:clap: when can we book , can't wait still on a high after the weekend.

That's ten minutes of next June accounted for. Let's hope the rest of it will be as warm and satisfying ;)

Leave booked :-)

Lol, it's just that one, the weather was so bad in Germany and Poland that we wanted to get out of the rain as fast as possible (and we planned on not visiting D and PL anyway) and start 'properly' in UA.

@ Senno; gnagnagna... ;-)

Anyway, enough of us, otherwise I'll get kicked for hijacking the thread... :oops2:

Coming Soon...
 

Work is already underway on preparing for 2014 and pre-registration will be going live soon. Will let everyone know when it's there. :)

Damn! That means I will only be able to go on Saturday.

Ok thats next summer sorted then, back from africa and southern europe for june, say hi to the family and then off to eastern europe for the rest of the summer

Really enjoyed the event, even found myself looking at motorbikes, but it aint never gonna happen


By the way what was the mystery meat ?

2014
 

Just followed your example, mine's now booked too.

Looking back and looking forward....
 

It's great to hear that people are already booking the time off to attend next year's event - fantastic!

By way of a review of the first HUBB UK event, we've compiled some of the overwhelmingly positive feedback Sam and I have received (including from the comments box in the bar) and put it together with a few of the volunteers' photos on this page.

We're all delighted by how much everyone enjoyed the event and found it valuable, but we're especially pleased that the idea of bringing together overland travellers regardless of vehicle choice worked so well. The comments about it being like "one big family" sum it up perfectly.

Nothing ever goes entirely to plan of course and there were a number of things that were less than perfect. It was a big learning exercise both for us (at a new venue) and for Donington Park Farmhouse (dealing with a new kind of event). We really appreciate all the suggestions for improving the event itself and the feedback about the venue facilities. We're taking careful note of them all and conversations have already happened with the venue about aspects that need developing or enhancing.

As for the aircraft noise.... it's the inevitable downside of having a beautiful site so close to an air freight terminal. Some struggled, but from what we've been told most people seemed to stop noticing (or at least being bothered) after their first night.

We'll be doing everything we can to make HUBB UK 2014 even more inspiring and memorable - the ideas are already buzzing!

:)

Just a note from me to follow on from Iain's post. We are chuffed with how many people used the comments and feedback box that was on the counter in the bar. Thanks to everyone who filled a card in and many thanks also to everyone who has been posting brilliant feedback on forums and FB! Cheers bier

I've popped next year's dates in the diary, put me down for Thursday gate duties again Sam, it was a great way for a this first-timer to get into the spirit of things seeing everyone turn up.

Oh and I have already thought of a cunning boiler suited plan for 2014.

Nice one Alex and too right! It's one of the best possible ways to meet people and volunteers are key to helping set the mood - new to the HUBB UK or past attendees.
Cunning plan? I'll be watching the space :thumbup1:

We both had an absolutley fantastic time. I was worried hubby would not enjoy it due to the amount of people and him not liking crowds, but he loved it.
Ed Marsh You are a legend. I have lost count of the times hubby has watched your Hitler video on youtube and I know he is watching it due to the laughter, never heard him laugh so much.
All the talks we went to were just brilliant, wish we could have went to more.
The trade stands, think I need to start working overtime for more goodies.
Even though we have bikes we were especially interested in the 4x4 travel something to look forward to in retirement unfortunately its a few years away.
The camp fire/oildrums what a great time.
Now the best bit The Road Kill Cook Out team You guys are the BEST. I couldnt believe how well hubby skinned & gutted the rabbit it surprised even me. Looking forward to claiming our winning 2 nights will contact you soonish.
Keeping my fingers crossed that I can get my holidays at the right time next year either that or I might just have to be "sick" for a few days.
Cant wait to make a return visit.
IT was THE VERY BEST long weekend ever
Liz & Mike

Yeah put me down for gate duty next year as well. It's the best way to meet folk and catch up with old friends as well as eye up all the beauties as they arrive ( I mean the bikes you filthy minded lot ;) )

In fact, even if it turns out I can't afford the ticket I might just turn up to man the gates before buggering off home :)

We are so glad you enjoyed it and your beds await you , don't worry we will task mike again next year with something new

thanks danny and fil

Best one yet!
 

I just wanted to say that I thought this year was a SUPER start to a new venue and a new event. I had a great time and with the inclusion of all the other travelers I thought the event was even more friendly and open.

Others have said it but I think the reason that the HUBB UK events are so different is that they are NOT a bike or 4x4 or whatever show, they are a meeting of like minded people. Coming together to talk, share ideas, stories, tips, tricks, the good and the bad, and most importantly connect as fellow travelers.

I have never met a more open, welcoming, accepting, warm group of people, and I am proud to be a part of it.

And I will be there next year hopefully as a Crew Leader again!

