Getting to bluedot

bluedot is held at Jodrell Bank Observatory, Bomish Lane, Cheshire, SK11 9DW.

Please use this post code for Sat Navs and not the google listed postcode.

Getting to bluedot festival is easy. Take a look at the options below to find out more.

by Coach · Weekend Return

Thursday Weekend returns – Travel back is on Monday 24 July only.

Liverpool · Chester · Warrington · Macclesfield · Manchester · Old Trafford · Sheffield

Friday Weekend returns – Travel back is on Monday 24 July only.

London · Liverpool · Chester · Warrington · Macclesfield · Manchester · Old Trafford · Sheffield

by Coach · DAY RETURN

Friday/Saturday/Sunday:

Old Trafford · Manchester · Macclesfield

(Please note, there will be no Thursday day return tickets.)

by CAr or Motorbike

Manchester City Centre to Jodrell Bank – 30 minutes

Manchester Airport to Jodrell Bank – 26 minutes

Liverpool City Centre to Jodrell Bank – 50 minutes

General admission, weekend, camping, accessible day customers, VIP, Taxi’s, Coaches and pick up drop off follow signs to BLUE GATE.

Live in vehicles please follow signs to GREY GATE.

Accessible camping please follow signs to BLACK GATE.

For day parking follow the signs for RED GATE.

Travelling from the East / South

Leave the M6 at Jct.

18 Take the A54 exit at the roundabout signposted Northwich / Chester / Middlewich / Holmes Chapel

Continue on Middlewich Road / A535

At the roundabout take the 2nd exit onto Knutsford road

Immediately after take the first exit onto Macclesfield Road / A535

BLUE GATE ENTRY – Please turn left onto Bomish Lane

BLACK GATE ENTRY – Please enter the site from A535

GREY GATE ENTRY – Please enter the site from A535

RED GATE ENTRY – Positioned directly opposite Bomish Lane

Travelling from the West

Join A34 Turn right onto Bollington Lane signposted Preston, Chester, Holmes Chapel

Turn right onto Chelford Road / A537 signposted Preston, Holmes Chapel

At the roundabout take the first exit onto A535 signposted Holmes Chapel

BLUE GATE ENTRY – Turn right onto Bomish Lane signposted Jodrell Bank

BLACK GATE ENTRY – Please continue on A535 and the entrance is on your left

GREY GATE ENTRY – Please enter the site from A535

RED GATE ENTRY – Positioned directly opposite Bomish Lane

Car parking:

There will be secure on site parking available.

Advanced car park tickets priced at £31 for the weekend inclusive of a fixed £1 carbon offset donation.

Tickets can be purchased from here.

Car parking tickets will be more expensive to purchase on the day.

Pick up / Drop off:

There will be a designated pick up and drop off at the festival and plenty of festival signage on the way to Jodrell Bank to direct you there.

Carbon Offset

Bluedot is part of unprecedented festival industry initiative Ecolibrium, which aims to account for the carbon created through audience travel to festivals. 63% of our festival’s carbon footprint is audience travel. A fixed donation has been added to all advanced/on the day campervan and parking tickets for bluedot all of which will be invested in renewable energy and/or carbon offset schemes.You can make a donation when you buy your tickets, 100% of which will be invested in renewable energy and/or carbon offset schemes. Watch the video below or find out more here.

by Train

The closest train station to bluedot is Goostrey. As the roads by the station are dark country roads at night, and there are no buses that run to and from the station, we would recommend travelling from Macclesfield train station.

Manchester Piccadilly to Macclesfield Station – 20 minutes

London Euston to Macclesfield Station – 1 hour 41 minutes direct

Car Share

LIFE’S A JOURNEY – SHARE IT!

If you really want to beam into to bluedot by car, why not consider car sharing this year? With the average 100 mile car journey leading to over 20 kg of CO2 being produced, goCarShare has the potential to reduce the festival’s carbon footprint considerably. It’s a great way to save money if you are driving and, as it is built around Facebook, you can see if your friends are going, find like-minded people to travel with, and check people out before agreeing to share. By travelling in a full car, festival-goers carbon emissions become comparable to taking the train, so it can make a real difference. (Source: DEFRA Report)

By Bike

If you want to be eco-friendly and have 0 carbon emissions traveling to bluedot, then we have bicycle racks available to use for free at Jodrell Bank. Your bike will be left at your own risk during the festival. We also offer ‘Cycle to bluedot’ scheme. Standby for more information coming soon!

By Air

The closest airport to bluedot is Manchester Airport, 26 minutes drive away.

