Cherry Hinton Hall Resident Information

Cambridge Folk Festival, 27 – 30 July 2023

This year’s festival is taking place on the last full weekend in July . This letter includes practical information on how to contact the festival organisers, actions we are taking to minimise impact on local residents, Cherry Hinton Park closure times, and also information about the festival itself, now in its 59th year.

If you need to contact us for any reason up to and including Wednesday 26 July please email or call on 01223 791793 or Tickets@cambridge.gov.uk. From Thursday to Sunday (09:00 -00:30) and Monday (until 14:00) contact the on-site Festival HQ on 01223 792511.

We work hard to minimise the impact on local residents around the time of the Festival, and in particular recognise the challenge of on-street parking by festival goers. We have taken a lot of advice from the Police over years as to what we are legally able to do to stop on road parking. As there is not a residents parking scheme and no general restriction on parking (i.e. double yellow lines), the only way to prevent parking would be to apply for a parking suspension, which would apply equally to residents and visitors. We are therefore using additional signage to encourage folk festival attenders to use the designated car parks and this seems to be having a positive impact, so we will be continuing this in 2023.

Signage advising Festival goers not to park in surrounding roads and to use the designated car parks will be put up in the following roads: Queen Edith’s Way from the Netherhall School to Cherry Hinton Hall, Walpole Rd on both sides; St Bede’s Crescent and Gardens; Cherry Hinton Rd from the junction of High Street Cherry Hinton to Perne Rd on both sides; Baycliffe Close Estate; St.Thomas’s Road, St. Thomas's Square; Birdwood Rd; entrance to Kelvin Close & Derwent Close; Greystoke Rd/Greystoke Court; Mill End Rd near Dawes Lane; Forest Rd; Cherry close; Ventress Rd; Ventress Farm Court; Rothleigh Rd; Penrose Close; Bosworth Road; Carrick Close. Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), will be patrolling and will be directing Festival attendees to the car parks.

Festival attendees are provided with parking on Netherhall playing fields, with both fields either side of Queen Ediths Way being used. They are advised in advance not to park in roads around the festival site, and we provide a park and ride service from the Upper playing field car park, as well as a dedicated drop off zone at the festival for attendees who need to unload closer to the site (i.e. for health reasons). 

Cherry Hinton Hall ground closures are as follows:

As we move into our 59th year of the event, we also wanted to let you know a bit more about the Festival itself. We are predominately a music Festival, with 4 stages that run from lunch time each day but we also run music workshops, giving attendees the opportunity to learn from Main Stage artists in song writing, singing and the playing of tunes. We have an amazing kids area, where we run craft workshops, theatre and music workshops and give kids the opportunity to perform themselves. We also have talks scheduled on topics we feel are important in todays’ society. We also have a wellbeing area where you can do yoga, Thai-Chi, positive thinking sessions and others.

The festival is committed to the future of folk music, and in particular encouraging young people to take part. We are really proud of our Hub Band Project. Young people ages 14 – 18 can apply to take part in the project and if successful, get a free ticket to the Festival. 

Finally, there will be a children’s concert with Nick Cope on Sunday 30 July between 12.15pm at the main site (Cherry Hinton Hall) (Doors open at 11.00am). Tickets are limited and available in advance to City residents from the City Centre Box Office and at the Cherry Hinton Hall site box office, subject to availability. They cost £10for accompanying adults and £8 for children under 14 years old (children must be accompanied by an adult).