Mike

not long until the next hub to find out

cheers danny and fil

Good Afternoon,

I for one would be interested in seeing the results of the survey that was emailed around as, I will never return to that location.

If you're hard of hearing, or decided to drink enough booze to render you blathered then you may have a chance to get some sleep but our crowd in the Quiet Field (ha that's a bloody great name if I've ever heard it) were kept awake by the aircraft movements. And before anyone thinks I'm an anti-aviation type, I'm a PPL holder!

Many people left early because of the aircraft noise, as a did I. Three days of no sleep is not a joke, especially as we were heading directly from the meeting, for a touring holiday around France.

The food wasn't a patch on that at Ripley, the service was even worse. At least the local taxi company did a roaring trade in moving people over to The Marlborough Arms, who's curry's were a delight

The showers were a joke and failing with three seperate faults, on three days takes some believeing.

What was good was to see the exped type vehicles and the likes of CCM and Pidcocks in attendance.

I've been to 5 of the last 6 main UK HUBB events and it will be my last at that location (unless I win the lotto and can buy a sound proof Uni-Mog!).

Each to their own, I suppose. Personally, I slept rather well (I was in the 'quiet' field as well, although I was glad I'd brought my ear plugs)! For me, the food was much better; being Vegan, it's often rather difficult to eat out! What I had wasn't by any stretch of the imagination exciting, but it was better than Ripley and on a par with other places I've eaten out! That probably says more about where I live, though! The venue overall was MUCH better than before, and I found it very interesting meeting other 'types' of traveller / transport.

My only gripe is that it can't be at the same weekend next year; it was my half term, I could enjoy ALL of HUBB, as opposed to just the Saturday!

Thanks again to Ian and Sam! :clap:

Sad to hear you didn't enjoy the event Stuart. HUBB UK 2014 will be at the same location, so I guess we won't have the pleasure of your company. Genuinely sorry if that's the case.

We will indeed be publishing the stats that come out of the survey. As you'll have seen by all the other feedback given in this thread and elsewhere, and as the survey is demonstrating, while there were inevitably imperfections and niggles with holding a big event at a new venue for the first time, on the whole people seemed to a) love the venue despite the aircraft noise; and b) love the event despite the minor teething issues.

Some people did choose to leave early, though I think it would be fairer to characterise them as "a few" rather than "many", which is a shame considering how much there was going on. Also true that some folk chose to go off-site for their evening victuals - and there's nothing wrong with that if it's what best suits individual tastes. Feedback about the venue's food has been mixed. Some people were perfectly happy with it (though even the venue agrees about those sausages) and some weren't. The average rating for food in the survey so far (people are still responding to it) is "Good". We're working with DPFH to make sure lessons are learned about our expectations so that next year can be better.

Showers.... We'd invested in an extra shower block for the main camping field to make sure there was plenty of provision for the number of people attending - and were even able to keep them open all the time despite our original plan to have them as peak time only. Yes, there were some issues with temperature regulation in those ones and with power tripping occasionally with the venue's main shower block. In the latter case, the problems were always swiftly rectified by the venue staff. Some people had problems with the shower token cards not working. In every case that I'm aware of, this was due to folk bending the cards or getting them wet before use.

The aircraft noise is something we can't control. Everything else we did our best to get right and will get "righter" next year :)

I'll post in this thread when the survey results are online.

Hi Iain,

yeah I'm also sorry to say that I won't be there.

Yes the event had outgrown Ripley and a new location was needed.

The comments about the shower cards were not the case with mine, they were dry and un-creased and I was told by the staff that part of the problem was that if two people tried to use cards at exactly the same time, that this caused the system to crash!

I'll be looking forward to seeing the survey results, as the ony way an organisation can make inprovements is by using such information.

The HUBB is my favourite socail event of the year, so I'll keep an eye on things and see when things move elsewhere.

You can't please all of the people, all of the time eh!

Reagrds

Reggie

I'll make a note to raise the 'crashing' issue with the venue. From what I understand, they plan to replace the current system at some point before we're next there.

We're expecting to be at Donington for the foreseeable - certainly 2014 and 2015. Hope you won't stay away too long.

Just to say that I have to back up the Cameraman with regard to the shower cards.

I had several that worked but over the event I also had 3 dry and un-creased cards that failed, and when you're in the shower with your kit off and ready to go that is just a tadge annoying.

But I will be back as I thought it a splendid affair.

Hi Iain,

well it looks like i'll be away for at least the next two years then.

I hope that things improve for those willing to accept the noise matters. We also tried using earplugs but not even those worked for us.

Ah well, at least I can now be flexible for alternate bookings for these dates.

Regards

Reggie

Event Ratings
 

As promised, we've just published a summary of how people rated the HUBB UK event via the recent online survey. It's on this page, but I'm repeating here for easy reference too....

