On Friday morning, as we sat enjoying a mug of freshly brewed coffee, we were joined by another caravan as new campers turned up. This arrival meant that there were now two motor homes and two caravans on the field, hardly cramped; however, as this was to be a bank holiday weekend, we had been advised that many more would soon follow. Therefore, we departed with a mixture of resignation about leaving such a quiet site and contentment that we would not have to share the field with hoards of happy campers! And so it was off to the Mid Sussex Music and Ale Festival in Hassocks.
After a short 40-minute drive along some lovely country roads, we arrived in the village of Hassocks, found the Southdownway Caravan and Camping site, and soon had Iona set up for our stay. En route, we passed a local called the Thatched Inn and decided to walk the 20 minutes to see what it was like. Unfortunately, it looked better outside than inside, so we took our drinks to the beer garden, which was also disappointing, and chalked the visit up to experience.
We then walked a further 20 minutes to The Hassocks, the location of the weekend Music and Ale Festival, so that we could get our bearings and have a pre-dinner drink. While standing at the bar, I was asked by another customer about my T-shirt, which had the words "Grievous Angel" on it, as he wondered if it was a Gram Parsons T. As we discussed the T-shirt, I said that I recognised the fellow and sure enough, it was Ken Beverage. I reminded him that we had met at the End of The Road festival in 2013! A small world indeed!
On our walk back to the campsite, we stopped at the Chinese restaurant and enjoyed a pleasant meal before returning to Iona and a restful night's sleep.
The Festival opened on Saturday at mid-day, with the first of seven acts, Jack Cade, taking the stage at about 13:00. Jack was then followed by Rose Thorn, James Hodder, Michele Stoddart (Magic Numbers), Ags Connolly, Blair Dunlop and Blue Rose Code, who took to the stage at 20:50. We so enjoyed the variety of music on offer that we contacted the campsite and arranged to stay another night, then spoke to the Promoter/Organiser Jim, and bought tickets for the Sunday as well!
The Sunday sessions started at about 13:30, and we enjoyed some more fantastic music by Hannah Rose Platt, The Self Help Group and Danny and the Champions of the World, to name a few. Hannah Rose Platt was interesting as the band suffered a power loss during their set but soldiered on acoustically until the power was restored!
During the sets, we also met some of the locals and had a pleasant afternoon and evening before walking back to the campsite just after midnight to sleep the sleep of the just!
Follow our route here: