Agree 100%. I much prefer to see 1 or 2 talks and spend the rest of the time chilling and getting to know new people.

We actually passed on Ripley this year and signed up to the Autumn meet on a whim. So glad we went:)

Cheers to Gabe and Charlotte (and all the volunteers) for a great weekend.

Steve & Sas

My first meet and thoroughly enjoyed it. Met some great new peeps and had some good laughs and chats. Enjoyed the talks, t'was a very chilled atmosphere with beerio consumed!!

Some very curious bods wondering who's was the strange looking black Beemer (G640X Country hybrid ;-) )

My mate Kev should have set up a Tipi sales counter, due to all the enquiries he had.

The food was plentiful and nice, but for the cost, should have at least included pud and a drink(I didn't bring my stove for a brew unfortunately). The camping field was great and plenty of room, loos were fine and the venue was bang on.
bier


I did my bit behind the bar, but big thanks to Gabe and Char for organising the event.

Thoroughly agree with this sentiment and Gabe and Charlotte and all the gate/registration, tech, kitchen helpers and the owners of the farm did a super job getting it together and making things run smoothly.

Shame you thought it expensive. What's earnt at these meetings goes towards running the website.

I thought the camping was good. The portaloos worked, had ample paper and soap. That the floor was muddy is unavoidable cosidering they were in the middle of a grass field and it rained over night. There were more facilities in the "barn" including showers and hot water.

There were tech talks: planning and preparation, Stans paperwork, maintenance, which bike. There were various talks running concurrently in 2 venues between 10.30am and 11.30pm on Saturday: About every continent, on everything from a c90 in the snow of Germany to a 12gs in Tibet and everything in between.

Everybody who arrived while I was helping on the gate/reg/welcoming team on Fri (between about 12 and 6) was offered the opportunity to purchase breakfasts/dinners from Sat morning onwards (including all who hadn't pre-booked them). We assumed that those who didn't want these were self-catering. The kitchen crew and helpers were volunteers and weren't a commerial money making venture.

I really enjoyed having space to chat to people. Also liked the raffle prize I won:helpsmilie::rofl:. No mention at all of adding insult to injury :cool4:

I'll be there next year.
Chris

Big Thanks to Gabe and Char for organising a great weekend. Everyone I talked to was really friendly and all had a different story to tell.

Here are a few photos from the unofficial trail ride on Saturday.
http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/P9030080.jpg

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/P9030081.jpg

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/P9030082.jpg

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/P9030083.jpg

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/P9030084.jpg

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/P9030085.jpg

http://i564.photobucket.com/albums/s...t/P9030086.jpg

Hope to see you all at Ripley next year (I haven't yet been there so am looking forward)

Each to his, own, I was happy that there were flushing toilets, that is all I need in life :-)

I think Jean and I will be back next year, and will offer present again (if people are interested).

A big thank you to Gabe, Charlotte and all the other volunteers that made my first HU Travellers meeting one to remember; I am definitely coming to another meet.

It was great to meet so many people that have that "you can do anything you want" attitude and most have the T-Shirt to prove it!

The seminars were great; nice and personal. Thank you to all those that spoke and further fueled my growing obsession to "get up and go" . . .

All I have left to say is Ed . . your seminar was a laugh, good on you for your spirit and Dennis . . . . I'm ready to go! :scooter:

Thanks again and hope to see my new-found friends at further meets. :mchappy:

£35 for two nights camping and quite a lot of talks. A good bonfire too with a good selection of stalls. I think that's actually not too bad. You pay a lot more to do a lot less in some places.

I find it incredible that someone would class the camping as back to basics. They had hot showers and very clean toilets in the bar. The other toilets were also very clean and all had paper in them. I don't know what kind of camping you're used to but it seems you must have been camping in the Hilton's back garden.. God help you if you ever go travelling....

You didn't book food so why would it be available for you ?? This was quite clear on the event page wasn't it ??? To be honest, the food looks pretty crap for the price (£7 a meal ?) but the local cider and ale was cheap at £2 a pint.. FANTASTIC !!!

This was a first time event by a couple of guys who obviously put a lot of effort and time into putting on this event and it is appreciated by 99.9% of people who went.

I REALLY enjoyed it and so did everyone else that I talked to. Nice one Gabe and Charlotte. I can't wait to go next year. Much more personal and chilled out that Ripley.

As a first time effort.... BRILLIANT !!:funmeteryes:

I had an excellent time! Thanks very much C&G - great stuff.

What a great weekend!
I met such interesting people and learned a lot, (and even managed to pass on a couple of tips from my experiences).
The presentations I saw (six, I think) were informative and entertaining.
Well done and a BIG THANKS to Gabe & Char for running this event and of course the thanks go to all the team of volunteers for working so hard.
Can't wait for another one!
Steve/Moose

Did you and Mat every get around to meeting ? :-)

No criticisms from me either (except maybe one - I was paying £2.50 a pint! beer) - and not even damning with faint praise by slurring "good - for a first time effort" through beer goggles. It was just - good :thumbup1: It was well organised with just the right amount of hand holding, an interesting and varied selection of talks / workshops and clean, hygienic facilities. The few niggles I had were all of my own making.

Half the enjoyment on events like this is in the people you meet and the informal conversations you have at the bar etc. You learn as much off the record as on and the atmosphere over the whole weekend was great for that. I lost count of the number of people I just started talking to and picked up loads of ideas. If it runs again next year I have a couple of suggestions for talks but I'll make those in private. Overall though, a brilliant weekend.


A couple of pictures -


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r.../IMGA0881a.jpg



http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r.../IMGA0875a.jpg

We had a great weekend. The site was ideal. The organizers did a fantastic job of pulling it all together and coping with the unplanned. I hadn't realised when I booked that the kitchen and even the bar was being run by the organizers and the volunteers. The presentations were good, with some of them being excellent. We met lots of new people as well as old friends and the chatter went on well into the early hours on both nights. The atmosphere was like a smaller version of Ripley. Well done Gabe and Charlotte and all those who played their part.

Yep, we had a great time too. Enjoyed meeting new folk and catching up with old friends too. Didn't have the food so can't comment, but had plenty of the ale, which was really good and not bad at £2.50 a pint!

Well done to all involved :clap:

And Chris, cheers for the lift and hope you enjoy and can learn from your prize :innocent:

Debz

Really enjoyed my first meet, thanks to Gabe and Char for all the hard work.

Hope you do another next year!

Loved it...! Shame about the journey home!
 

A terrific weekend....and how hard Gabe and Char and the many volunteers worked!! Suitably "Unusual/quirky" venue which was just right. Naturally folks can think of ways to improve the event another time...but absolutely full marks for getting this one off the ground and creating such a friendly atmosphere.
I'd suggest there should be food of some kind for sale ....especially at lunchtime....maybe even the local burger van! I went to too many talks....not wanting to miss anything...and maybe missed out on some socialising...although met a lot of people nevertheless and swapped details with some.That nitwit talk on Apricot yoghourt had me in stitches...wonderful stuff....but loved them all really. ( I've joined the 'Ela fanclub!)I got some excellent tips and information and left a happy man........until a very sharp object knackered my back tyre( the R65 Boxer) on the M5 in scary fashion....many attempts at fixing and sourcing a replacement when that failed and finally driven home ignominiously by a very nice man from the AA.....Although he says he wouldn't be available if it happens in Mauritania next time....just home in the Norfolk uplands...and well ready for bed! Once again...Many thanks to all who made the meeting possible.....Richard