AS WITH all British festivals, Gottwood started a week before the site actually opened, with the obligatory daily weather updates - sun, rain, sun, rain, cloud. I decided to just wing it.
This weekend long alternative paradise of a party is set in one of the most beautiful areas of this fair island
Luckily, the two hour car ride from Manchester to Anglesey offered hope that my YOLO attitude to festival preparation might work out. Cruising passed the numerous woods, castles and zoos that make up this especially verdant area of the country, I could feel the light hum of summer and the beginnings of an unremarkable tan.
Gottwood is a self-titled 'boutique electronic music and arts festival', taking place on the picturesque Carreglwyd Estate in Anglesey, North Wales. As you pull up to the site you’re treated to a panoramic view of the sprawling countryside, rolling hills and fields bordered by the glittering blue sea on the horizon.
If you haven’t guessed by now, this weekend long alternative paradise of a party is set in one of the most beautiful areas of this fair island – you’d be hard pressed to find a more idyllic surrounding. The actual event is pretty aesthetically pleasing too.
The eponymous woods area has been transformed into a magical interactive world, with various art instillations immersing you into a mind-bending world of art and light. The weird and the wonderful decorations add to the ever-present feeling that you have fully left reality for the weekend. I spent a good few hours one night winding down in front of a massive wooden TV, with a projector showing sweeping panoramic footage that flies you around the world.
At this point I must give a special mention to the girls at the Rokit tent for entertaining my newfound passion for ponchos. My personal favourite being a scout poncho covered in scout badges, perfect for grounding yourself anywhere on site and bedding down for the night if times got desperate (they didn’t, in case you were wondering).
The main focal point of the festival is the lake, where people congregate during the day to chill out with a beer. And that’s what it’s all about here, Gottwood is probably the most relaxed, laid-back festival I’ve ever been to. Certainly the most 'boutique', feeling more like a party in the woods gone wild than an organised musical festival. The atmosphere, aesthetics and multiple curiosities alone are worth the journey to the middle-of-nowhere. The music isn’t too shabby either.
The Gottwood Festival LakeAs they enter their sixth year they’ve decided to keep ticket numbers limited to 5000, retaining the community atmosphere amongst the festival regulars. There seems to be a lot of regulars as well, everyone you meet talks about years past and how they keep coming back. The size also means you’re never too far from the next stage – some of which are fantastically crafted, my personal favourite being the large wooden owl, wings spread, pumping basslines from its mouth.
The music falls firmly on the electronic end of the spectrum. There’s a diverse range of underground DJs bringing the best in house, techno, dubstep, disco, funk, to name but a few sounds you’ll hear over the weekend. On Thursday I headed to the Barn, a sweaty, intimate venue that was always packed to the rafters. This evening Manchester local Nanny Banton blew the roof off with a floor shaking drum & bass set – before finishing up with a wind-down Sean Paul track that didn’t wind anyone down (“He was just finding his flow,” remarked a passing American girl, as she was reluctantly ushered out of the venue).
After predictions of a washout on the Saturday everyone was pleasantly surprised by the continued heat– except perhaps one poor guy I saw standing meekly in the shade of the woods with a fetching lobster tan. That night was all about the Barn again, where longstanding Manchester club night Hit & Run took over for the evening. It’s safe to say it went off, with Rich Reason, Metrodome, Chimpo et al delivering a bass heavy selection of the best in drum & bass, grime, hip hop, jungle and much much more.
Gottwood
Come Sunday and any looming last day sadness was quickly dismissed. The place to be was the Walled Garden, where Craig Richards went back to back with Ben UFO for pretty much the duration, with Radioactive Man sandwiched in between sets for good measure. Everyone seemingly decided to spend the last moments of the festival there, at a packed out stage that stayed that way until the last beat was dropped.
And just like that it’s over and you’re cruelly ejected back into the real world, with nothing left but your memories and the dread of returning to a place where people judge your poncho. I haven’t washed for days, I can’t remember if that’s normal?
On the way back to Manchester we stop off for some food at a nearby services. The place is rammed full of fellow Gottwood expats, also struggling to adjust back into society, shuffling along amongst the Welsh locals. Confused. Confused, but content.
They’ll be back. They always come back.
Follow Jamie Roberts @VincenzoJRezwah
Gottwood takes place in the picturesque Carreglwyd Estate in Anglesey, North Wales, over the second weekend of June - Weekend tickets range from £80 to £125.
