A cider festival has been slammed for ‘running out of cider’ – amid ‘awful’ 90 minute queues that left people ‘fainting in the heat’.
Huge crowds flocked to Witcombe Cider Festival near Brockworth, Gloucester this weekend to soak up record-breaking temperatures.
It promised ‘a good time for everyone’ with ‘great music and great ciders’, but the reality left many with a bitter taste in their mouth.
Organisers have received a raft of complaints on social media, with dozens complaining of ‘chaos’ at bars – and even no cider at others.
But the festival said queues were ‘to be expected’ at a event like this and that they’d been dealing with a record crowd on the Saturday.
The festival said queues (pictured) were ‘to be expected’ at a event like this and that they’d been dealing with a record crowd on the Saturday
Huge crowds flocked to Witcombe Cider Festival near Brockworth, Gloucester this weekend to soak up record-breaking temperatures – but many complained of queues at the bars
Dozens have taken to social media to complain about the queues, with some complaining they’d waited 90 minutes to get a pint (above and below)
Writing on the festival’s Facebook page, Camilla Atkinson said: ‘Queues where sooooo bad. Missed so much music!
‘Some poor lad was having a bad time and was clearly very dehydrated and had to wait an hour for a bottle of water.’
While another said: ‘We spent an hour queuing at the bar only to give up and try another bar, where we spent another hour queuing.
‘It was such an awful experience. People were fainting in the queues because of the heat – there was just no organisation.’
She said each of the bars at the event was ‘constantly’ running out of cider, according to Gloucestershire Live. She became so annoyed, she and her friends decided to leave after two hours.
They went to head office to claim a refund, but were refused, she claims.
‘The manager said he didn’t realise that it was going to be so hot, but they had been posting about the weather on social media all week. The issue was just a complete lack of management. I’ll never go again.’
The cider festival was slammed for ‘running out of cider’ – amid ‘awful’ 90 minute queues that left people ‘fainting in the heat’
Organisers have received a raft of complaints on social media, with dozens complaining of ‘chaos’ at bars – and even no cider at others during ‘awful’ queues (pictured)
Others posted memes about their experiences at the festival, saying they’d been struggling to get hold of any drink (above and below)
The festival promised music from the likes of Plan B, Dizzie Rascal and Sub Focus – but some complained they were too busy queuing to see the acts.
Helene Ryland said: ‘Queuing for so long spoiled it for me. I missed the bands I wanted to see.
‘They could have had a table behind with pre-poured pints to speed up service.
‘Then got a drink in time to watch The Revolvers in the Craft tent and they weren’t even on. The staff didn’t know.’
While Sean Stone added: ‘P*** poor service. Half the day spent queuing for drinks and not sitting in the sun enjoying the festival.
‘Most comic thing I saw was a Speed Bar which had hour long queues! Won’t be going here again.’
Andrew Costello, 52, said it was his very first festival experience – and after staying for three hours before heading home, said it might be his last.
He said: ‘We queued for an hour for drinks and tried to make them last as long as possible.
‘But it was so hot that after half an hour we had to get another.
‘By the time we reached the bar again they told us they were out of plastic cups and all they had were little bottles of wine.’
And Sam Lewis, who was similarly displeased by the festival, said: ‘It’s a complete shambles, I waited over an hour at bars yesterday and there were people passing out in the heat.
‘Lots of people left early – there’s a lot of angry and upset people who want a lot of answers rather than being ignored.
‘The event continues to flood social media with further marketing last night rather than responding to comments.
‘There’s simply no regard for the safety wellbeing or enjoyment of entrants and in all honesty it’s a money grabbing con.’
Concerns were also raised about trying to find a taxi on the Saturday evening, with Theresa Correia saying: ‘Got fed up of waiting for a drink then had to wait two hours for a taxi. B***** joke.’
And Rosa Stevens saying: ‘People waiting to exit the festival for over an hour. Stewards unsure of what is happening, pre-booked taxis taking priority over the organised taxi rank.
‘Very unhappy people leaving the festival this Saturday.’
The festival has been running since 2012 and has grown in size each year. It now has around 10,000 guests over the bank holiday weekend. Many complained of queues at the bar however (pictured)
Others said they’d missed the acts they wanted to see due to spending huge amounts of time in queues for the bar (above and below)
Responding to the criticism, Joe Pointon, organiser of the Witcombe Cider Festival, told MailOnline: ‘Queues are to be expected at a festival event. If you were going to Glastonbury you’d face longer queues.
‘We definitely didn’t run out of cider, as we have some left now. It’s a massive organisational undertaking and we faced record crowds this weekend.
‘The kind of issues faced by guests on Saturday won’t happen again. We worked to rectify the situation for the Sunday, and next year will be much better.’
After the issue on Saturday, the festival also posted on Twitter: ‘Witcombe Cider Festival fully acknowledges and apologies profusely for the delays at bars yesterday.
‘We can assure you that the organisers and management team have been working tirelessly throughout the night and have taken measures to ensure that these issues are resolved for today’s event.
‘We take this opportunity to ensure ALL festival goers waiting times will be drastically reduced today due to more bar staff, more tills and the prepouring of popular drinks.’
Despite the issues experienced by some, not everyone, it seems, was disappointed with their festival experience.
One festival goer wrote: ‘Just to say, another brilliant Witcombe. Yes there were queues but find me any event that doesn’t.
‘For a local festival this is the best. I’ve queued before at Glastonbury for over an hour so it happens.
‘Onward and upward. Bring on 2020. Thanks guys.’
While Sarah Taylor said: ‘Had a fab day, yes we queued for the bar but we bought a couple at a time.
‘But all in all a brilliant day/night. Witcombe Cider Festival are still a very young in the festival experiences and are always learning and improving.’
The festival has been running since 2012 and has grown in size each year. It now has around 10,000 guests over the bank holiday weekend.
**Were you at the festival. Get in touch on 0203 615 2574 or by using james.wood@mailonline.co.uk**