How to Plan a Weekend at The Dunstaffnage Music Festival

As Scotland’s leading independent festival, the Dunstaffnage Music Festival plays host to a whole range of musical talent from every genre. From jazz to folk, and reggae to Celtic music, this intimate two day musical extravaganza held on the last weekend of July offers great live bands, art installations and theatre performances in one of the most stunning festival locations in Britain.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Tickets
• Tent
• Torch
• Sleeping bag
• Camping mat or airbed
• Wellies or walking boots
• Waterproof clothing
• Suncream, hat and sunglasses
• Toilet paper
• Toiletries and wet wipes

1. Buy your tickets either by calling the Dunstaffnage Festival hotline or by visiting the website (see Resources below). They are priced at around £60 for the whole weekend or £35 per day. If you prefer, you can pick up a ticket in person in several shops in Oban, Glasgow or Edinburgh.
2. Reach the festival either by car or rail. The drive to the festival site is very scenic and takes you through some of Scotland’s most impressive highland landscapes. The site is about two hours drive outside of Glasgow, and only one and a half miles from the village of Oban. Alternatively you can take the train to the station in the village of Oban, from where shuttle buses are running all day for the duration of the festival directly to the campsite.
3. Set up camp in the festival’s own campsite with beautiful views of Dunstaffnage Castle and the islands of Lismore and Mull.
4. Plan which bands and artists you’re going to watch over the weekend. There are three stages at Dunstaffnage Festival, the large Main Stage, an Electronic Music Tent and a smaller Roots Stage where local bands are often booked to play. The line-up is advertised on the festival’s website a couple of months beforehand.
5. Visit Oban’s Stick It On Tent, which is run by a group of local residents and is where festival goers can play their very own seven song set! All you have to do is choose your seven favourite songs then email them to the organisers before the festival (see Resources below), to be in with a chance of playing yours on the night!
6. Pick up some food at one of the festival’s diverse food stalls catering for all tastes. You can also enjoy a beer in the bar tent which is open until 1 am each night.
7. Stick around after the bands have finished each night to get a look at the spectacular light show emanating from a barge in the bay and highlighting the stunning scenery surrounding the site.

Tips & Warnings

• Register for email updates on the Dunstaffnage Festival website to be kept up to date with line-up announcements and news about the festival.
• Remember that it’s just as likely to be pouring with rain as it is to be blazing hot! Pack clothes and supplies for all weather conditions, and make sure you take warm clothing to sleep in and to wear at night when it will get very cold.
• Don’t take anything you can’t afford to lose or to ruin, and bear in mind that you can never make a tent completely secure. Carry all valuables and money with you when you are not in your tent.