Following the very welcome announcement that Neighbourhood Weekender is back for 2025 after a year off, we’ve produced a guide to this brilliant day festival, covering travel, accommodation and what to expect when you get there.
We’ve been to all but one of the Neighbourhood Weekenders that have happened since it started in 2018, and it hasn’t changed a huge amount since then. They seemed to land on a winning formula in terms of the layout and how it all works, with the only changes being experimental lineups that maybe didn’t work out. It’s good to see it back to being a mix of more mainstream indie with some pop thrown in there this year.
Obviously this is all based on what it was like in the past, but with it being in the same location, and the footprint of the festival is pretty limited because of what surrounds it in the park, there’s no reason to think there would be any major changes.
Dates
The festival takes place on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th May, which is a Bank Holiday weekend so for many people there’s an extra day to get over those hangovers!
Is it a camping festival?
No it’s not! It’s two day gigs essentially, with gates opening at Midday and going on until 10.30pm.
Location
It takes place in Victoria Park in Warrington, which is about a 20 minute walk from the town centre.
Travel and accommodation
The proximity to the town centre of Warrington is helpful for getting there and back. The main road down towards the park is usually closed to general traffic, with only residents and festival traffic allowed down there.
Our experience is just either using trains, or staying in Warrington.
Coach
There are National Express packages from a number of Northern cities and towns, which sounds like it has its advantages if you live near one of the pick up points, and especially if you’re going for just the one day.
It’s a guaranteed mode of transport back, as there’s no guarantee of trains running, and there are only limited destinations that you can get to after the festival finishes.
Trains
With Warrington Bank Quay being about a 25 minute walk away (in the crowds afterwards, probably a bit quicker on the way), you can make the time that trains are scheduled for easily with the 10.30pm finish.
Currently there are no timetables for that weekend in May, they’ll appear about 3 months before the festival.
We’re going to be relying on trains, as we are only a couple of stops down the line and last time there were multiple trains that got us home after 11, giving us plenty of time to get to the station. We also don’t live anywhere near one of the coach drop off points
Keep an eye on timetables, but you SHOULD be able to get back towards Chester, Liverpool or Manchester from Bank Quay station, but only if the trains run, which you won’t know for sure until you’re sat on it.
We got lucky last time because the trains ran, but there are just no guarantees. We live far enough away to have to use the trains, but also close enough to get a taxi, so we could get a local one from where we live to come and get us if needed. We even had to get a taxi in on the Sunday last time to get us there on time as trains got cancelled in the morning.
If you don’t have that option, say you’re staying in one of the destinations or just live there, I wouldn’t take the risk personally. There are only one or two trains in each direction after the festival. If it works, it’s perfect and easy, but if it doesn’t, you might be stranded. I’d do the coach if you’re going to one of the bigger destinations.
There are also the car and pick-up/drop-off options too if you’re really stuck, with festival car park tickets available here.
Hotels
In Warrington
We stayed at the Premier Inn at the far end of Warrington, which was a good 45 minute walk but it meant we weren’t reliant on transport of any kind, we could get some food and go back to the hotel without worrying about missing a train or coach, or sitting on them after a big day. We could also have a lie in the next morning and just walk back to the festival.
Obviously this isn’t cheap, the prices are put up for the festival weekend, and hotels do get booked up. If you find they’re booked up, but are willing to pay, keep an eye on the hotels nearer the time for any cancellations. We got our Premier Inn within the few weeks before the festival in 2022, which must’ve been down to cancellations.
Elsewhere
If hotels really aren’t happening in Warrington, there is an option to stay in a nearby city or town like Manchester, Liverpool or Chester, as they’re all so close. You could make use of either the train or coach options to get there, taking into account how unreliable trains are to avoid being stranded, and look for hotels near the coach pick up and drop off point.
There are also hotels in more remote areas near to Warrington, which you could get a taxi to. Just be sure to book one as they get busy.
How many stages are there?
At all the festivals so far, there have been three stages.
Main Stage
The main stage is the big outdoor one, at the bottom end of the site as you come in the entrance. As with all festivals some people will be relaxing a bit further away, while others will want to be near the front. Apart from maybe the top two artists, and sometimes just for the headliners, you can probably make it to the front for most daytime sets without much effort.
Big Top
The second stage is your traditional festival tent stage, which is deceptively quite big once you’re inside. The atmosphere tends to be pretty good here, and like the main stage, getting as far forward as you want is pretty easy unless there’s a big act on, or it’s raining. It was rammed for The Reytons last time out in the daytime, and I’d guess that will be the case again when they headline the tent this time.
It’s at the opposite end of the site from the main stage, next to the entrance, but the site is so small to begin with and laid out well enough that it’s really quick between the two stages. This is even if you’re walking, so if you want to see two overlapping acts or they’re close in end/start times and you make an effort to go quickly, you’ll easily make it and miss a minimal amount.
