There will not be a festival alongside our events for 2021.
The 3 core event organisers (us, mountain biking and road cycling) are instead holding the Top of the Gorge Activity Weekend with the support of the National Trust and Mendip Hills AONB. We would encourage you to camp locally and give a boost to local businesses! The plan is for the full festival to return in 2022.
There are many ways to enjoy access at the Top of the Gorge Festival this year, access to different areas is determined by different colour wrist bands based on the below. Camping and Day Tickets, booked through the Festival website here, have Early Bird, Full and On the Gate prices. The sooner you register, the better the deal :-)
Camping Ticket: Come for the whole weekend (staying over on Friday night and/or Saturday night in a tent, or campervan. The site is not suitable for caravans) and enjoy everything the Top of the Gorge Festival has to offer, including all entertainment (guest speakers and live music) and on-site activities, such as guided food foraging, themed walks, yoga, star-gazing, climbing, caving, slacklining and even archery and axe throwing. The event is fully family friendly, with adventures suitable for a range of age groups. You can book your camping via the festival website. Please note the width into the camping area is 2.5m and there are no electricity hook up points. There are also no toilet emptying facilities, though the festival does provide toilets and showers. Runners are eligible for a 25% discount on festival camping/campervan stays with a discount code that is emailed to you once have registered. The discount code does not apply to glamping, day ticket or festival tickets.
Runner Ticket: Sign up to any running race over the weekend, and enjoy a free day ticket as part of your race entry (worth £20!) Your race number, handed out on the day of the event, will act as your festival ticket. You can enjoy all parts of the festival; caterers, music, free inspirational talks and free activities. If you wish to visit the festival on a day when you are not competing, then you will be asked to purchase a day ticket for that day.
Spectator Ticket: Many parts of the festival are free to access for people who are there to support runners during the day (until 5pm); there is a wide range of caterers, live music, the race start/finish and of course the toilet, water and first-aid facilities. To help cover the running costs of the festival, there is a Spectator Ticket which can be in the form of a £5 ticket, or £5 worth of raffle tickets. There is no suggested donation for children (less than 5), though the more tickets you get, the greater the chance of winning - and the first prize of the raffle is £10,000. The Spectator Ticket does not include access to the free activities and entertainment that comes with the camping or day tickets, for example the talks by international adventurers, climbing wall and caving experience, story telling, guided walks, archery and axe throwing etc - and you must be off site by 5pm. If you wish to enjoy this elements of the festival, you are welcome to pay as you go, or to upgrade your ticket to a Day Ticket at the festival ticket office. It’s not possible to purchase spectator tickets in advance of the event.
Day Ticket: Get access to the whole festival, including catering, music, talks by international adventurers, climbing wall and caving experience, star gazing, story telling, guided walks, archery and axe throwing, and many other activities. You can purchase Day Tickets via the Festival site here.
NB. All running races and mountain bike sportives are separate tickets events with their own registration prices which are not included in any of the festival ticket prices.
Susie Chan, known for her journey from couch to 4 time Marathon Des Sables finisher, will be MC-ing at the Omnium and joining runners for the 10km race. She is also speaking on the Saturday evening at 7pm (Photo credit Susie Chan)
Adventureman, Jamie McDonald, has run across America and across Canada, and who has also been voted at one of the UK's top 100 happiest people, will be speaking at 4pm on the Sunday. (Photo credit Adventureman)
Brendan Rendall is going to be attempting to run from Cairo to Cape Town in 2020, having run across Africa earlier this year. Brendan is running our marathon on the Sunday and is speaking at 3pm on the Sunday. (Photo credit Steve McClements)
Damian Hall finished 5th at the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc and is speaking 1:15pm on Sunday. (Photo credit Damian Hall)
Kim Murray is ranked in the top 20 in the world in the daring sport of Bob Skeleton, not only will she be warming up all the runners at our events, she will be talking on Saturday afternoon. (Photo credit Kim Murray)
Connor Roe, a Mendip caver, was involved in the rescue of the 12 boys stuck in a flooded cave in Thailand last year and will be speaking, and holding a Q&A session on the Saturday afternoon. (Photo credit Rachel Withycombe)
