The Secret Garden Party is a temporary community that is as free, irreverent, friendly and engaging as it is possible to be.

Conceived as a moment in the year where you can connect to your creative powers, explore your wildest fantasies and meet thousands of people who all want to meet you. It is a gathering that exists for only four days - away from cities and schedules, brands and boundaries - founded on participation and with the potential to change your life. It is a festival of the arts…where everyone is the artist.

Rumours

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Lineup

2013: Arts & Expression theme has been confirmed as "Superstition"

2013 Headliners: Soulwax, Django Django, Bastille, The Strypes, James Lavelle (special UNKLE DJ set), Embrace (DJ set), The Correspondents and many more.

NEW FOR 2013

• New amphitheate for theatre, games and other gatherings and celebrations
• Black Cat Bar - Along with superstition theme, cabaret, cocktails and more
• New Yacht Club Bar by lakeside
• Temple of Boom is set to return to original home south of the lake
• There will also be a return of the Village Hall, The gravel beach lagoon, Oddball Danacehall, Small World solar stage and much more

Vibe

The crowd at Secret Garden Festival is generally full of open minded people who see the festival as a time to let their hair down. There is a wide mix of people of all ages at the festival although the typical attendee is in their 20's, 30's or 40's.

• ‘”SGP we salute you for not only putting on an amazing festival but creating a wholeworld in which we were submersed and will never forget.” Clash Magazine
• “As far as spectacles go the SGP fireworks show remains the best thing I’ve seen at a festival. And I have a feeling there’s nothing that will beat it.” Virgin

Stages and other entertainment

Stages at the festival include the Great Stage, which hosts the biggest bands, the Crossroads, which is the festivals blues and soul stage, Where the Wild Things Are, showcasing the best in new music, Remix Bubble, where DJ sets are performed, the chilled out Valley of the Antics, The Lunar lakes host everything from electro swing to opera, theatre and ballet, the relaxed Village Hall, the Pagoda with more DJ performances, The Lake Stage, which is a secret installation in the middle of the lake, the Never-Ever Land Theatre, The Collo-Silly-Um, bringing the best in ridiculous entertainment, One Taste and the Living Room also hosting music and spoken word acts.

The Fo:rem

The Fo:rem is the Secret Garden's intellectual platform. Every year the festival welcomes some renowned speakers from the fields of science, philosophy, technology and literature to give talks.

This summer’s lineup includes Jamie Catto, Robin Ince, Josie Long, Aleks Krotoski, Chris Hatherill, Ann Daniels and Benjamin Morris. There will also be performances by Liars League, BERG, Super/Collider, Literary Death Match, Elephant, The Lost Lectures, Fast Future and PLEB.

As well as all the music entertainment, there are many other activities going on around the festival for adults and kids such as, Parades, Art tents, Walkabout Theatre & Theatre workshops, Big Wheel Rides, Boat Rides, Swimming, Treasure Hunts, Bands in trees, a festival-wide train service, open mic stages, massages, barefoot discos, twilight fire circle tales and participatory games of all descriptions.

The kids area offers a range of activities such as, Egg Hunts, Fancy Dress, Discos, Kite Flying, Circus shows & workshops, Jewelry Making and Karaoke to keep the young gardeners busy.

Tickets

Tickets are on sale on a tiered system, however this is also a deposit scheme, with a deposit of £50, the remaining balance needs to be paid by 30th April 2013.

Available from SeeTickets, the prices and tiers are as follows:

• Adult Tier 1 Tickets: £137.50 - SOLD OUT
• Adult Tier 2 Tickets: £155 - SOLD OUT
• Adult Tier 3 Tickets: £165 - limited
• Adult Tier 4 Tickets: £185 - limited
• Adult Tier 5 Tickets: £195 - limited
• Teen Ticket (13 – 17 years): £130
• Campervan: £60
• Under 12's: £0
• Family Camping Pass: £20

VIP

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Children

At Secret Garden there is plenty for families and kids to do, especially at the family gardens.

Look out for the Sky Blue Theatre Company’s theatrical workshops, which they will be running for children of all ages in the Never Ever Land Theatre Tent. You can also join The Flying Seagulls Circus for some ‘laughter therapy’, circus skills and other crazy games at Kids Camp. Where young gardeners can also take part in the multi-coloured glittery Candy Floss Olympics with The Secret Micronation of Candy Queens, join a drumming circle, learn capoeira, explore the music maze, screen print a t-shirt, create a headdress, write a story with Writers Ink Suitcase Stories, make a pizza or watch a puppet show with The Italian Job. And after all that, families can relax under the stars with Ready Steady Science at a storytelling workshop. And for the really young gardeners Kids Camp will be running multi-sensory workshops too.