By Taxi

The following suppliers are not partnered with the festival, but are well-reviewed local cab companies. We recommend pre-booking, to the Pick-Up/Drop-Off Point.

INTIME Macclesfield Taxis – 01625 610000

Cabco Taxis – 01625 614666

Silvertown Taxis – 01625 611333

Thursday Entry

WHAT TIME CAN I ARRIVE FROM?

Those with a weekend ticket and Thursday add-on ticket can arrive from 12PM, those with a Thursday day ticket only can arrive from 5PM.

WHAT TIME DOES THE ENTERTAINMENT START ON THURSDAY?

The Main Arena opens at 5PM on Thursday and will culminate in a headline performance from Max Richter. Upgrade and standalone tickets can be purchased here.

The remainder of our Thursday line-up will be released soon. 

HOW MUCH ARE CHILD TICKETS FOR THURSDAY?

If you’re buying Weekend Upgrade tickets prices are as follows:

3 & Under – FREE! 

4-10 – FREE!

11-15 – £10

If you’re buying standalone Thursday tickets prices are as follows:

3 & Under – FREE! 

4-10 – £25 

11-15 – £30

All remaining child tickets can be purchased here. 

ARE WE ABLE TO BRING CHAIRS?

You’re allowed to bring chairs with you into the arena on Thursday only, to allow you to enjoy our Opening Concert in more comfort. Please note that we won’t allow chairs in the arena Friday – Sunday. This is due to limited arena capacity. The exception to this rule is customers who have accessibility requirements or disabilities and must get in touch with the event to receive authorisation. 

ARE WE ABLE TO BRING FOOD AND DRINK/PICNIC?

Whilst we encourage you to sample one of our many delectable food and drink stalls catering for all dietary requirements and tastes, we do allow a reasonable amount of food to be brought into the Arena. We also allow a reasonable amount of unopened containers of liquid or empty re-useable water bottles to be brought into the Arena. No opened containers of liquid and strictly no alcohol can be brought from the campsite to the Arena   

IS THE COLONY BOUTIQUE CAMPSITE OR OUR PRE-PITCHED TANGERINE FIELDS TENTS AVAILABLE TO STAY IN FROM THURSDAY?

As long as you have a Thursday entry ticket alongside your weekend ticket then you can access and stay in your tent from Thursday.

Line-Up

Bluedot’s line-up is revealed in stages. Our first line-up announcement will typically come at the beginning of the year and from there you can expect further additions as well as day and stage splits in the run-up to the festival weekend. Keep an eye on our Line-Up page here or follow our social media for updates.

WHAT TIME DO THE HEADLINERS FINISH?

Our main stage closes at 11PM, our late night stages then run until 2AM Friday, Saturday and 1am Sunday. The Outer Space and the campsite hub run on a little later for those still up.

Lost Property

The Info Point opposite the Discovery Centre on the walking route from the Campsite is the place to report any lost property. Overnight, lost property is looked after by the campsite manager whose office is also in the Campsite Hub. After the event has finished, you can contact us to see if your property was found on: hello@discoverthebluedot.com

Safety

IS BLUEDOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

It certainly is. We have built a wonderland for the next generation of scientists and artists to explore. With experiments, workshops, and activities happening each day that the whole family can enjoy together bluedot is the perfect place for all ages to enjoy themselves while being safe and sound.

When entering the festival, all children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by, and camp with, a responsible parent or guardian. Children aged 11 – 15 can be unaccompanied in the Main Arena up until 10pm, after which point, they must be accompanied by their responsible parent or guardian.  

WILL THERE BE SECURITY?

We will have security on site 24 hours a day to ensure you are looked after.

WHAT IS YOUR DRUGS POLICY?

We work with the Police and authorities to prevent drugs getting onto site, we pursue those that do and at all times do everything within our power to protect our customers from the dangers of drug use. The laws of the land are as relevant at the event as anywhere else.

Alcohol

You need to be 18 to bring, buy and consume alcohol on site. We operate a Challenge 25 Policy across all bars so please do not be offended if we ask you for proof of age when buying alcohol.

IS THERE A LIMIT ON THE AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL I CAN BRING?

We allow weekend campers to bring a reasonable amount of alcohol into the campsite (enough for one person to consume for the duration of their stay). If you are seen bringing more than what our gate security team deem to be ‘reasonable’ amounts of alcohol into the festival you will be stopped and potentially asked to return some/all of your alcohol to your vehicle. In some cases alcohol may be confiscated.  

CAN I TAKE ALCOHOL INTO THE ARENA?

