HESFES 2009 near Paddock Wood
The Kent gathering welcomed tents, yurts and campervans. Explore its advertised music, camping arrangements and the surviving record of its dates.
The organisers called 2009 their first year at the Hop Farm in Kent. The advance listing placed the private site around three miles from Paddock Wood, near Tonbridge. The advance listing described a site set back from the main road with hot showers. Visitors could bring a yurt or a caravan as well as a tent. Families whose children attended school were welcome.
The July gathering
The organisers’ dates page gives Saturday 11 to Saturday 18 July 2009. The festival welcome page subsequently announced that tickets had sold out. Although the heading on one external listing describes a weekend, the full week is confirmed by the original HESFES pages.
Music and camping
George Barnett, Spider and Fishing For Eyelashes were among the acts advertised. The listing describes an admission price that included workshops and camping, and quotes £67 for an adult. Given its mixed descriptions of weekend and week-long tickets, it is worth keeping that figure with its source when comparing years.
The festival returned to the Tonbridge area in 2010. Accounts from that year describe the contrast between formal debates about education and the things children made, played and invented on the campsite.
Sources and further reading
- HESFES, the organisers’ 2009 dates Checked 2026-11-08
- HESFES, sold-out notice at the Paddock Wood site, July 2009 Checked 2026-11-08
- HESFES, the organisers’ short festival history, captured February 2010 Checked 2026-11-08
- eFestivals, HESFES 2009 advance listing Checked 2026-11-08