What Farm-Fest punters are saying as some traders leave early from Jeremy Clarkson event

The inaugural Great British Farm-Fest took place over the May bank holiday weekend - and while festival goers took to social media to share how they had enjoyed the event, some vendors say they left early after failing to make back costs.

Over 50,000 people attended the festival described on its website as "Three days of farming, food, livestock and good old-fashioned countryside chaos", where there were 400 stalls and 12 arenas to explore, with adult tickets costing £35 for a half-day or £60 for an all-day admission.

Among the headliners included Jeremy Clarkson, Kaleb Cooper, plus live music from Alex James from Blur, 10cc, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and a DJ set by Groove Armada.

Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Many who attended the event took to social media to praise the event, as "wonderful," "fabulous," and "brilliant."

However, the same cannot be said for some traders who were at the event with reports that some even left early after as they didn't make back costs.

A spokesperson for The Great British Farm-Fest told the BBC that they had worked closely with traders and they were surprised a "handful of exhibitors" left the show early.

Some traders took to social media to share their experience and reveal how much they money they lost.

David Moore, owner of Wee Dram Barrel Creations posted on TikTok after "eight-hour drive" from Warwickshire to Port William in Scotland, where he reflected on his Farm-Fest experience as a vendor.

"The big question is, was it worth it?" he said. "The short answer: absolutely not."

Moore went on to described how the organisation of the event had been "absolutely atrocious" claiming there was "no signage at all" causing navigation difficulties.

"I think from your Jeremy Clarkson experience, if you went there to see that, and you'll see a lot of Facebook posts of people enjoying themselves and all the social media from that side of things is great and they fulfilled the brief for that."

He continued, "But for the poor traders that went there, there was 300 traders and I can almost certainly guarantee that most of them haven't made their money back."

Moore then revealed how it has cost his business £2,000 for this weekend, and although the festival was 3 days, there were eight days of work with loading and unloading stock into the van for "absolutely nothing at all."

Sam Denning, owner of Little Sutton Spice Company took to TikTok to share her similar experience where she also described the signposting at the festival as "horrific."

"It was absolutely terrible, we have lost so much money," she said, noting that the event would've been great for festival goers who wanted to see Clarkson and the music but it was a different story for traders.

A spokesman for Jeremy Clarkson’s Great British Farm-Fest told the Mail: “We have been working closely with traders at The Great British Farm-Fest to provide support during our inaugural weekend.

“We are surprised that a handful of exhibitors, out of the 400 who attended, left the show within a few hours of the first day without experiencing an event that has attracted over 50,000 visitors.”

Indy100 has contacted Farm-Fest for comment.

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