Alcohol is not allowed to be brought into the arena as we have arranged some fantastic bars for you to drink from. Plus, it keeps ticket prices lower.

WHAT ARE THE BAR PRICES?

We try to keep the bar prices in line with other festivals and offer our festival-goers good value.

Cashless

bluedot is a cashless festival. All bars, food concessions, merchandise and other points of sale will only accept card or mobile payment. 

Please make sure you bring a card / fully charged phone with you to ensure you have a payment method as cash will not be accepted.

WHY IS BLUEDOT CASHLESS?

bluedot is cashless to improve customer experience through faster service and reduced queue times. It also reduces contact time between customers and staff through handling of cash. The cashless systems in place are the standard payment methods that you’ll be used to seeing day to day. We will not be implementing a cashless wristband system.

WHAT PAYMENT METHODS ARE ACCEPTED?

We accept all major credit and debit cards that provide contactless and chip and pin payment. Alongside this, we will accept mobile and wearable forms of payment including Apple Pay and Google Pay. 

IS THERE A PAYMENT LIMIT?

We do not have a payment limit at the festival, this excludes individual bank/mobile payment limits.

Camping

bluedot is made up of six campsites consisting of:

• Standard Camping
• Family Camping (a family-only area located within the standard campsite)
• Tangerine Fields (pre-pitched dome tents located within the standard campsite)
• Live-In Vehicles
• Accessible Camping
• The Colony – Boutique Camping

Camping is only available with a weekend ticket and standard campsites are included in the price of your ticket. For all campsites excluding pre-bookings (boutique, Tangerine Fields and live in vehicles) spaces are on a first come first served basis.

THE COLONY (BOUTIQUE CAMPING AREA)

We have a number of boutique structures available to purchase located within The Colony, our boutique campsite.

The Colony must be booked in advance and is only valid with a full weekend camping ticket. If you have a weekend camping ticket and have also purchased a Thursday upgrade you will be able to access your boutique structure from the day you arrive. 

The boutique campsite will include free to use showers, dedicated boutique campsite toilets, free phone charging and access to a dedicated food and drink stall.

The prices are per unit not per person and do not include the price of a full weekend ticket.

To view our full range of accommodation products and to book your stay please click here.

LIVE IN VEHICLES

Live-in vehicles require 1 ticket per vehicle, not per person.

All vehicles will be in our Live-in Vehicle Campsite, this is the only campsite where festival ticket holders can sleep in vehicles.

Pitch size per vehicle is 7 x 6 metres

Unsuitable vehicles, including uncovered vans with live in vehicle tickets will not be permitted entry to the Live-in Vehicle Campsite.

We allow converted vehicles in the campsite if they have living accommodation with fitted sleeping facilities and either fitted cooking or washing facilities. Trailer tents are also permitted.

Live-in Vehicle tickets are only valid with a festival weekend camping ticket

Live-in vehicle tickets must be purchased in advance. There will be no on the day sales.

No tents are to be erected between vehicles. Awnings are permitted.

There is no re-entry for live-in vehicles that leave the site during the event.

There is NO water/electricity hook up available.

METEOR SHOWERS

Clean off the cosmic debris in our Meteor Showers, located in the standard campsite. Featuring hot showers, real flushing toilets and a pamper lounge with straighteners, salon quality hair dryers and make-up mirrors. Enjoy the creature comforts of home in your weekend stay with us under the stars. 

Opening Times

Thursday 20th July – 12:00 – 21:00

Friday 21st – Sunday 23rd July – 07:00 – 21:00

Monday 24th July – Closed  

Please note last admission to the Meteor Showers is at 20:30.

Tickets 

Please note you can either book a peak or off-peak ticket for Meteor Showers. 

A peak ticket allows use of the showers on any day at any time. 

An off peak ticket allows use of the showers from 14:00 – 21:00 daily. 

Book Meteor Showers tickets here.

PAY AS YOU GO SHOWERS

In addition to our luxury Meteor Showers and Toilets in association with Lush, we have also introduced some basic pay as you go showers in the campsites for those just looking for a quick wash. These are a basic, no-frills option in the same compound as the luxury Meteor Showers, and are priced £7 per use.

CAMPSITE VILLAGE FACILITIES

Phone charging – open Thursday from midday and Friday, Saturday & Sunday from 7am until 11pm daily.

General Store – Supplying vitals such as milk, toothpaste, water and toilet roll.

Safe storage – open Thursday from midday and Friday, Saturday & Sunday from 7am until 11pm daily.

Food – A full curated bill of delicious world cuisine including organic, vegan and vegetarian dishes.