190 people responded to the survey.

Overall Event Rating:

25.3% said it was Amazing
52.6% said it was Very Good
13.2% said it was Good
4.7% said it was Average
1.6% said it was Below Average
2.1% said it was Poor
0.5% said it was Rubbish

68.9% said the mix of presentations and trade stands was just right, although a third would have liked more trade stands.

All the outdoor activities at the event were rated either Excellent or Good by 71.9 - 95.5% of respondents that attended them.

Excellent or Good was the rating of:
84.1% for the venue overall
83.4% for the presentation rooms
66.1% for the bar & serving areas
83.7% for the real ale bar
78.2% for the campsite and facilities
36.9% for the price of food (42.9% said Average)
47.3% for the quality of food

76.3% of respondents plan to attend HUBB UK 2014 (12.9% are planning to be away on travels).

I just wanted to pop up here to thank everyone who filled in the survey for doing so. bier

First time at the new venue wasn't only a first time for us. It was for them too. They have already said that they have learnt a lot - we are all a pretty unusual bunch you know :innocent: They are delighted with the HUBB UK event and the type of people who went and are looking forward to having us back again. We will be working with them on all the points that have been brought up. Your comments are very helpful with regards to us all being able to head in the right direction! Cheers!! :thumbup1:

It was great
 

My first HUBB meet was at Ripley last year and I thought Donnington was a far better venue. There was more space, better facilities and a far greater variety of presentations too, thanks in part to the presence of the 4x4's. I'm very pleased that they felt so welcome.
I arrived on Wednesday to help out where I could although there wasn't much this (temporarily) one legged man could do. I didn't sleep too well that night but as much because of the rain as the planes. After that I didn't really notice them. People of my age wake up in the night, planes or no!
However, I won't be there next year as I'll be one of the 12.9% mentioned in the survey. Otherwise I'd be booking it right now.
So very well done to Sam, Birgit, Iain and all the volunteers and presenters for making the 2013 meet such a fantastic event I suggest to those who were put off by the various issues to give it another go next year. It will be even better and too good to miss.

Geoff

PS. I meant to include my grateful thanks to whoever left the Givi topbox base by the lower toilet block. I accepetd the invitation to 'take me home'. I lost mine when my Yamaha got stuffed and taken away. Thanks!!

Agreed, I think the advantage of being in the company of so many interesting like-minded individuals is so valuable.

Minor inconveniences like dodgy showers or noisy planes shouldn't be too much of a worry for an adventure traveller - we're made of tougher stuff!!

Donington must be easier than the Road of Bones !!

And from Thursday it was dry !

Presenting at the HUBB-UK
 

Have you thought about doing a presentation at next year's HUBB?? Why not :D
We need more people doing more presentations on all sorts of things. It makes the weekend EVEN more enjoyable for everyone involved and is a great way to share your knowledge.

I've done a presentation for the last few years and I'm sure people are getting bored of the 'same old names and faces'. Whether you've been on a trip, want to go on a trip or have lots of questions about trips there's a presentation in everyone.

Go on - give it a go!

It seems I've managed to avoid all 323 chances.
Does that mean I've won ?

But while I'm on, out of interest, are there any official attendance figures for the event ?

Me to looks like we're sharing.

As Sam and I said in the Saturday night "thank you" session, and as has been mentioned in a few places online including the PegasoPodcast interview with Grant and Susan, HUBB UK 2013 ended up being the biggest event in the history of HU. Attendance far exceeded the circa 700 from the 10th anniversary event in 2010 (though wasn't it good how it still felt relaxed and not at all crowded?)

We're keeping the exact number just for internal reference - mainly because we don't feel it's the best yardstick of success. The important thing is what people got out of being there.

I feel a fund raiser here , £1 to enter nearest guess wins prize proceeds to charity and we all get to know the answer

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

I am still trying to workout if it was a good thing to attend this year much better than years gone by and thay were good. A bit of aircraft noise ha! ho! one of those things all in all 9 out of 10.

When I got home went out and spent a fortune on a Land Rover Defender 90 doh so someone got at me :oops2:

Can the mods move my picture thread back out of this, since the link takes people to the first page and not the one with my pics in, and of course anyone who's visited here before is likely to click 'last page' and miss it completely.

I'm not being grumpy (for a change) but I did put a lot of effort into taking and then posting the pics, so I would appreciate if people could see them!

Thanks!

'Tis done.

Great news !! What year and model?:funmeteryes:

Margaret & Mike

Sorry.. late entry.. but just had time to read 10,000 words on the interweb about biking ....and thought I'd add my tuppence worth

Didn't do the survey. Missed that. I do like to lie on those things. Just to mess with peoples heads.

Two points, if I may.

