Your Horse Live Parking

[emfen1305]

Just on the off chance anyone has been today, was it OK to park on the grass today or is a total mud pit? I am taking myself and 2 friends in my hairdryer Citroen C1 tomorrow and it's the first time we have driven (we usually go via coach and park near the main entrance) and I am worried we are going to get totally stuck.

I have been trying to keep an eye on the main FB page but the last update was last night and it just said it was only letting 4x4s in car park 5 but nothing else mentioned. Weather currently says its still dry and not to rain until tomorrow eve but not sure which car park to aim for or whether to ask my friend if I can borrow her bigger car!

 

[chaps89]

I'm not sure but I'm going on Sunday and having the same dilemma, my astra does not do mud well!
So I'll be interested to see if anyone replies

 

[emfen1305]

I'm not sure but I'm going on Sunday and having the same dilemma, my astra does not do mud well!
So I'll be interested to see if anyone replies

Well if nobody does I'll at least be able to let you know!

 

[chaps89]

Haha, that's true! Not much help for you though, sorry

 

[Meredith]

I went today.Minibus parked on hard standing so no problems for us in that respect. However we had trouble finding said minibus at the end as it was parked somewhere else to where we were dropped off.
Most cars seemed to have been parked on the side of the roads.
The grass looked very wet and as we left, after 4pm, the heavens opened again so goodness knows what it will be like on a busier day. Friends who have been before thought it was busy today.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I went today and parked in car park 5 which is the one closest to the venue. They were only allowing 4x4's in and we parked half on the road and half on the grass, all facing the same way with nobody on the field at all. Not long after I arrived they closed it. I think in carpark 3 which usually has the bus shuttle they parked them closer on hardstanding and there weren't any buses running that I could see.

 

[emfen1305]

Thanks both - I mean the benefit to driving a the little one is that it can manoeuvre into all sorts of small spaces and mother is a driving instructor so has made me a pretty effective parker so maybe I can convince them to let me park on the hard standing because I fear what will happen if the send us onto the grass!

 

[Sandstone1]

I went today and parked in car park 5. They made everyone park on the edge and it did work fine. However, it's rained a lot since then and I wouldn't want to be parking on the grass tomorrow.

 

[Meredith]

I think in carpark 3 which usually has the bus shuttle they parked them closer on hardstanding and there weren't any buses running that I could see.

We had a coach from the minibus on arrival and back to it on departure

 

[emfen1305]

It said not to even bother going to car park 5 unless you're a 4x4 as they will turn you away to car park 3 so was planning on going straight to car park 3 but think that's just grass so not sure what they will do when we get there if it has rained even more!

 

[Mosh]

We went today and got there early and parked on hardstanding but it is limited. Car park 5 was soggy and apparently car park 3 was getting there. It rained a lot in the afternoon but they do normally have tractors on standby so people aren't stranded

 

[emfen1305]

how early is early? We are planning on getting there as it opens but read the car park opens at 6:30am so think we might be late by other people's standards!

 

[Mosh]

Not 6:30 early! That's a long time to wait till you can get in as well.
Some strategic parking maybe required then. If you can get to car park 3 and park on the right hand side that's generally better from past experiences. They are normally good at helping people get off the car park though and they were doing regular inspections today.

 

[emfen1305]

Ok fab thank you! Just didn't want to drive 2.5 hours to then spend the same amount of time trying to park! My thinking is they can't leave us just abandoned there so hopefully we will be ok!

 

[Sandstone1]

They usually have tractors on standby when its wet.

 

[BBP]

My ponies will have enough hay to last for a long day til they are checked so As long as there’s a tractor to get us out and I have enough chocolate to last me then I’m not too worried!

 

[FourLeafClover]

We were in car park 3 today. It was very wet by tonight but our Mini was fine so can’t have been that bad. The grass cover was so thick that walking back to the car this evening (after shuttle bus dropped us off) was actually better/less muddy on the grass than the hardstanding track. We are back tomorrow and Sunday 😊

 

[Suechoccy]

We were in carpark 3, in a small car (Citroen Picasso) and were directed to park on side of road with 2 offside wheels on sodden muddy grass and 2 nearside wheels on tarmac. Walking back to the car tonight, the grass cover was thick but sodden/waterlogged.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

You'll probably find it easier in a small, low powered car if there is mud. You wouldn't believe the fields my small, Italian, diesel car has got itself out of when 4x4s struggled because drivers tried too hard.

 

[emfen1305]

We got here at 9 in car park 3 and they were parking on the verges, less than 10 min walk from the main entrance, not sure what the plan was once they had filled up but we weren’t super early!

 

[BBP]

We just made it out no issues at all...but we were lucky enough to be right by the road on the downhill at front of car park 3. Getting pretty slick on the grass with cars being pushed out my hand near the river but tractor is at the ready.

 

[daydreamer]

We just made it out no issues at all...but we were lucky enough to be right by the road on the downhill at front of car park 3. Getting pretty slick on the grass with cars being pushed out my hand near the river but tractor is at the ready.

Good to know. I’m going tomorrow and quite worried about the parking!

 

[Griffin]

We were in car park 5 today and although it was soggy, we got in and out with issues. I have a 4x4 but they were parking normal cars in there too this morning, just not using the wettest bits.

 

[Landcruiser]

I was on the hardstanding, but accidentally ended up at Carpark 3 because that's where the bus dropped off, rather than the hardstanding carpark. It looked pretty slick, with a couple of tractors at work towing people off, and it's not stopped raining now for several hours. I don't think they'll be able to use any of the grass parking by tomorrow.

 

[chaps89]

Thanks for the heads up.
If we're up early enough we're going to try and get in on the hardstanding, if we're running late we're going to leave my car locally I think.
All very well and good having tractors on hand but there will only be so many and everyone leaving at the end means it probably won't be a quick exit if it's a mud bath!

 

[tatty_v]

We were in car park 3, it was pretty muddy by the end of the day with people being towed out. Definitely make sure you have suitable shoes on!

 

[Sandstone1]

I live locally and it's been torrential rain here so I think parking today will be a challenge.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

There was a YHL FB post last night saying that if you aren't in a 4x4 they will not let you into car park 5 so don't even try to get in. It's a small access road so turning people round to drive back out causes jams.

 

[chaps89]

We're here and in car park 5 - we left my car nearby but actually as we're here so early I'd have probably been ok as non 4x4 are half on the grandstanding track, half on the field. The car we're in is actually 4x4 but it's a pansy one so we're not pushing it.
Field is distinctly soggy so don't fancy people's chances once it fills up.
It wasn't signposted which was car park 5 which was 3 so we ended up in here a bit by mistake!