Drink – A wide selection of alcoholic and soft drinks will be available

Info Point – our info point will be open daily from 9am – 9pm where our firendly staff will be happy to answer any enquiries you have about the festival

First Aid and Welfare

Merchandise – Located in the Main Arena

Do’s and don’ts

The campsite is for weekend ticket holders only. Campsites are open until midday on the Monday after the festival.

There are free water points across the site in our campsites and arena.

Disposable BBQ’s can be used in the fire lanes.

Camping stoves are allowed but limited to those that have up to 220g gas canisters.

Campfires are prohibited.

If you have a Thursday entry ticket for weekend customers, this means you can camp from Thursday in the standard campsite, live-in vehicle field, The Colony or in your pre-pitched tent.

Cheshire is a beautiful place. Green fields and untouched landscapes are what make it beautiful. It is not acceptable to litter and abandon possessions while you are at Jodrell Bank. 

Please make sure you take your tent home with you at the end of the event.

FESTIVAL SAFE

Festival Safe is a cross-industry initiative designed by festival organisers and industry professionals. It is a central resource to share useful information and advice with festival goers in a fun and engaging way before you head to the festival. Get prepared with essential advice and handy tips before you join us to discover the bluedot.

Whether you’re a festival first-timer or a loyal festival veteran, Festival Safe is a platform for everyone. It includes valuable sections on:

Festival first-timer: What tent do you buy? How can you cope with the toilets? What do you pack? All your questions answered to avoid any #FestivalFails.

Camping: Which campsite will be right for me? Whether you’re the Bear Grylls survival type or the glamping kind, Festival Safe gives you a survival guide to be a happy camper.

Families: An essential guide for those taking little explorers to the festival, with some suggestions and key tips to get your prepared beforehand to pack for the both of you.

Wellbeing: Festivals can sometimes be a test of endurance with the mix of sunshine and downpours, but stay on top form with your physical and mental health!

Alcohol & other drugs: Be sure not to overdo it – know the facts and stay safe. Visit Festival Safe HERE

Campsite Essentials

WILL THERE BE SOMEWHERE I CAN BUY FESTIVAL ESSENTIALS?

Our General Store in the Campsite Village will stock all the sorts of festival vitals that we’ve learnt you can’t do without. 

CAN I CHARGE MY MOBILE?

Yes you can, we have a phone charging station on site, you can purchase it in advance here.

WILL THERE BE LOCKERS?

There will be lockers to keep your valuables safe located in our Campsite Village and you can purchase this in advance here. Lockers are open Thursday from midday and Friday, Saturday & Sunday from 7am until 11pm daily. 

WHAT SIZE TENT CAN I BRING?

We ask you to respect other campers and to bring a tent suitable for the size of your group. Tents larger than an eight-person tent will not be permitted.

Residents

We are committed to ensuring that we are a good neighbour for the brief period we are in residence. Local residents can find more information about our traffic and noise management plans and get in touch at our Residents Hub minisite [link].

Be Part of bluedot

Keep your eyes peeled here for roles at bluedot, in the build-up to the show and onsite!

BAR STAFF

Our bars team Field Vision are on the lookout for great bar staff to pour pints, cocktails and more this summer!

Transport from Manchester and staff camping is included.

Volunteer

Experience bluedot for free by becoming a volunteer. In exchange for your time, you will get access to the VIP area so you can enjoy the festival in style when you are not volunteering. If you’d like to stay for the whole weekend you’ll also have a spot in either the general admission or staff campsite along with a free parking space. You will also receive a free meal voucher for each shift that can be redeemed at one of our wonderful food traders. Find out more about volunteering at bluedot here [link to Volunteer hub]

Perform at bluedot

Bands & Artists

bluedot does not accept music applications – we operate with only a limited number of slots each year, and work with a network of bookers and emerging talent organisations to give artists their first festival experience.

Microvenues and Pop-ups

More details open soon.

Science Exhibitors and Speakers

Please email any proposals to hello@discoverthebluedot.com with the subject title ‘Science Proposal’. Please note we cannot respond to all enquiries.

Trade at bluedot

Food Traders

Applications open soon.

Market Traders

Applications open soon.

Sustainability

Bluedot’s unique nature as a celebration of planet Earth is thanks to our love for the world around us, and a deep desire to protect and nurture it for future generations. We incorporate the concept of ‘Spaceship Earth’ – a world view that humans should work together harmoniously to look after the planet.

