Hill Farm · Steventon · Oxfordshire · July · Four days
Truck: a site you can cross in ten minutes
Truck happens on a working farm at Steventon, and the whole site is small enough to walk across in about ten minutes. After a weekend at Glastonbury or Reading, where getting between stages is a genuine expedition, that compactness is the thing people talk about most.
To walk from one end of the site to the other. It means no clashes are unwinnable, the campsite is never far from the music, and a group can actually stay together across a weekend rather than agreeing to meet at a landmark twice a day.
What a compact site changes
It sounds like a minor detail and it affects almost everything about the weekend.
Between stages
You can genuinely see two acts on different stages back to back.
To everything
Which means going back for a coat is a five-minute errand, not a decision.
More easily
Losing people is the default at a large festival. Here it is recoverable.
Not a parkland estate
Which shapes the ground, the drainage and what happens when it rains.
Kent to Steventon
M25 and M40 or M4, then into rural Oxfordshire.
| Pick-up area | Distance | Each way |
|---|---|---|
| Bromley & Orpington | 89 miles | 1h 50m – 2h 25m |
| Sevenoaks & Tonbridge | 92 miles | 1h 55m – 2h 30m |
| Dartford & Bluewater | 95 miles | 2h – 2h 35m |
| Gravesend & Northfleet | 100 miles | 2h 5m – 2h 40m |
| Maidstone & Aylesford | 107 miles | 2h 10m – 2h 50m |
| Rochester & Chatham | 111 miles | 2h 15m – 2h 55m |
| Canterbury & Ashford | 135 miles | 2h 40m – 3h 25m |
It is a farm, not a park
Which matters more than it sounds if the weather turns during the weekend.
| Feature | What it means |
|---|---|
| Farmland ground | Drains differently from parkland. Wet years get properly muddy |
| Little natural shelter | Fewer mature trees than an estate site |
| Narrow approach lanes | Which carry all the arrival traffic on the Thursday |
| Compact camping | Close to everything, and closer to your neighbours too |
| Bag your muddy kit | Before it goes in the vehicle on the Monday |
A Truck weekend
The best festival for a group that wants to stay together
At a big site, a party of ten splits within an hour and spends the weekend sending messages that do not send. At Truck the whole site is a ten-minute walk end to end, so people drift apart and find each other again without it becoming a project. For a first festival with friends rather than a crowd, that is a real advantage.
Under two and a half hours from most of Kent
Which makes it one of the more accessible camping weekends on our list, closer than Glastonbury, Leeds or Kendal. The motorway section is easy and the last few miles are rural Oxfordshire lanes, which is where arrival day traffic collects. We plan the drop around that.
Farm ground behaves differently from parkland
Wilderness and Latitude sit on estates with mature trees and established drainage. Truck is on a working farm, and a wet July turns that into exactly what you would expect. Wellingtons are not optional in a bad year, and a bag for the muddy kit on the Monday saves everybody a conversation about cleaning.
Still a full camping load
Small site does not mean small luggage. Four days of tents, bedding, chairs and supplies takes the same room here as anywhere, and the head count is a poor guide to the vehicle you need. Tell us what is coming and we will size it properly the first time.
Truck Festival questions
A small site in Oxfordshire.
How big is the site?
Small enough to walk across in about ten minutes, which is the main thing people notice after a weekend at one of the bigger festivals.
Why does that matter?
Because clashes become winnable, the campsite is never far from the music, and a group can actually stay together across a weekend.
Where is Truck held?
Hill Farm at Steventon in Oxfordshire, around ninety to a hundred and thirty-five miles from Kent, roughly two to three and a half hours each way.
Is it muddy?
In a wet year, yes. It is a working farm rather than a parkland estate, so the ground drains differently and wellingtons are not optional.
Is it good for a first festival?
For a group of friends who want to stay together rather than disperse into a crowd, it is one of the best choices on our list.
Do we still need a lot of luggage space?
Yes. A small site does not mean small kit. Four days of camping equipment fills a hold regardless of how compact the festival is.
What is the journey like?
Easy motorway running followed by a few miles of rural Oxfordshire lanes, which is where the arrival day traffic collects.
Is the fare fixed?
Yes, agreed at booking as one arrangement covering the drop and the collection.
Camping festivals and the west
The smaller weekends.