End Of The Road Festival 2006

United Kingdom | by Vicky Addinall | 23 September 2006

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Just over an hour from London on the train, getting to Salisbury is easy enough but getting to the site itself proves a little trickier. Where are the steady stream of clapped out buses to ferry us to the site? According to the two henna haired girls slumbered on their back packs in a haze of smoke, nowhere to be seen. But somehow it doesn’t matter, it’s a sunny afternoon and the free hour before the 16 seater mini bus does arrive is a good chance to make the first few acquaintances of the weekend. None of the usual manic queue jumping frenzy here, End Of The Road is already proving to be a small, friendly affair.  In the words of our Driver Ken ‘It’s gonna be sweet man,’ - let’s hope it lives up to expectations.

Set deep in the heart of the beautiful Cranborne Chase on the Dorset / Wiltshire border, The Larmer Tree Gardens really is an idyllic site; a magical amalgamation of rolling hills, mystical woodland and classical Victorian follies. On arrival, for once the first thing to greet you isn’t an un-missable merchandise banner; organisers Simon Taffe and Sofia Hagberg want to create a feeling of creative freedom at End Of The Road so there’s not even a commercial flyer in sight. However, there is a guy enthusiastically handing out recycling bags for your tent rubbish and a family of Peacocks. Cute.

After setting up camp - which is also a friendly affair, no separated campsites and designated areas, just a field and the instruction to camp where you like - we head straight for a well earned beverage from the infamous Somerset Cider Bus. The site is theatrical in its own right but, as evening draws in, the gardens are roused to life by the glow of fairy lights and the first mellow sounds escaping from the main stage.

Headlining (or not, as apparently there are no headliners at this festival) the first night on the Garden Stage is folksy singer songwriter Josh Ritter, who takes to the stage armed with only a guitar for company. ‘Leading’ acts have been allowed longer sets and the freedom to play what they want. Ritter plays a set lifted mainly from his latest album ‘The Animal Years’ with a few added extras and the hour and half he’s on stage passes in a second. Led by catchy folk harmonies and thought provoking lyrics, Ritter’s songs are mesmerising. Described as a ‘less gruff Springsteen’ his honey smooth voice echoes lonesomely out into the night sky. It’s like gathering round to listen to your guitar strumming mate at the end of a party, transfixed in a drunken haze as the warm whiskey infused cider slips easily down.

Come Saturday the sun isn’t quite shining - but it’s not raining and the waking community of travelling festival goers donning their neon patchwork jackets and Indian cotton shawls add some colour to the grey day. The happy hippy vibe here takes quick effect on my lingering London tension and despite being awoken by the cat like wails of the peacocks and the ground shaking hum of the bog sucking machine, I feel like I haven’t got a care in the world. As I wait for my fairtrade Chai latte and homemade flapjack, a miniature pirate kid tugs on my jacket for a game of Viking kubb. Standing in a field in Wiltshire trying to knock over wooden blocks with a five year old is slightly surreal at 9am on a Saturday morning but sweet all the same. After a game or two and a little bit of drumming in the bongo circle, me and the pirate part ways. He heads off to the family circus tent and I go to sample some of what apparently this festival is all about, the music.

The main stage is shaken awake by London punksters Ladyfuzz. Like a cross between Karen O and a neon Russian doll, lead singer Liz’s screams certainly wake the local wildlife. The bands spiky, discordant, punk-pop sits uncomfortably in the refined surroundings of the gardens but would definitely rock in a sweaty, dark pit in North London. To give them credit Ladyfuzz almost get the sparse crowd to their feet and it’s not even midday.  Afterwards, feeling the need to restore a bit of calm, I head for a walk in the woods. Surrounded by plastic limbs and sinister masks strewn through the bushes, I feel a bit like Alice in weird and wacky parallel Wonderland. Not sure the point of all the strange forest decoration but it certainly offers a few amusing photo opportunities before heading back for some more music.