1. This is was the 2nd HUBB meet I have attended (the first left me with a bad taste in my mouth and I swore I would never do another) and Donnington was absolutely brilliant. :thumbup1: I enjoyed it so much and would recommend it to anyone I thought would be interested. Well done all.

2. The costs need looking at perhaps. A neighbour friend attended. He's a 4X4 man and was keen to learn what he could. He did however think that £40 each for him and his partner, for the day was a little expensive. He declined to pay and left. Can't really blame him. Perhaps the day rate needs to be lower or 2 for the price of one ? He wasn't intending on camping over as we only live 90 minutes up the M1.
No idea if it was £40 each as I got a weekend pass.

3. I hate it when, having paid a fee to camp, there is an additional fee to use the facilities.. i.e. shower.
I have ridden away from campsites before that do that trick. Its wrong.
Which is why I was glad that the shower blocks with the ' Dynamically Fluid Temperature Control ' were free.


And finally .. there are those that count and those that ride. I don't count.

Thanks for the feedback Steve. Very glad to hear you enjoyed it. Hope you'll be back next year :)


We're not entirely sure where the confusion about day passes came from. HU has never offered them for this event, has no plans to offer them in the future, and the pricing options were always crystal clear on the website - i.e. full 4-day passes or weekend-only passes (the £40 ones). Can only assume that those who turned up expecting a day pass hadn't taken the time beforehand to find out the details of the event. Which is odd.


Nobody paid to camp at HUBB UK - both camping and parking were free (as were the extra showers paid for by HU as you mentioned). The fees were for entry to the presentations and the opportunity to take part in all the activities. Also remember that prices for 2013 were the same as 2012 (and still won't increase in 2014 either) except that there was an extra charge for camping in 2012 (charged by the old venue). The £1 for 5 minutes in the main shower blocks at Donington Park Farmhouse is charged by the venue - not HU. That's just the way they work, partly as a way of managing their very limited mains water supply.

Hope that clarifies things.

Hi Steve, sorry for not getting back to you faster but I see that Iain has been in touch in the meantime (I’ve been on off having fun at a motorcycle event while he’s been grafting at getting the pages for the HUBB UK 2014 set up).

We were asked a few times this year about doing day passes in 2014 but the decision has been a no – after lots of discussion with Grant and Susan and all the Crew Leaders. We also asked people who are long term attendees, what they thought. We’d love to have a few more people come to the HUBB UK but we are positive that that happening in the form of Day Pass entrants risks damaging the nature of the event.

Thought you’d like to know some of the thoughts that went into this.
The key for most people, and in part why the far great majority come for the full 4 days, and in fact often ask if the event can be longer, is that the atmosphere is so different to travel/overlanding shows. With the event having just had its 13th year we know that the open talk-to-anyone warmth comes from the fact that people are on site camping next to each other for days at a time. New friends are made, ideas swopped and well, you know what I mean. The flow of inspirational presentations spark ideas and then plans can be discussed over evening beers and so on. Anyone who popped in for just a day wouldn’t get the benefit.

It’s also important that for everyone who knows, loves and values the event as it is and are on site for full-on learning, ideas sharing and the travel buzz that fits with those things, that they can still be sure of getting into presentations and so on. If we have lots of day visitors then… Well, the good things would start to be watered down and we would risk ending up copying other events. There’s a place for all travel events and the HUBB UK seems to work really well with the slowly grown-into-over-the-years formula. It’s also an issue of having to police things then. :thumbdown: Just not the mood of HU.

Having said all of that, I/we really value your thoughts and the tone with which you have passed them on. :thumbup1: :thumbup1: :thumbup1: No event gets better without people getting involved with helping to make it better. That’s one of the reasons why all the volunteers are so important. I’m really pleased that you are coming next year – not long until the new pages go live! And thanks again for the feedback ideas!!!

I agree wholeheartedly with the above by Sam; it's one of the reasons I love going to an HU event! :thumbup1: Having said that, as I can't go next year until Friday evening at the earliest, personally I wouldn’t object to not paying full whack.

All the HU events I've attended have been excellent, and I continue to be grateful for all the efforts that go into organising them.

The old adage still holds true; you can't please everyone all of the time . . . .

Although we won't be doing day tickets, we will be offering weekend passes again - so you won't have to miss out :)

We also have a cunning plan to help all those folk with the opposite problem: not being able to make the weekend due to work.

Excellent - I'd forgotten about the weekend pass! It's becuase of work I can't come earlier. I feel a sickness bug coming on . . . . . :innocent:

Does anyone remember what the make and model of those electric bikes were that were flying around the site at this years HUBB? Or perhaps who the vendor was?

Thanks in advance

Gav

Sure, their booth was next to ours: E-Tricks
ecycle.nu

Cheers,

Arn

Out now!
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