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Venue details:–

The gathering will be held at Highbury Farm, Redbrook, Monmouth, NP25 4LX

Venue Information:-

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Parking: There is EXTREMELY LIMITED PARKING at the farm – we can make room for about 8 vehicles max. Please contact GAWG if you need a parking space, and make sure to state this in your registration, as only vehicles that have been agreed in advance will be able to park at the farm. There is a large car park on the A466 in Redbrook (Redbrook Riverside car park, marked on the map with a red X) that allows overnight parking for a small fee – please park here and walk up or arrange to lift share up the hill with someone who is driving, or if necessary drive up to drop off camping gear then immediately turn round and drive back down to park in the village. Please do not park on the lane leading up to the farm or on Highbury Terrace – the local residents get quite cross about that. The vehicle access is very steep and bumpy via a single lane farm track with few passing places – you can find it by following the directions for Walking Route B (marked on the map below in pink). If you aren’t confident at reversing, or have a low slung vehicle, or just really love your paintwork, we DO NOT recommend driving up the track to the farm.

Accessibility: The main meeting space (also where food/hot drinks/evening entertainment will happen) is a large barn, open on one side. There is level access to the barn from a small parking area directly outside. There will be two level access toilets just outside the barn (one accessible portaloo, one compost toilet). There will be some chairs, but most seating will be on hay bales. The intro workshops and kids space will be in marquees in a field. This field is approx 30m from the barn, accessed via a short but steeply sloping stoney track. The area of the field we will be using is on a very slight downhill slope. Its quite a bumpy field due to moles and ants! There won’t be a dedicated indoor quiet space but there are acres of fields or the nearby woods to escape to for some respite from the busy meeting spaces.

Camping/Accommodation: The main camping field is a short but steep downhill walk (approx 250m across a field) from the barn/marquee area. We are far from any street lighting so bring a torch (and enjoy the Milky Way). If you have access needs that make camping difficult, please contact GAWG so we can help work out an alternative. There is some 6 camping space in the marquee field that will involve less of a walk to and from the barn (although this will be noisier as it’s much closer to the evening activity). We may be able to find a couple of beds in the main house if needed, but these will be upstairs in shared rooms,
and the house itself does not have level access.

Campers/live in vehicles: We will reserve a couple of spaces for campers/live in vehicles by the barn for people who need to be very close to the main venue or accessible toilet, again contact GAWG if you need one of these spaces. Otherwise, the Riverside car park in Redbrook is large, flat, and allows overnight parking for a small charge. If the weather is good and ground is dry, it may be possible for small campers/live in vehicles to park in the main camping field. We will make a decision on the ground conditions in the week before the gathering and email out directions for driving onto the field if this is the case – otherwise it won’t be possible as vehicles risk getting stuck. The route for driving into the camping field is not the same as the main driving route. Do not attempt this unless we’ve emailed to say its ok and given directions, as we may not be able to unstick your vehicle if you get it stuck!

Local accommodation for non-campers:
The Premier Inn in Monmouth is the closest option that has wheelchair accessible rooms https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/wales/monmouthshire/monmouth/monmouth.html?
cid=GLBC_MONPOR

The Redbrook village website has suggestions for various B&Bs within walking distance of the venue, but none of these are wheelchair accessible https://www.redbrookvillage.co.uk/places-to-stay.html

GAWG have a small fund to cover accessible accommodation for RR member co-ops who would be unable to attend the gathering otherwise, so get in touch if you need help to cover costs.

Food: All meals from Friday evening to Sunday lunch are provided at a cost of £20 per person for the weekend (card payment on arrival or bank transfer ahead preferred please), with kids eating free. Food will all be vegan, and we will try our best to accommodate allergies/intolerances but cannot guarantee that there will be no risk of cross contamination
as we are cooking in our domestic kitchen. The venue is a vegetarian space so if anyone needs to bring their own food please only bring vegetarian food. There will be hot drinks available at all times.

Toilets: There are 3 treebogs in the camping field and 2 treebogs in the marquee field, both sets have 3 steps up to them. A step free and spacious compost toilet (built to wheelchair accessible spec and with a ramp) is just off the open side of the barn, and an accessible portaloo will be placed outside the front of the barn next to the accessible parking spaces. There will also be a wild wee area near the marquees, plus at night its fine to just go for a wee behind your tent or by the hedge (during the day we don’t recommend this as a well used public footpath crosses the site!)

Water: We do not have a mains water supply so although we have plenty of lovely (and UVfiltered) spring water for drinking and catering purposes, there will be no showering facilities available. There are taps in the camping and marquee fields for hand washing and teeth cleaning etc.

Kids/childcare: Kids are welcome at the gathering, and there will be a kids space available to look after them during the meetings. Please make sure you register how many children are coming and their ages so that appropriate adult ratios and activities can be planned. You can contact Max from Kids Group at star8uck@riseup.net if you need more info or would like to volunteer to help out.

Ticks: There may be ticks in the grass. If you find a tick on yourself, do not try to pull it off (unless you already know how to remove them safely). Come to the Welcome Desk where there will be tick removal tools available.

Farm machinery etc: Please don’t climb on, or allow children to climb on, things like tractors or haystacks, as these can be dangerous. We know the hay looks like lots of fun, but the stacks can topple and have hidden air gaps that legs can get stuck in.

Peacocks: 10/10 for tail, 2/10 for temperament, excellent intruder alarms (the gathering is bang in the middle of what we call Screaming Season). They are liable to peck children who get too close or try to touch their tails, so please keep children safe and unpecked by making sure they maintain a safe distance at all times.

Power: There will be some electrical sockets in the barn for phone charging but not many, and the gathering tech equipment will need priority for the supply – we recommend bringing a power bank to charge your phone.

Internet: There is good mobile signal for all networks as we are nice and high up a hill! There is no wifi, other than a mobile dongle for RR related usage only (ie enabling online access to meetings, taking live minutes etc).