11th August 2022 – 14th August 2022

A year ago, I had booked VIP Serpents Lair tickets for Bloodstock. The tickets were for me and Ravi. Tickets included a pre-erected tent with beds, and of course showers. Ravi had to bail out because of work. So, I invited Selina as a replacement. We arrived on Thursday, taking an unexpected route to the site and saw no traffic at all. Parked, checked in and then searched for our accommodation. We first searched through ‘Patch of Ground’ VIP camping area, and eventually asked a steward who pointed us in the right direction. Our Luxury Belle Pads were in a wooded and shady area. The tent had two beds, two mattresses, sheets, pillows, and duvets. There were also tables, chairs, and electricity.

Stuff dumped in the tent, we headed to the stages. This was a short walk, which took you through the VIP Serpents Lair Bar. This bar is a draft beer drinkers haven. There were eighty beers and ciders on sale. Don’t go there looking for a cold beer, these were all casks sitting there in the 30s. The beers were from the Midlands and North. Well, it would be rude to pass through without sampling a beer and we needed to be well hydrated, because the weather was very warm.

The bar also had bands and TV playing, and food stalls in the area. We did spend quite a fair proportion of our time visiting the area, especially as I was trying to drink my way through the beers. Where are my tasting notes?

We got to know our neighbours at the campsite, they had been coming to Bloodstock for many years. They were saying how friendly the festival was, this was a refrain echoed throughout the festival. They also advised us how to get tickets for next year, which unfortunately I did not heed, and all the VIP tickets are sold out for 2023 within a day.

The festival was hot this year, the ground was parched dry. Thankfully, our tented area was in the shade and was cool. You can see how people were looking for shade this year, with the setting of the sun making the temperature bearable. Hey who am I kidding, I love the sun, and remembered to plaster myself with suncream, and to remain hydrated. The queues for water were long, so it was beer for me.

Bloodstock has five stages. The main stage is called the Ronnie James Dio Stage. Undercover is the Sophie Lancaster Stage and the New Blood Stage. There is also a stage at the VIP area, and a small Jägermeister stage. The Ronnie Woods stage ends quite early in the evening, before 11, in all probability, the early close was to keep the neighbouring village happy. The Sophie Lancaster stage gets packed after the main stage ends and continues until 3am with DJ sets.

There are of course the rides, shops, bars, food stores, Old Sarum Tattoo and the weird costumes to entertain you in the evening.

Of course, we were here to see and hear the bands, you can see short clips of the Metal bands we saw in the YouTube video below. Here though are pictures images of the stages.

On Sunday, many festival attendees dressed in pink or with pink additions, this was to raise awareness of the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Sophie Lancaster was a young woman who was murdered for being different. She and her boyfriend were creative, artistic people who dressed in their own unique way. They were attacked by a gang of five boys in a park in Bacup, Lancashire on 11 August 2007. The gang attacked Sophie’s boyfriend first and then turned on her, conducting a brutal and sustained attack. Sophie remained in hospital for 13 days, before following medical advice, the family agreed to life support being switched off. Sophie died on 24 August 2007; she was just 20 years old.

Her mother Sylvia died this year, and she had requested that everyone attending should wear something pink at the festival.

The festival also has an art gallery featuring much of the past festival advertising artwork, and the album artwork for some of the headline bands playing. There was also a heavy metal chair which Selina and I both posed in.

The following bands are featured in this video.

• Dark Tranquility
• Red Method
• Heart of a Coward
• Thrown into Exile
• Machine Fucking Dead
• Exodus
• Behemoth
• Spirit World
• Lorna Shore
• Mercyful Fate
• Malevolence
• Venom Inc.
• Killing Joke
• Lamb of God

You have been waiting for it, now view and listen to the bands Selina and I enjoyed at Bloodstock. Please don’t forget to Like and Subscribe.