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contents introduction... 3 tickets... 3 travel... 4 Vehicle Instructions... 4 Car Park... 6 Train... 6 Coach... 6 Pick up & Drop off... 6 Bicycles... 6 opening/closing times... 7 entry rules... 8 camping options... 10 customer map... 13 leave no trace/clean up... 14 safety & security... 14 final word... 14 2
introduction Welcome bluedotters! With months of planning behind us, the team are currently down at the beautiful grounds of Jodrell Bank, putting the finishing touches on creating the third year of bluedot. Through combining a truly stellar line-up of music with a ground-breaking programme of live science experiments, expert talks and immersive artworks, we endeavour to inspire and entertain taking you on an out of this world journey through the intersections of music, science, art, culture and technology. We ve compiled a handy information pack of everything you need to know before you set off on your voyage to discover the bluedot with us. Please be sure to take some time to read through this and your time at bluedot will be a breeze. A world of wonder awaits you this July. Type Breakdown All entrants to the festival require a festival ticket. You will require the below ticket: Weekend ticket tickets If you re extending your bluedot experience from the Thursday, you would also require a Thursday ticket for weekend customers. Please note: tickets are split into age categories. You must ensure you have the relevant aged ticket to gain entrance to the festival. Weekend tickets include a pitch in one of our standard campsites, you must bring your own tent unless you ve booked a pre-pitched tent. 3
You may also have the below tickets which are valid in conjunction with the above tickets. The Colony boutique camping ticket physical tickets Live in vehicle ticket vehicle hanger Meteor Showers ticket physical ticket Weekend car park ticket vehicle hanger Europa Springs ticket physical ticket Ticket seller details If you have any questions relating to tickets, please contact the ticket agent you purchased through direct. Ticketline: 0844 888 9991 Skiddle: 0843 289 3333 DICE: help@dice.fm Ticketmaster: 0333 321 9999 Address Bluedot festival is held at: Jodrell Bank Observatory, Bomish Lane, Cheshire, SK11 9DW Please pre-plan how you are going to travel back from the festival. travel Vehicle Instructions General Admission, Camping, VIP s, taxi s, coaches, pick up/drop off please follow signs to BLUE GATE. Accessible camping please follow signs to BLACK GATE. Live-in vehicles please follow signs for GREY GATE 4
Travelling from the East / South Click this link to take you straight to Google Maps: goo.gl/srgxw2 Leave the M6 at Jct. 18. Take the A54 exit at the roundabout signposted Northwich / Chester / Middlewich / Holmes Chapel Continue on Middlewich Road / A535 At the roundabout, take the 2 nd exit onto Knutsford road Immediately after, take the first exit onto Macclefield Road / A535 Follow relevant festival signage BLUE GATE customers turn left onto Bomish Lane BLACK GATE customers please enter from A535. GREY GATE customers please follow festival signage for Grey Gate Please note on the roads surrounding the festival there will be road signs advertising a road closure to non-festival traffic. Travelling from the West Click this link to take you straight to Google Maps: goo.gl/xxqmfy Join A34 (Manchester) Turn right onto Bollington Lane signposted Preston / Chester / Holmes Chapel Turn right onto Chelford Road / A537 signposted Preston / Holmes Chapel At the roundabout take the first exit onto A535 signposted Holmes Chapel Follow relevant festival signage BLUE GATE customers turn right onto Bomish Lane signposted Jodrell Bank BLACK GATE customers continue on A535 and the entrance is on your left GREY GATE customers follow festival signage for Grey Gate Please note on the roads surrounding the festival there will be road signs advertising a road closure to non-festival traffic. 5
Car Park There will be onsite parking available. If you haven t already bought your advance car parking tickets, please do this at www.discoverthebluedot.com/tickets. These are offered at the discounted price of 20 for the weekend and will be more expensive to purchase on the day. Why are there charges for car parking? bluedot is committed to the environment and we encourage you to use greener methods of transport where possible. We have worked hard to make it as easy as possible to get here. Find out more about what we are doing to save Spaceship Earth HERE Train Due to the volume of festival goers, we encourage you not to use the small, local train stations. That s why there are no shuttles running from the closest stations to site. The roads surrounding Jodrell Bank are very dark and do not have paved footpaths, so for safety reasons, we ask customers not to walk on the roads. To make it easy to get here, we have coaches running from nearby stations at Macclesfield (on the West Coast Mainline) or Manchester. You can pre-book one of our return coach services to the festival below. Coach Our coaches will drop you off at the pick-up/drop off location at the festival. We are operating weekend return coaches from many UK locations. Find out more HERE Pick up & Drop off Pick up, drop off & taxi s should follow BLUE GATE directional festival signage which reads Drop Off/Pick Up. Bicycles There will be an area to lock up your bicycles at BLUE GATE, these are left at your own risk. 6
opening/closing times Entry will not be allowed outside of these times so please plan your journey accordingly. Thursday 19 July Car park: 12:00 onwards Gates: 12:00 21:00 Campsite: 12:00 onwards Arboretum: 12:00 onwards Star Field: CLOSED Planet Field: CLOSED Arena: 17:00 23:00 Friday 20 July Car park: 08:00 onwards Gates: 09:00 21:00 Campsite: 24 hours Arboretum: 24 hours Star Field: 10:00 02:00 Planet Field: 10:00 18:00 Arena: 11:00 02:00 Saturday 21 July Car park: 24 hours Gates: 09:00 21:00 Campsite: 24 hours Arboretum: 24 hours Star Field: 08:00 02:00 Planet Field: 09:00 18:00 Arena: 10:30 02:00 Sunday 22 July Car park: 24 hours Gates: 09:00 21:00 Campsite: 24 hours Arboretum: 24 hours Star Field: 08:00 02:00 7
