A slightly damp weekend saw the return of Children in Needs Car Fest North to Bolesworth Castle in Cheshire for the second year.
As it’s on our doorstep and we’re petrol heads, it seemed rude not to. Not a fan of the whole quagmire over night festival experience (and with the whole only living down the road bit) I opted for day passes, and, as a treat, VIP ones.
The standard day passes were £67 and the VIP tickets £123. The VIP tickets promised fast track entries, private bar, ‘exclusive food options’ and complimentary tea and coffee.
The fast track entry delivered and it was great not to have to have to queue but that’s about as VIP as it got. The private bar was just a marquee with beer and cider at £5/bottle, the toilets were mostly occupied by staff from the rest of the site and the ‘exclusive food options’ were a food stand just on the inside of the fence as opposed to the hundred that were outside of the fence.
That is a whole lot of tea and coffee you have to drink to justify an additional £56 on the ticket price! There weren’t even any event programs or maps available in the marquee. Whilst Peugeot (who hosted the VIP area) aren’t up there with your luxury brands, a little more thought is required if you’re going to put your name to a VIP area.
From this experience, I can highly recommend opting for just the standard tickets if you are thinking of attending!
To summarise the rest of the event, it is very much ‘Fest’ over ‘Car’. If like us, the main draw would be the engine based horsepower action (there was an excellent display of showjumping on offer) then stick to an event like Festival of Speed at Goodwood where the cars dominate. If however you are after a weekend of family fun and an eclectic selection of live acts with a hint of petrol fumes, then Car Fest would tick the box.
Whilst we clearly aren’t their target market, we had a fun, but expensive afternoon finding this out. Looking on the bright side, at least 25% of our ticket prices went to Children in Need.
Review My Trip 