Y Not visit Derbyshires finest music festival, set in the beautiful Peak District.
The team at Y Not run a fantastic festival, catering numerous music artists to enjoy over a relaxed weekend. It all starts from the moment you reach the entrance to the arena, the security are welcoming and have a laid back attitude to the crowd pilling in to enjoy the first acts of the day.
With eight stages, a family area and cinema, there's something for everyone here. Over the weekend you can get your fill of established acts, upcoming, comedians, DJ's, and movies. 2022 saw headline slots from Stereophonics, Courteeners, and The Blossoms on the main stages.
The site is small enough to get around, giving quick access for anyone who wants to bounce from stage to stage taking in as much music as one possibly can over the weekend. Others will find places to sit and chill throughout the day, soaking in the pleasures one stage delivers. Often you'll find many relaxing around the Giant Squid area, sat on random boats, or just outside the tent catching whoever's on stage.
The bar queues are quick enough for you to stay refreshed whilst soaking up the atmosphere, with plenty of shops and catering on site, it's easy to get fed and watered as you wish. As the day goes on there will be peak time where queues stretch out, but most drop quickly.
As the sun fades the lights of the funfair shine bright from the back of the park, giving those who need a bit more of a thrill a spin around the sizzler or wizzing around on dodgems, in this fun filled arena.
Y Not provide a downloadable app to help schedule the acts you want to see, so you won't have to miss a thing. I would recommend lightly using this, as it's a good way to keep an eye on your must see list, and just explore checking on new music, as you'll never know which band you'll fall in love with. The stage times are staggered well enough for you to maximise the amount of bands you can take in over the three days. Even though you can plan your listening around the acts, sometimes issues to occur, and on Friday the Manic Street Preachers had a long delay due some technical difficulties, starting their set nearly an hour late. Even though they had to drop a couple of songs, it didn't stop them smashing it, doing what the Manics do best and getting the crowd rocking, before Stereophonics took stage to finish everyone off.
As a family who travel with a child with autism, music festivals can be somewhat high risk, with the potential to become overwhelming leading to an early finish. Back in 2019 when we first visited Y Not, it was a real struggle for us. Three years on and with the familiarity of the site, it was hardly a struggle at all. With ear defenders on hand, and enough space to guide him to a quiet spot, we could enjoy the festival as a family. The cinema was also a great help in this, having this on hand is a real bonus to families, it gives you a good chance to just sit and rest. I'd fully recommend a visit to Y Not Festival. Late July bring many choices to festival goers, if you've not done Y Not yet, Y Not? With others over filling areas with multiple stages, and hundreds of acts, sometimes too much choice is a bad thing. If you want a festival where you can party at a pace which suits, and well into the early hours of the morning, visit Y Not in 2023, it doesn't disappoint.