Disability Access

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Weather

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Location

The festival grounds are located on an estate, complete with its own lake, river and landscaped gardens, in Abbot's Ripton, near to Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire.

Local Information

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Travel

If you are travelling by car there will be a Green Tax of £2.50 per empty car seat payable on the gate, so why not car share? One website we recommend is Blabla Car.

By Car:

From the A1/A14 Junction (aka Brampton Hut) Take the A14 towards Huntingdon Industrial Estate (ignore signs to Huntingdon). At next roundabout go straight over (signposted A141 March & Ely). Continue straight over the next three roundabouts. The last will have a huge Tescos on it. Shortly after, there will be a turning left (signposted Kings Ripton). Take this turning and follow the road down to the next cross-roads. Turn left towards Abbots Ripton (B1090).The Festival is about a mile on your right – very hard to miss!

Festival goers can plan their journey on the AA Route Planner.

By Coach:

Coach services to the festival will run from London, Brighton, Bristol, Nottingham, Norwich, Oxford, Manchester and Birmingham. National Express and Megabus run services from various locations around the UK to Huntingdon or within close proximity.

Train:

The nearest train station to site is Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. 

Huntingdon takes one hour on the train from London Kings Cross, and it costs around £23 normal return, £40 anytime return. Trains leave around every half hour. Festival goers can plan/book their trip via The Trainline.

Local Accommodation

What to wear

Secret Garden Party is a festival as much about revelry and off-centre behaviour as it is about music. More than half of attendees at the festival dress up in fancy dress, including personalized handmade outfits, onesies (animal onesies are very popular) and silver or gold glittery jumpsuits.

The more creative you are with your outfits, the more likely you are going to get into conversations with people and get hilarious photos taken.

Camping

Camping is available at the festival. There will be a general store and camping stall in the campsite for whatever you might need.

You can leave the festival and then go back later, but you will need to do so within the gate opening times.

Boutique Camping:

Boutique camping allows festival goers to live a life a luxury whilst at the festival. Boutique camping customers have their own direct road onto the festival site, leading to a private carpark, where they are greeted by our boutique barrow boys, who are on hand to take their luggage. Facilities include toilets, showers and boutique butlers (those wanting breakfast in bed or some midnight treats) for those wanting some pampering. The boutique camp site is a very short walk away from the heart of the festival.

Action Camps:

Action camps are the life blood the Secret Garden Party and they are created by festival goers, for festival goers.

Site Information

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Food and drink

All the food stalls are independently owned so your weekend will be a step away from the big names of the high street. As well as restaurants, there are also food talks. There are numerous bars, ale tents and cocktail bars located all around the festival site.

Soul Fire Restaurant

The garden’s sensual food sanctuary, the Soul Fire Restaurant is now taking bookings for The Secret Garden Party 2012. Returning for its fourth year, this is the perfect place to relax, connect with friends and replenish a famished soul during the party. Housed in a cosy hub of deliciously dressed yurts, Soul Fire provides a retreat where you can eat and be merry. Live music will play all day and evening guests will be treated to many live performances.

Perform at the festival

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Volunteer or work

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Drugs and security

Drugs are strictly prohibited from the festival. Anyone found with or using illegal drugs will be removed from the event and the police would be informed.

However drug use does go on at the festival (a large amount of people at this festival take MDMA and methadone) but if you do choose to use drugs, make sure you are careful and discreet when using and in control of your actions.

Stream online

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Mobile Apps

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Trivia

Secret Garden Party is a festival with a big party atmosphere. There is a lot of creativity and creative people at this festival which that takes place at Mill Hill Field, at Huntingdon, in Cambridgeshire. This is a festival without sponsorship and offers an eclectic musical mix.

The first festival only had only one stage and attracted around 1000 visitors 10 years ago. Since then the festival has grown year by year and this year's festival has 15 stages and expected to attract around 26,000 revellers.

From humble beginnings in 2004, the Secret Garden Party’s appeal has grown organically over the years; its ethos of fun, friendliness and participation connecting to a new generation of festival goers. It has remained proudly independent and non-corporate in its outlook - a festival of the arts where everyone is the artist.

Past lineups

2012 saw the theme of 'Standing On Ceremony', and confirmed headliners included Orbital, Eward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, KT Tunstall and Little Roy. Details of the full line-up can be found here.

Blondie, Mystery Jets, I am Kloot, Mylo, Nero, Sub Focus, Guillemots, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Leftfield, Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Rob Da Bank, for more details on the 2011 line-up click here.

For more information on past line-ups, click here.