Planet Field: 09:00 18:00 Arena: 10:30 01:00 Monday 23 July Car park: Closes at 13:00 Campsite: Closes at 13:00 General Information Point Opening Times The main festival information point is near the Arboretum on the way to the Arena. We are open every day from 9am 9pm so please come and say hello or let us know if you need anything at all! entry rules There are a few things that we need to be super clear about in advance of you arriving at the festival. This is to ensure you get access to the festival as quickly and stress free as possible! Entry to the festival is by ticket purchase only. Age 11 to 15 Weekend Tickets must be accompanied by a Ticket holding parent or guardian over the age of 30. By purchasing a child (under 11) ticket or a teen (age 11-15) ticket you are confirming that you are either the parent or legal guardian of that teen or child. Alcohol is allowed into the campsite. We ask that each person only brings a reasonable amount for themselves to enjoy and please note there are no glass bottles allowed on site. Alcohol is not permitted in the arena but there are plenty of bars and a wide selection of drinks for you to enjoy. DSLR cameras are permitted on site for personal use. Any press related photographers should contact our press team in advance of the event. For everyone s safety, our security team will undertake general searches on entry and occasional searches throughout the weekend. With our sustainability initiatives, we encourage our festival goers to bring refillable water bottles as we re minimising single use plastics from bluedot. 8
Please find a handy list of what you can and can t bring to the festival below. ITEM CAMPSITE ARENA Aerosols Yes No Alcohol Yes No Animals (excl. assistance No No dogs) Audio/Visual recording Yes Yes equipment Barbeques Yes No Blowtorches No No Chinese Lanterns No No Campfires No No Cans Yes No Camping chairs Yes No Children under 16 No No (unsupervised) Fireworks No No Flares No No Glass No No Perfume/aftershave Yes No Gazebos No No Gas stoves Yes canisters limited to No 220g Illegal substances No No Knives for cooking Yes No Small hammers for pitching Yes No tents Soft drinks Yes Yes (Sealed only) Weapons No No Drugs including legal highs No No Liquid fuels No No Selfie Sticks No No 9
camping options Campsites Bluedot is made up of 5 campsites which are available to those with a weekend ticket. General camping spaces are allocated on a first come first served basis. Our campsites are as follows: General camping (this is split into Asteroid Belt campsite and Cosmic Rays late night campsite) Family campsite (located within General camping) Live-in vehicle campsite Accessible campsite The Colony, boutique campsite Onsite Facilities Phone charging Will be located at the entrance to the Star Field Lockers/storage Will be located at the entrance to the Star Field General festival store with festival essentials Vitals like milk, toothpaste & loo roll! Located near the Arboretum on your way to the Arena. Food Loads of stalls offering cuisine from around the World. Drink A selection of bars with everything from real ales to cocktails. Information point Located near the Arboretum on your way to the Arena. First Aid & Welfare First Aid and Welfare are situated at the entrance to the arena, next to the Star Pavilion and in the campsite. Official Merchandise located in the Star Field and Arena Cash Machines Are available in the main arena near the merchandise stand and in the campsite Stalls Space jewellery, festival hoodies, T-Shirts and plenty more! Located in the Star Field and Arena. Baby changing facilities Located in the Arboretum, for those with young explorers. Water points Located in all campsites, and at all toilets in the Arena plus a free water refill service with Frank Water roaming and a stall. 10
The Colony boutique camping Entrance to The Colony is within the standard campsite. Head to our boutique reception upon entrance of the The Colony campsite to be checked in and a concierge will show you to your tent for the weekend. The Colony boutique campsite includes showers and toilets and has one of the best views of the campsite; located beneath the iconic Lovell Telescope. Bedding Please note that all Standard Bell Tents, Podpads, Bunkpads and Octopads do NOT include bedding and you cannot purchase this at the festival. Make sure to bring these with you when you pack. Our bronze, silver and gold bell tents & lotus tents include bedding, hardwood beds and memory foam mattresses as standard, with 200 thread count linen and hypoallergenic down duvets. 11
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leave no trace/clean up Cheshire is a beautiful place. Green fields and untouched landscapes are what make it beautiful. It is not acceptable to litter and abandon possessions while you are at Jodrell Bank. Please make sure you put your rubbish in the recycling bins provided around the site. We have reusable cups on site, available from the bar. We are also operating a food bank collection point, please drop off any unwanted unopened non-perishable goods at the Welfare tent in the campsite. safety & security It s important to keep your possessions safe while you are on site. Here are our top tips: 1. Keep your phone and wallet on your person 24/7 2. TENTWATCH: Know your neighbours, make friends with them, watch each other s kit 3. Install Find my iphone or Find my Phone on your smart phone 4. Thieves are less likely to target clean & tidy camping areas ask us for bin bags final word Thanks again for choosing to join us on our journey to discover the bluedot. We hope that you ve found this information useful. However, if you have any further queries please take a look at our FAQ s page that can be found here: http://www.discoverthebluedot.com/info. If you still require more information, please don t hesitate to contact us via hello@discoverthebluedot.com. We can t wait to welcome you for an intergalactic weekend of observation, exploration and experimentation, beneath the iconic Lovell Telescope. See you soon to discover the bluedot. bluedot team x Look again at that dot. That s here. That s home. That s us. Carl Sagan, 1934 1996. 14