Alongside our sustainability initiatives, we’ve also invited key names within the field of climate change to join us to highlight the future of our blue dot. Scroll down for our initiatives, which we put in place to allow bluedot to take place with as minimal an impact on the planet as possible.

Our Initiatives

At bluedot, we’re working closely with our friends at Jodrell Bank exploring how sustainability plays a central role in all our work across the festival and beyond. From being one of the first festivals in the UK to use all LED festoon lighting in our inaugural year, to using a vast 15 acre wildlife refuge as our home at Jodrell Bank, both us and the team at the Observatory work hard to reduce waste and minimise our carbon footprint at the festival.

While we work hard to put sustainability at the heart of festival production, a key part of our overarching public mission is ‘to highlight the fragility of planet Earth’.

BALANCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

Offering festival goers the choice to make a ‘Carbon Balancing’ donation when they buy their tickets. We give our staff, contractors and artists the opportunity to do the same with Ecolibrium [LINK https://ecolibrium.earth/], a festival industry collaborative charity.. We invest 100% of these carbon balancing funds in renewable energy with Ecolibrium

We also encourage car sharing and urge anyone travelling to Bluedot to consider this option.

NO SINGLE-USE PLASTICS

We’re working alongside the AIF to ban single-use plastics at the festival. Removing the use of plastic straws, plastic containers, plastic cutlery and single serve sachets of salt, pepper, sugar or sauce from food traders.

All water and soft drinks onsite will be sold in cans rather than single use PET plastic. We encourage our festival goers to bring their own refillable water bottle for use onsite. We encourage staff and artists to also bring a reusable water bottle and do not give out or sell plastic water bottles anywhere on the event site! 

ZERO WASTE TO LANDFILL

0% of our waste will be going to landfill. We’ll be providing extensive recycling opportunities across the festival site which we’ll separate at source, sending less to incinerators. All food waste will be separated from other waste across the site, to then be composted.

We’ll be working to salvage any food waste from traders and donate to the local community.

REFILLABLE WATER BOTTLES

Numerous refill stations will be located across the campsites and Main Arena so that you can top up your bottle with ease.

ALTERNATIVE POWER SUPPLIES

Where possible, generators will be replaced with Hybrid generators with fuel monitoring to give us the data to burn less fuel at future festivals.

ABANDONED CAMPING EQUIPMENT

We are working with the Association Of Independent Festivals on their ‘Take Your Tent Home’ and ‘Say No To Single Use’ campaigns. We also provide an onsite local food bank collection for leftover sealed food from campsites and traders.

RECYCLED WRISTBANDS

Where possible our wristbands will be made from from recycled plastics.

TRAVEL TO BLUEDOT

Bluedot is part of an unprecedented festival industry initiative, which aims to account for the carbon emissions of audience travel. 63% of our festival’s carbon footprint is audience travel. A fixed donation has been added to all advanced/on the day campervan and parking tickets for bluedot all of which will be interested in renewable energy and/or carbon offset schemes. We’re proud to be able to say that 100% of bluedot’s audience travel emissions are offset. Watch the video below or find out more HERE.

Last year, your Carbon Balancing donations contributed to an incredible project in the UK, including a community owned wind-turbine in the Forest of Dean that supplies clean electricity to the local community. The 500KW wind turbine creates 1,550 MWh per year, powering 350 local homes with clean electricity and saving 731 tonnes of CO2 each year. The project also offers a fund to support local projects that are working to build community resilience, especially around reducing fuel poverty through energy efficiency and education.

CYCLE TO BLUEDOT

Reduce your carbon footprint and pedal to bluedot! We’ll be announcing details of our Cycle To Bluedot scheme soon, including details of what’s included in your cycle booking.

Jodrell Bank’s Initiatives

Our home Jodrell Bank Observatory is committed to sustainability and works towards the University of Manchester’s sustainable goals. Highlights from the Discovery Centre’s list of sustainable actions include:

• Using a hybrid vehicle for staff use, for example when traveling to educational outreach and community engagement sessions.
• Using an electric buggy on site.
• Buildings installed with wind catchers, air source heat pumps and LED lighting.
• Offices installed with movement sensor lighting to reduce energy consumption and automatic windows to ensure heat conservation.
• Recycling bins across the site and a green waste recycling scheme for the gardens and grounds
• Maintaining the diverse ecology of the 35 acres of gardens and arboretum at Jodrell Bank.
• Working with local suppliers to promote local organic and sustainable food production in relation to the Jodrell Bank cafe.
• In recognition of its commitment to sustainability, Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre recently received a Silver Award from Green Tourism. It was also awarded World Heritage Site status in July 2019.