Access All Areas ... T in the Park!

Last Christmas I received a present of a day ticket to T in the Park as a music fan this was a great surprise. Only as the event drew closer did I begin to contemplate how I would be able to tackle a Scottish music festival in my wheelchair.

The initial preparation began in April when I had to apply online to convert my standard ticket to a disabled access ticket. Often when attending events a disabled access ticket permits you to take either one or two assistants with you depending on the level of assistance you require. Thankfully on this occasion I was allowed to take two assistants with me without whom physical access to the festival itself would have been impossible. Registering for disabled access put me in contact with the dedicated disabled access team at Festival Republic who organise the T in the Park festival. This is the first year that there have been a team of staff dedicated to helping disabled customers. I have to admit that I found having point of contact via email or telephone to answer any queries very helpful and reassuring. The organisers work on music festivals around the UK and work in close connection with a charity called Attitude is Everything to ensure that deaf and disabled customers get the best possible experience at outdoor music festivals. The disabled access team were able to send me information ahead of time on disabled access points around the site including a pass to use an accessible parking space to allow easier access to the main arena.

The next stage was finding suitable accessible accommodation. This part of the organisation process always makes me nervous and a little apprehensive as you can never fully guarantee that your access needs have been met until you arrive and see the facilities for yourself. On arrival at our accommodation we were directed to a ground floor family room which was listed by the hotel as suitable for disabled guests. When I tried to access the en suite bathroom I discovered that my wheelchair was too wide to fit through the bathroom door. We highlighted this problem to the hotel staff who apologised and explained that due to a fault in their computer system they had lost the details of my access requirements. The problem was rectified by our moving to two different rooms over the two nights that we stayed there. I must say that overall the staff acted quickly and efficiently to help address the problem.

On Saturday 9th July the adventure began… We set off early from our accommodation to find our way to the festival. For the second year running the festival was located at Strathallan Castle not far from Perth. In true Scottish style the weather did not disappoint… it was raining! We were undeterred and soon found the signs leading the way to T in the Park.

We arrived in a soggy field partly covered by wooden boards and were directed to the accessible car park which was situated next to the disabled campsite. After parking we were taken by accessible vehicle to the Festival Republic where to register. We were given wristbands and passes which permitted access to different areas including the accessible viewing platforms. The disabled transport vehicles were run by local volunteers to assist disabled customers to move around the site.

Once in the main arena we were left to our own devices. What had once been a field had now turned into a muddy swamp. The ground was only passable thanks to the effort and brute force put in by my Mum Barbara and my friend Lorna who had to drag my manual wheelchair backwards through the mud in order to go to different acts in different areas. We saw many bands including Jess Glynne who performed on the main stage, then it was on to the Radio One Stage for an amazing performance from the Kaiser Chiefs and the day was rounded off with Travis and a perhaps rather apt performance of “Why does it always rain on me”?

It was definitely a worthwhile experience and one that we all really enjoyed. A huge thank you to my brother Graeme for buying me the ticket and making the experience possible. The atmosphere of the festival amazing. Trudging through knee deep mud surrounded by thousands of music fans all singing Billy Connelly’s “If it wasnae for your wellies”. It could only be Scotland. It could only be T in the Park!