entertainment.

Times

The campsite is open from Friday afternoon, with the Country Centre open till 6pm. On Friday night from 8pm we’ll be having a warm-up party with a selection of great bands and DJs to get your hips swinging – tickets for this are sold separately on arrival for £10 (to cover our costs). Food stalls will be open as will a bar. The festival kicks off officially on Saturday at 12 noon, and runs till 3am on Monday morning. The campsite is open till Monday afternoon.

Travel

The festival site is very easy to reach. Trains go to Largs from Glasgow on a regular basis, and from Largs it is a very short and cheap taxi ride. For those coming from further afield cheap flights to Glasgow Prestwick are available at Ryanair. You can get to Largs by train or bus from the airport (around 1 hour journey). Cheap advance train tickets are available now for travel to Glasgow from around the UK. We will also be running our own bus to this year’s festival. Check the travel page for more info.

Cars & Camping

To encourage car-sharing and public transport there will be a nominal fee for vehicles. There is space for campervans and caravans. Camping is free – the campsite is situated only a few minutes walk from the festival, and command spectacular views to the Firth of Clyde and beyond. Camping is free for the weekend, except Friday night, when there is a small extra charge for those coming early (to cover extra costs). This year we will have a dedicated familty campsite, and also hot showers!