The first festival I attended at the priory was around 8 years ago,when it was still in its infancy.The festival back then was on Friday,Saturday,Sunday nights and Monday afternoon and took place on the May day Bank holiday weekend and August bank holiday weekend.Our choice of night has always been the Saturday as this seems to have a real nice vibe to it.The first visit was a bit of a disaster for us,walking all the way there around 8.00PM (its about a 40 minute walk from our house),only to find they had ran out of beer,luckily the Horse and Groom at Moorgreen came to the rescue as this is exactly half way back home.In the early days there was only a limited amount of beer allocated for each day and breweries didnt commit too much because of the low turn outs for a new festival.The good news is though that the festival has gone from strength to strength over the last few years due to the excellent commitment of the organisers adding food outlets,fairground rides,live music and many more real ales to choose from.We do now make it a family gathering when we attend with my wifes 2 sisters and brother and their children and even grandchildren.Theres a lovely setting at the rear of the barn and tearoom with a backdrop of the priory ruins where most of the festival attendees set up for the night.With it being quite a good distance from the nearest town it tends not to bring in the beer monsters who want to cause trouble after two pints of Stella,and only encourages real ale connoisseurs and families.The festival is now an important feature of the local community and long may it continue.The festival over the last 3 years has extended its opening times to Thursday Evenings,earlier starts on Friday,Saturday and Sunday and a Family fun day for the Bank Holiday Monday.I would also like to mention that entry to the festival is free and also free parking where you can leave the car overnight for collection when the hangover has diminished.
Unfortunately due to Covid the May and August 2020 Festivals were cancelled and what a massive blow to the local community that was,its a talking point all year round and when something is not happening the mood of the town is low.Lets hope for the community that we see a return for 2021.
Enjoying a pint of great beer 