First timer's guide to just so
If you're new to Just So Festival, welcome!
What is this strange little world we’ve stepped into?” we hear you cry. “Why are people dressed as foxes?” Fear not, we’re here to help!
Now you have your tickets, there are a few things you can do in advance of the festival. If you bought your programme with your tickets, it’ll arrive a couple of weeks before the festival. If you didn’t, you can buy programmes from our online shop from mid-July, or pick one up on site.
You can also nab yourself some festival merchandise in advance (from August) as this year’s glorious t-shirts and hoodies will be available online and on site.
Have a good look through the information pages on the website so that you know all the practicalities.
If you have any questions about access, or if any members of your family might need additional support, please do contact us on access@wildrumpus.org.uk and check out the accessibility pages on the website.
arriving at just so
You can arrive in the car parks and camping fields from noon on the Friday. The gates to the festival don’t open until 2pm, so there are a couple of hours to get pitched up and collect your wristbands without worrying that you’re missing out on anything. There might be a short wait to get parked up, but we work hard to get everyone in as quickly as we can.
The campsites are really big so do spread yourself across them. The area nearest to the car park fills up quickest, for obvious reasons, but if you persevere and walk a little further, you’ll have more space to spread out in the parkland on the other side of the main path, especially down the hill a little towards the woods. This is a good direction to head in if you’re hoping to reserve camping spaces for friends.
There is normally quite a queue at wristband exchange around 2pm when the gates are opening, so we recommend someone from your gang heading there earlier if you can with everyone’s tickets – our wristband exchange staff will happily give all the wristbands to one person to give out back at camp, so you don’t all need to hang around for that.
When the gates open to site, head inside and explore! There are large maps inside the entrance and dotted around site as well as in your programme. There are also signposts pointing you towards the different areas of site.
who to ask for help
The Information Tent is inside the festival site, on the right hand side as you walk in. This is your first port of call with any questions or problems, and our gorgeous welcome team will be on hand to help. Elsewhere on site, we have a really wonderful team of volunteers. There will be at least two in each area of site, and they’ll be wearing aprons, top hats, or similar silliness.
the programme
The programme can be quite a lot to take in, with over 250 different pieces of programming going on over the weekend. You can browse the programme in advance or when you get to the festival. Hands on hearts, we recommend not becoming slaves to your programme! Often the most magical moments at Just So are stumbled upon and impromptu. We suggest picking one or two things per person that you definitely don’t want to miss, then having a longer list of things you would like to catch. But do allow yourself to be distracted, to follow a flight of fancy, because the magic of Just So is the unexpected!
We try very hard to make sure that most of the programme is drop in. There are a few things, like the some of the workshops, which need to be booked. These are marked in the programme.
What to bring
Yes, yes, we’re sure you’ll remember to bring your tent and probably some pyjamas. But now for the important stuff!
Costumes, costumes, costumes. Dressing up is welcomed with open arms at Just So. People usually dress up as one of the animal teams, bee, frog, stag, owl, lion, fish, and foxes, but the choice is yours!
If you have any questions, or worries, head over to the Facebook page, or email hello@justsofestival.org.uk and we’ll do our best to help!
See you next August, Adventurers!
carnival of the animals
Wondering why everyone is covered in feathers and fur? The wildly competitive Carnival of the Animals is our biggest Just So tradition, with a new twist for 2026 (info landing soon!) animal teams are still alive and well at Just So!
Choose to join the fish, frog, fox, owl, lion, stag or bee team, dress up if you like (lots and lots of people do) and take part in animal shenanigans over the weekend. May the best team win!