Below is a forwards and backwards view of the crowd at The Enemy last time out, to give an idea of the size of the tent:
Viola Beach Stage
This is a bit of a weird one really, it’s outdoors and pretty small, at the side in between the two main stages, and among the food vans. It’s where the up and coming acts play, though the sound is pretty low as it’s closer to the main stage. If there’s someone you want to see, you’ll want to set yourself up close to the stage. I’ve never seen it busy enough for that to be a problem though, they generally judge who fits on each stage well.
It’s a nice little place to chill out too if you need a bit of a rest, and you might discover something new when there.
The K’s, Inhaler, The Royston Club, Pixey, Louis Dunford, Rachel Chinouriri, and Stone have all played on this stage in previous years. Picture Parlour, English Teacher and Corella all played that stage at the previous festival in 2023, so it’s worth checking out whoever is on if you find you’ve got a gap in your lineup once the times come out nearer the festival.
As I can’t find a picture of the stage, I clearly haven’t followed that advice too much!
The atmosphere
As it’s generally all indie music, with some pop with similar audiences thrown in, people are pretty much on the same wavelength. The atmosphere when the bands are on is good, and it’s generally friendly enough. Obviously you get your share of lads, and add in drinks and whatever else it’s not all going to be perfect, but that’s a festival. One thing that is noticeable though, is that the gender split is relatively equal, which can’t always be said of indie events.
Bars and Food
It’s all pretty well organised on this front, there are loads of bars and food vans around the site.
I’ve personally rarely had to queue for more than a few minutes at the bars, and that’s only around headline time. They’ve got the barriers up to keep the queues flowing and avoid bottlenecks, and usually loads of bar staff on.
Last time they had Amstel and Inch’s Cider, along with a Brixton pale on the main bars, alongside the usual spirits and mixers, soft drinks etc.
A top tip is to go to the Neighbourhood Inn, which has different beers on. They had Moretti on a little beer stand outside, and a different IPA in there. It’s set up like a village pub, is on your left as you walk in. As I don’t like Amstel at all, that really helped us, plus they pour the pints to order vs the normal bars having them waiting on the tables for however long before you buy them, so it’s all fresher. There are also lots of benches to sit down around there, and they even have pub quizzes and karaoke! It can get busy though, and they’ll have a one in one out policy at that point.
You’ll also find little cocktails and prosecco vans around the place if that’s your thing!
Food is varied, with the usual everything from burgers and pizzas to Mexican and vegetarian, but it’s generally good quality I’ve found. The prices are what you expect from a festival, and there’s not much that can be done about that.
Top Tips
There are a few cool tips we’ve picked up over the years:
- If you’re walking in from town, there are a couple of pubs on the walk down, usually full of Neighbourhood people having a drink, so the atm
- You’ll probably have to queue if you get there around doors opening time, so stock up on a can or two and a snack at the Co-Op which you’ll go past on the way
- The Neighbourhood Inn will have pints pulled to order, and will likely do a different, and nicer, beer to the main bars either on their bar or in the little beer cart just outside by the picnic tables
- There are a couple of cocktail vans around
- The bit on the left as you walk in is quite funny, with a fake church holding fake weddings and actors paid to go around interacting with the crowd.
- There’s also a “Corner shop rave” in that area, where a DJ plays all day.
- There’s a Mcdonald’s on the Riverside Retail Park on the way back into town, which is open after the festival ends. We always end up there!!
Tickets and Prices
The tickets are on sale now, and to be fair I think the £149.50 (including fees) ticket price for the full weekend is excellent for what you get. Even £80.75 for a day ticket is brilliant, especially when you consider Stereophonics tickets for Huddersfield are £71.50 with just one support compared to a full festival day here.
Tickets are on Gigs and Tours, AXS, Ticketline, Gigantic, See Tickets and Ticketmaster,
Lineup
The first wave of acts has been announced, and already we could make a whole weekend out of it!
The lineup is always excellent, and it’s like someone has taken our core music tastes and put them into a festival down the road!
Who are we most excited about?
Stereophonics are the big one for us, one of my favourites since I was a teenager and having them play so close to where we live at our local festival is perfect. They’re incredible live, and this will be a special one.
Beyond that there are loads of festival staple bands such as James, The Wombats, Ocean Colour Scene and Starsailor. Alongside them almost all the more recent acts that we love like the Royston Club, The Snuts, The K’s, Pixey, Wunderhorse, Nieve Ella and Chloe Slater.
I’m also very excited to see Sigrid again, having seen her at Glastonbury the other year and been blown away by her show. She’s brilliant live.
Plenty more will be added, especially new acts, so it’ll be interesting to see what clashes appear when we get stage times. This is usually on an app, and we get them a couple of weeks before the festival.
Hope this guide helps you get an idea of what to expect. We can’t wait for our local festival to return!
