Most festival sites answer "is it accessible?" with a yes or a no. That question is close to meaningless. A site with perfect step-free access and no interpretation is accessible to one person and useless to another.
So we score three things separately, and we never average them into a single accessibility number.
Why this is rated at all
Because the information is almost impossible to find, and because the cost of getting it wrong is not an inconvenience — it's a ticket bought, a journey made, and a weekend that doesn't work.
Festivals that do this well deserve to be found. Festivals that don't should not be able to hide it behind a sentence on a page nobody links to.
Deaf and hard of hearing
What we look for: sign language interpretation and whether it covers one stage or several, captioning on screens, hearing loops, vibrating or haptic vests, quiet spaces away from sound systems, and whether staff have any training at all.
Crucially, we look at whether it is published in advance. Provision that exists but is only discoverable by emailing and waiting is not the same as provision you can plan around.
- 1 — None published. No provision stated, nothing observed.
- 2 — On request only. Something may be arranged if you ask well ahead. Nothing published.
- 3 — Partial. Interpretation or a quiet space exists, but not across the site.
- 4 — Good. Interpretation at main stages, quiet space, briefed staff, published in advance.
- 5 — Excellent. Interpretation across stages, captioning, vibrating vests or a hearing loop, booked without hassle.
Blind and low vision
What we look for: sighted guide schemes and whether they must be booked, audio description, tactile or large-print site maps, high-contrast and large-print signage, guide dog policy and relief areas, and how navigable the site is without visual wayfinding.
This is the category festivals most often ignore entirely, and the one where a low score is most likely to reflect genuine absence rather than missing paperwork.
- 1 — None published. No provision stated, nothing observed.
- 2 — On request only. Staff will help if asked. Nothing published or planned for.
- 3 — Partial. Some wayfinding help or a sighted guide scheme, limited in scope.
- 4 — Good. Trained guides, high-contrast signage, a site map in accessible formats.
- 5 — Excellent. Audio description, tactile maps, braille, guides bookable in advance.
Wheelchair and mobility
What we look for: raised viewing platforms and how many stages have them, ground surface and gradient, distances between areas, accessible camping and how close it is to the gate, adapted toilets and showers, accessible parking and shuttles, charging for powerchairs, and companion or personal assistant ticket policy.
Terrain matters more than infrastructure here. A festival can install every adapted facility and still be a 2 if the site is a hillside that turns to mud.
- 1 — Not accessible. Terrain, distances or infrastructure make attendance impractical.
- 2 — Difficult. Possible with significant help. Rough ground, few adapted facilities.
- 3 — Workable. Accessible toilets and some firm paths, but gaps across the site.
- 4 — Good. Viewing platforms, accessible camping, firm routes, adapted toilets throughout.
- 5 — Excellent. Platforms at every stage, companion tickets, accessible shuttles, step-free throughout.
How these relate to our other scores
They don't, and that's deliberate. A festival can be a 5 for safety and a 1 for vision. Our comfort score describes a typical attendee's physical experience; it is not an accessibility measure and should never be read as one.
Five scores, five separate questions, never blended.
Limitations, stated plainly
We are not access auditors. These scores come from published information, from attendance, and from attendee accounts — not from inspection.
Access provision is volatile. It depends on funding, on a specific access coordinator, and on volunteers. It can be excellent one year and gone the next, often without announcement. A rating reflects the most recent edition we have information for, and that date is shown on every festival page.
We publish no score at all where we can't source one. An absent rating means we don't know, not that provision is absent.
Always contact the festival directly before booking. Nothing on this page is a substitute for confirming what you specifically need, for the edition you are attending.
Tell us when we're wrong
This is the category where first-hand experience beats published information most decisively, and where we are most likely to be out of date.
If you attended and what you found didn't match what's here — in either direction — please tell us. Reports from disabled attendees carry more weight in these scores than a festival's own access page, and we will update and date the change.
Organisers: if you have provision we've missed, send documentation and we'll re-review.
Last updated 2026-09-22.