Scotland

Dumfries and Galloway is a region of Scotland found in the southwest corner which is becoming increasingly popular with tourists as a vacation destination.  While this area of Scotland has all of the usual tourist attractions, ruined abbeys, stately homes and castles, it is the lush countryside and fantastic Solway coast which attracts most. The rather moderate weather and the numerous sandy coves have led to the areas nickname of the “Scottish Riviera” and, with a close association with Robert Burns and the wonderful village of Kirkcudbright (a one-time artists’ colony) there is plenty to discover in Dumfries and Galloway.

Each year it would seem that more and more people are choosing to visit music festivals. This year has seen a massive increase in the number of music events across the globe and in the United Kingdom there have been over four hundred this year. Obviously not all such events are as large as Glastonbury but even the smaller events manage to raise crowds of many thousands of people.

Towards the end of July each year the peaceful Dumfries and Galloway is rocked by the raucous sounds of one of Scotland’s most exciting music festivals, the Wickerman Music Festival. The site for the festival is at East Kirkcarswell, near Dundrennan right in the heart of Dumfries & Galloway and for as far as the eye can see there is beautiful countryside populated only by sheep, cattle, and a whole horde of very friendly festival folk.

The Wickerman Music Festival is unusual form several reasons but most noticeable is the fact that it is a theme based music festival. Rather than being a festival of a particular type/genre of music its’ theme is an old British movie Wickerman (1973) which, over the decades, has obtained a cult following. Although there has been a Hollywood remake, in 2006 starring Nicolas Cage, many much prefer the original which was rather unique, to say the least!

As with all music festivals there are the usual funny and interesting costumes but at Wickerman this takes on a whole new perspective as the costumes of the festival goers is all part of the experience. Many people sport animal costumes similar to those which appeared in the movie and the festival site is littered with all manner of references to the movie including an open air cinema. However the most exciting aspect of the Wickerman Music Festival is the burning of the Wicker Man on the Saturday evening which includes various fire acts accompanied by haunting bagpipes.

Wickerman is considered a family friendly music festival with many aspects geared towards family entertainment. This includes a full fairground, many circus events and acts including jugglers and stilt walkers as well as many small stalls and other areas of entertainment besides the music stages and tents. In the camping area there is a family and quiet area and, unusually for music festivals, the toilet facilities are usually rather clean. However if you want to ensure a clean toilet and you would rather not use one of the plastic portloo types then there is the “down and dirty” which, for a small extra fee, provides you with proper porcelain toilets which are continually monitored for cleanliness and toilet roll etc. There are also, if required, showers available in the down and dirty area. There are plenty of food stalls, clothing stalls and lots of other retailers including bars.

Being held in the gorgeous Dumfries and Galloway countryside it is wonderful to see that the Wickerman Music Festival organizers have gone to great lengths to ensure that there is minimal impact upon the local, and global, environment. It is actually the “greenest” music festival I have attended and each year more effort and thought goes into improving this aspect of the music festival. Litter is never a problem as “wickerpickers” can be seen wandering around collecting litter and categorizing it into the various types ready for recycling. Around the camp site there are various places to put materials suitable for recycling and even the abandoned tents are packed up and sent off to charity. It is truly amazing that only a very short time after the event it looks as though nobody was ever there!

Finally I will mention the music of the Wickerman festival, after all that is what it is all about. Most UK music festivals seem to focus upon one, or maybe two, specific genres of music but at Wickerman there is a most amazing eclectic mix of sounds ranging from reggae to punk, from acoustic folk to ska, from pop to hard dance and electronic and all manner of world music including many types of music which defy the usual categories. This may appear strange but it is one of the aspects which helps create the most incredible atmosphere as all types of people mix together and celebrate their enjoyment of live music. There is one thing, besides the incredible scenery, that you will take away with you from the Wickerman Music Festival and that is the most amazing memories of friendliness not often experienced these days.