How to get to Mayfest and Augfest
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The Mayfest Site is about where the letter 'M' of Mayfest is on the above map. For those of you that cannot spot it, see the red road near the left? Just follow that up and you will see it to the right of that road. No! I am not being patronising! It is just that I work on customer support at a university!
Directions to the site are given from Exeter as this city is pretty easy to find.
By Road
From EXETER go along the A377 through Crediton and Copplestone. The A377 runs between Exeter and Barnstaple. In Exeter look for signposts to Crediton. Following them will get you onto the A377. Crediton is a small town (a good place to top up on last minute supplies) and Copplestone is a village. At Copplestone the road does a sharp right just after it goes over the railway. I mention this as some people have got caught out and gone straight on here. A couple of miles or so after Copplestone is Morchard Road. You turn off the A377 onto the B3220 signposted to Winkleigh. If you see Morchard Road Railway Station on your right then you have just missed the turning!
Just before you go into Winkleigh (You will be going uphill, the road gets wider and you can see a garage ahead) you turn left onto the A3124, North Taunton Road. As you go along this you can see Winkleigh on your right up the hill. As you pass Winkleigh the road takes you up quite a long hill. Look out for the Mayfest site entrance on your left when you have got up the hill. Truth told, I almost always miss it and have to turn round and drive back to it! The site is on South Croft Farm. The lane to the farm is not very smooth so do drive carefully! At the end of the lane is a very sharp left hand turn into the car park.
From Cornwall (and places like Plymouth) get onto the A30 heading for Exeter. You can leave the A30 at Okehampton and find your way onto the A3124 heading towards Winkleigh from there or go on down to Exeter and follow the directions given above. The latter is easier but much further. If one of you folk who are down in the area can give me better directions to put here I would appreciate it!
From Barnstaple take the A377 heading towards Exeter but turn off (right turning) at Eggesford. You will see the railway station on your right and the road goes over a level crossing and then a river just after the station. Shortly after this crossing turn right again. This is the first turning on the right. This goes up a hill through forest and then does a sharp left. Follow this road through Wembworthy to Winkleigh. At Winkleigh turn left onto the main road (downhill) and then right almost straight away. This is the A3124, North Taunton Road and the way from here is described two paragraphs above.
By Rail
If you are coming by train then the nearest station is Eggesford. This is nearly nine miles from the site. You can get a mainline train to St. David's Station in Exeter and change there to the local Exeter to Barnstaple "Tarka" line. Last time I used this the local trains ran every two hours! Check the timetables and arrange with us to collect you from Eggesford well in advance!
By Coach
Coaches do go to Exeter and Barnstaple. From either of these destinations you can get the local railway to Eggesford or, from Exeter, it may be possible to get a bus. There are not many buses so really make sure of the times.
The campsite is on South Croft Farm, Winkleigh. In general only the car park, fields and woods described below are available for players to use.
The main entrance to the campsite for players is via a gate from the car park. The car park itself is a firm, well drained field and, in spite of some very wet weather, we have not had a vehicle bogged down there yet.
Ahead of players as they enter is the main camping area. This is on a gentle slope going downhill to the left.
Moving onto the site and facing downhill, to the left are woods, at the bottom of the hill a row of trees with a copse at the right hand end and to the right a tall hedge with some trees pierced by a gateway some three quarters of the way up. (It is next to this gateway that players can get water.)
The woods on the left are a lot larger than they look and are used extensively by players. It is up through these that players must travel to reach the further of the two places where they can recharge mana.
Beyond the row of trees at the bottom of the hill is a marshy field. In the tree line the other side of this is the nearer recharge point. To the left the woods continue and to the right is another marshy field with more woods at the far end. These woods are not as extensive though and, while quite long, do not leave much room for maneuver.
The site is just across a gentle valley from Winkleigh. Winkleigh itself is a village that boasts at least three pubs (all do good food), a couple of small supermarket style shops, a church, public toilets and a garage. There are some bed and breakfast places here.
Crediton or Okehampton are the nearest towns and Exeter the nearest main shopping center about half an hour's drive away.
The nearest hospitals are at Barnstaple and at Exeter.
The countryside is that of rolling hills with Dartmoor in the distance. Winkleigh Woods and Eggesford Forest are both available for the public to walk in and, if trees are your thing, both worth a visit. There are ancient mounds both in Winkleigh (almost hidden next to the old school house) and in Eggesford Forest.
Barnstaple is a town with a good shopping center. As well as normal high street shops it supports both a comic shop and a games shop. Good food can be bought from Butcher's Row - I think that is what it is called - and there is an indoor market here as well.
Crediton is a smaller town with a reasonable range of shops and at least one large supermarket! Last time I went there, there was also a very good coffee shop here that did beautiful carrot cake.
Okehampton is another town, probably around the same size as Crediton. Many of it's shops though are for tourists and, though interesting, probably a little less practical. There is a reasonable cheap supermarket right next to the main car park though.
Torrington is a very small town that tries to be a tourist attraction. For train lovers there is a miniature steam railway offering rides to the public throughout the season.
The Tarka railway that runs from Exeter St Davids to Barnstaple - the one you would catch to get to Eggesford, the nearest station to the festival, is itself an experience. It runs most of the way alongside the River Tarka through beautiful scenery and for either rail lovers or lovers of such scenery is well worth the ride.
Dartmoor is another place worth exploring with rock formations like gnomes and fey faces to areas of stark beauty, an ancient stone railway, stone circles and streams with pools you can take a dip in! Covering such a large area there is much of interest to find and explore.
All this and the seaside too! Devon's North coast is not that far away and has both rocky and sandy beaches and some very good cliff walks.