A group of about 150 - 200 people travelled from Ashton Court Festival and camped on Inglestone Common, near Wickwar in Avon. At 7.30 pm on July 3rd, over 100 Police Officers conducted a drugs raid on the camp.
This provoked a confrontation at the end of which two Police officers and at least ten festival goers were treated in hospital. There were 13 arrests, 5 for drugs and the rest for assault, obstruction etc.
The festival goers, who are now commonly known as the 'Convoy' felt that the raid was sheer harassment.
The festival lasted for about three weeks and, other than the raid, caused no serious problems. Trench toilets were dug but were not sufficiently used.This caused some minor fouling of the woods. There was plenty of dead wood and damage to live wood was negligible. Water runs were arranged and kept going constantly.

Bob Nightingale,
RELEASE.

Darrren remembers
Arrived at festival just a few hours after site had been raided by hundreds of Thatcher's Gestapo, lots of people arrested etc.That is why buses are in protective semi circle formation.A few days later an angry mob consisting of local farmhands and what looked like a rugby team attacked and were repelled rather quickly. Alas I did not have my camera handy.
Good festival though.

This is a view of Inglestone common 1981, a great festy that happened after stonehenge in 81 and lasted for over three weeks. This was in the days before the anti convoy hysteria when the locals were friendly and used to buy freaks drinks in the pub and brought their lurchers down to race ours etc.The main venue was the Tibetan Ukranian Mountain Troupe marquee - lots of stuff on them if you can winkle it out !. Put out an APB.

2- Main street on a hot afternoon.
3 - A rare picture of Rico of Rico's bar fame, one of the famous Waggy Poo brothers
4- This is a girl called Min (sans pants)

Right - The e-pipe.

Guy Rowe remembers

   Inglestone 8th july 1983 took place on a village green which had trenches dug all round but which someone had filled in sufficiently of a vehicles width so you could get on it, I think there were maybe 20 vans or so on the Friday and we got there through deep fog on the wolds and had to wait for the sun to lift the fog off before we could find the place.

   It got dead hectic on the Saturday, people were parking a way off the field down near the shop which was quite a trek down through the woods, there was a bear in the air who was filming the field who had a knack of rising up from behind the trees and um trying to make like he was out of apocalypse now only with the camera pointing out filming pissing speedheads who’s willies had shrunk to nothing. Can’t remember who was on since with many others was gnashing teeth and furiously carving a piece of wood.

Left: Heavily retouched poster for the 1983 festival courtesy Gopher Wood .

Restored by Great White Shark